Cohesion policy between past and future
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The cohesion policy, supported by the structural funds, is the main investment policy of the European Union, aimed at economic, social and territorial cohesion and therefore at reducing disparities between the regions of the member states. Formulated in anticipation of the creation of the single market, cohesion policy has been supporting the efforts of European regions lagging behind towards convergence for over thirty years, with mixed results. Among the main Regions which over the years have benefited primarily from the investments of the policy are those of the Italian Mezzogiorno, but also of other Mediterranean countries such as Greece and Spain, of Ireland, as well as, starting from 2004, of the new Member States of the Eastern Europe. The policy is aimed at all EU Regions with contributions of different amounts depending on their economic situation; it also includes a territorial cooperation window, which supports cross-border, transnational and interregional programmes.
Cohesion policy programming is multiannual – in line with the European budget – and provides for the identification of a series of investment priorities, defined at EU level and then detailed at national level in the Partnership Agreement. The Agreement is signed by the Member State and the European Commission after a process of consultation of the economic and social partnership and defines the distribution of resources between national programs and regional programmes. For the current programming, the priority themes include those of a smarter, greener, connected, social Europe, close to the citizens. The intervention topics reflect the priorities of a certain development model: it is no coincidence that the first topics are those of a smarter and greener Europe, i.e. investments in innovation, sustainability and green technologies. On the other hand, there is also a certain continuity in investments, linked to the long-term development strategy of a certain territory but probably also to a certain inertial mechanism, because over the years stakeholders at various scales have structured themselves around politics.
Similarly, the governance mechanisms of cohesion policy are also influenced by the context but also characterized by continuity. The birth of cohesion policy, at the end of the 1980s, took place in a very precise phase of the debate on economic development, characterized by a growing regionalism in the face of the crisis of centralist models of intervention (an example is the Italian experience of Cassa per il Mezzogiorno), as well as the centrality of the debate on inequalities. The policy therefore identifies the Regions as territories of intervention, with the explicit aim of reducing disparities; in some cases (including Italy), the Regions also have a central role in the management of the funds. Although the model of intervention is still the same, the role of the Regions as object and subject of intervention has been questioned in various fields in recent years. From the point of view of the development debate, the issue of inequalities and convergence has lost momentum, above all due to the growing difficulties that even “developed” territories are facing. Neoliberal theories have also been re-proposed, which support the opportunity to focus investments in already advanced areas to improve the overall well-being of a country, rather than focusing on disadvantaged areas. From an operational point of view, the scarce results achieved in some territories have stimulated a debate on the most effective models of intervention; in Italy, recently, the cohesion model has often been compared with the centralized experience of management of the PNRR, and the new government has started a rethinking of governance by formalizing the abolition of the Agency for Territorial Cohesion last February.
Although the current programming period is still in its infancy, a lively debate has already begun among scholars on the future of cohesion policy. Within the EU, a panel of experts has been formalized to identify critical issues and define lines of action in line with a habit of the Directorate General for Regional Policies (DG REGIO), which is to give ample space for reflection from planning to other, in an attempt to improve the policy and make it more effective. It is not easy to start a reflection in the face of numerous unknowns about the future, starting with what the composition of the community budget will be; on the other hand, the stakes are very high. One of the less heralded but more concrete objectives of politics since the 1980s has been to keep alive the interest and commitment to the integration process on the part of all territories, even the most marginal ones. This is still a valid objective, which has indeed acquired a new centrality in the face of the weakening of the European project which we have witnessed in recent years.
*Raffaella Coletti, CNR Issirfa
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