The Survival of Cohesion Policy

EU Investment Capacity Group’s second hybrid meeting on cohesion policy

The future of EU cohesion policy is at a crossroads. The EU’s current strategic priorities require substantial investments in green, digital and social transitions and, now increasingly, defense. The EU Budget negotiations will be crucial in strengthening European financial and investment capacity, yet there is a risk that new priorities such as competitiveness, defence, and preparedness could sideline cohesion. Ensuring that these instruments contribute to reducing regional disparities rather than exacerbating them is key. 

At the same time, cohesion policy itself must evolve—learning from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) to improve governance, simplify procedures, and enhance its effectiveness. However, this modernisation should not deprive the cohesion policy of its primary objective. In particular, the intention of the Commission to give more powers within EU budget (MFF) to the national, as opposed to the regional level, could be a setback for the cohesion policy. The performance-based approach of the RRF type might not be fully applicable to the cohesion goals either. 

Without a strong commitment to cohesion, Europe risks deepening inequalities at a time when economic integration and geopolitical instability demand greater unity.

To discuss the survival of cohesion policy, the EU Investment Capacity Group, an initiative by FEPS and FES that aims to stimulate discussion and elaboration of policy proposals within the progressive family to feed into the Multiannual Financial Framework debate, met on Friday, 14 March 2025, at the Giorgio Amendola Foundation in Turin, Italy. The meeting, co-organised with Fondazione Amendola and the patronage of the Metropolitan City of Turin, addressed both European challenges on the EU budget and the specific case of Italy, which is facing a constitutional change for differentiated autonomy that is putting territorial cohesion at further risk. 

This expert meeting was upon invitation only and was held under Chatham House rules. 

Hybrid participation and Italian-English interpretation were available for the first part. For more information regarding this event, please do not hesitate to contact Vanessa Zwisele, FEPS Project Officer (vanessa.zwisele@feps-europe.eu).