How can cohesion policy contribute to a sustainable recovery?

Commissioner Johannes Hahn, speaking at the 6th Cohesion Forum, Brussels, 8 September 2014

"Almost four years ago when we met for the last Cohesion Forum, marked the beginning of the reform process of Cohesion Policy. We all agreed that it must become more of an investment policy. I am pleased to report back to this Forum that this has now become a reality. The new policy framework for the new period has brought Cohesion Policy's objectives into line with the Europe 2020 strategy and reformed the way in which Cohesion Policy works to make it an effective and efficient investment for the development of our regions.

"The crisis of the past few years has only served to illustrate the necessity of such a reform. Getting the most out of the limited available resources became of utmost importance in our efforts to return to growth. Let us not forget that in the whole of the EU, public investment declined by 20% in real terms since 2008. In the countries most affected by the crisis, such as Greece and Spain, the decline was around 60%. In this context and with such drastic reductions, Cohesion Policy became a significant source of investment, especially in the less developed member states, where Cohesion funding now represents more than 60% of the investment budget. The fact is that Cohesion Policy has prevented a total collapse of public investment in many member states during the crisis. It has played a crucial role in supporting the capacity of member states to carry out growth and job enhancing investments. And it will continue to do so in the future and it will be better at it than before. The new Cohesion Policy is all about making smart choices with the limited resources available to make efficient investments that will steer Europe back onto the path of recovery and growth.

"In the next two days I am sure we will hear a lot about some of the pillars of the reformed Cohesion policy such as thematic concentration, ex-ante conditionalities and result orientation. All these evolve around one basic idea which is to get the best possible result through concentrating the resources on a few selected priorities, in line with a strategy and within an appropriate policy framework. These are designed to make the investments more strategic and more efficient. Moreover, the new Policy is also linked to the economic governance and to the European semester. The idea is that investments from the funds cannot be considered in isolation from the economic environment in which they are undertaken.

"As the Cohesion Report underlines, the economic environment at the start of the new programming period is a very difficult one. Public debt has increased dramatically, income has declined for many people across the EU and unemployment is higher than for over 20 years. At the same time, economic and social disparities have widened in many countries or stopped narrowing in others. These developments mean that several of the Europe 2020 targets are now significantly further away than when they were first set. It will require a substantial effort over the next years to achieve them in a context of significant budgetary constraints.

"We have no time to waste. As of today, 16 Partnership Agreements have been adopted and we are very close to finalising the remaining ones. But we have only adopted a handful of operational programmes, just two to be precise. This means there is still a lot of work to be done. And we are determined to do it right and not to sacrifice quality over speed. As outlined in the Cohesion Report and also as confirmed by subsequent analysis of the Partnership Agreements and Operational Programmes submitted by member states there are already encouraging signs as to how the reform is being translated in practise. It is already evident, for example, that there is a strategic underpinning for all the investments to be made. And there is a clear shift in terms of funding priorities in comparison with the 2007-2013 period. The emphasis now is focused on areas like energy efficiency, the low carbon economy, employment, social inclusion and business support.

"We have tried to make this year's forum as interesting and interactive as possible by providing a lot of room for discussion. I would like to use this opportunity to encourage you to get involved in the various debates, since we need your contribution and feedback. But now it is time to get started. I wish all of you two very fruitful days."

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