Regions & Cities 2018: A deep dive into the EU regional funds
The European Union has allocated around €350bn for the 2014-2020 period to cohesion policy – accounting for a full third of the EU budget. Only the EU's agriculture policy receives more.
The European Union has allocated around €350bn for the 2014-2020 period to cohesion policy – accounting for a full third of the EU budget. Only the EU's agriculture policy receives more.
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Tug of war between<br />
'top -down' and<br />
'bottom-up' cohesion<br />
money<br />
The European Commission has promised greater flexibility for local authorities when<br />
it comes to delivering on-<strong>the</strong>-ground results - but it has also tied cohesion policy to <strong>the</strong><br />
European Semester, a tool used to coordinate macroeconomic policies.<br />
By Nikolaj Nielsen<br />
Carola Gunnarsson is <strong>the</strong> mayor of Sala, a town<br />
north of <strong>the</strong> Swedish capital, Stockholm.<br />
Like many of her counterparts throughout o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
member states, Gunnarsson wants much greater<br />
say, input and flexibility <strong>into</strong> how <strong>EU</strong> <strong>funds</strong> are<br />
divided up and spent on <strong>the</strong> ground.<br />
"Sometimes I think that we can't do exactly what<br />
we need, and we can't use <strong>the</strong> money in <strong>the</strong> best<br />
way...in <strong>the</strong> proper way," she told <strong>EU</strong>observer in<br />
an interview.<br />
Gunnarsson's frustration is a reflection of a<br />
complex administrative machine that divides out<br />
<strong>EU</strong> cohesion policy funding, often with a top-down<br />
approach.<br />
Getting <strong>the</strong> money to <strong>the</strong> right projects at <strong>the</strong> local<br />
level, she said, also makes <strong>the</strong> European Union<br />
more 'tangible' for <strong>the</strong> majority of people.<br />
"I think some of <strong>the</strong> <strong>funds</strong> are <strong>the</strong> only way to show<br />
<strong>the</strong> citizens that we are a part of <strong>the</strong> European<br />
Union," Gunnarsson believes.<br />
Stockholm's Metro. Some 70 percent of people in Europe now live in<br />
urban areas<br />
Photo: Arild<br />
21 — REGIONS & CITIES <strong>2018</strong>