By European Policy Centre, 2017
This study draws on desk research, a series of semi-structured interviews and data gathered during a workshop held on 31
May 2017 at the European Policy Centre (EPC). It examines the scope for strengthening the link between Cohesion Policy and EU economic governance objectives in the next Multiannual Financial Framework by looking more specifically at two instruments: ex-ante and macroeconomic conditionalities.
In this study, the authors suggest that the post-2020 MFF constitutes a window of opportunity to reform Cohesion Policy and position it more clearly in the EU’s funding strategy. Our findings indicate that the integration of economic governance objectives into CP can help showcase EU added value in the growth and investment agenda. For this, there is a need to reframe the political vision linking ESI Funds to economic governance. This requires taking a holistic perspective that moves beyond the focus on macroeconomic stability and positioning sound economic governance in the wide spectrum of EU objectives and policies.
The report thus presents a set of strategic and concrete recommendations for how Cohesion Policy could be reformed to strengthen the link between its objectives and tools (e.g. ESI Funds) with those of the EU’s economic governance. We notably propose that the Commission take a role of ‘strategic enabler’ in the implementation of the EU’s growth agenda by repositioning growth-enhancing reforms and reforms linked to CP’s cohesion objectives at the heart of a new growth strategy for the EU.
