The National Institute for Strategic Studies as an institutional partner of the Institute for Eastern Studies (Poland) – the organizer of the 10th European Congress of Local Governments arranged at the fields of the Congress the panel discussion “New design of Cohesion Policy Facing Modern Challenges”.
The Congress was held on March 3-4, 2025 in the Polish town of Mikołajki and attracted more than 2800 participants, representing governments, local self-governments, politicians, experts, researchers, journalists, civic activists from the European countries.
The panel discussion was moderated by Deputy director – Head of the Center for Economic and Social Studies of NISS, Dr.Sc. Yaroslav Zhalilo. In the panel discussion took part: Francesco Tufarelli, General Director, Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Department of European Policies, Italy, Piotr Bors, Vice-Chairman, Lodz Voivodship Council, Poland, Sándor Koles, President, Carpathian Foundation, Hungary, Andrea Gallo, Chairman of the Board, Director, Fasi.eu, Italy, Andrius Valickas, Chief Advisor to the Regional Policy Group, Ministry of the Interior, Lithuania, Linda Helen Haukland, Deputy Mayor, Nordland County Council, Norway.
In his introductory word, Yaroslav Zhalilo recalled that the objectives relating to cohesion policy are set out in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The EU must aim to reduce regional disparities and bring least-favored regions to a higher standard of living. However, is this common understanding of cohesion policy valid in the view of new systemic threats, such as Russian aggression, changes in energy resources’ supply, global climate changes, digital divide, global inequality etc? These threats are equally affecting both more and less favored regions, are challenging the standards of living of people wherever they live. Given this, cohesion now is rather not about the equal living standards, but about common actions and consistent (coherent) understanding of the sense of these actions. As well as about the capacity to pursue coherent goals and protect shared values of living in the global turbulence. This causes debate on a new Cohesion Policy since 2027. But it is more likely than the reloading of this policy should take place even earlier.
Y.Zhalilo stressed on, that the Resolution of the European Committee of the Regions underlines the transformative dimension of cohesion policy. Cohesion now is inseparable with contributing to the EU’s security, resilience and competitiveness. At the regional level this means supporting the better adapting the regions to ongoing transformations, coping the related social risks. Respectively, cohesion policy should interact with other European and national policies to ensure meeting the collective goals, such as security and resilience strengthening, green, digital, and demographic transitions. At the national level this means that the sectoral policies more should not be spatially neutral, and the roles of the regions in meeting the common goals should be considered. The synergy between regional and national policies is needed – while the strength of regional diversity should be joined with the synergy of joint efforts to mitigate global risks and to obtain the synergy of cohesion.
Y.Zhalilo recalled, that the Resolution of the European Committee of the Regions on a renewed cohesion policy post 2027 emphasizes also the contribution of cohesion policy to the integration, economic development and capacity building of candidate countries of the European Union. Thus, speaking about the cohesion policy instruments we should also consider, how they can cover the non-EU countries – indirectly, encouraging partners in EU to engage in eurointegrational transformations? Or directly, promoting the contacts of future newcomers with the partners in the EU?
A lively discussion took place, during which the participants generally supported the expressed expanded approach to understanding the Cohesion policy in the context of current and anticipated challenges.
In particular, Linda Helen Haukland emphasized the importance of integrating the Cohesion policy with broader European policies, especially in the security sphere. A sustainable ecosystem should be built based on multi-level policies and decentralized instruments to attract capital to regions that will work toward solving their specific development challenges.
Francesco Tufarelli focused on the role of cohesion policy in strengthening the capacity of regions, which is particularly important in the face of new challenges. The expected enlargement of the EU will require new, rather costly policies that will ensure both the integration of the physical infrastructure of new countries and the formation of their new identity. This could create risks for financing security objectives.
According to Sándor Koles, cohesion should be based on inclusive development, which involves the autonomy of local governments while ensuring interconnectedness at regional, national, and European levels. Currently, European cohesion is facing complex risks associated with Russian aggression and the rise of populism in several countries. Subsidiarity should be combined with partnership relations between national governments and regions/communities, with an increased focus on communities’ resilience. A visible example of integrating local, regional, and European identities is cross-border cooperation. A lack of financial resources may pose additional challenges to achieving cohesion goals, but these can and should be overcome through “smart” policies that harness the potential of human capital.
Piotr Bors supported the idea of achieving inclusivity in the development of regions and communities. This should support the dynamism of transformations in local communities (as is shown by the city of Łódź). Meanwhile, new challenges are forcing an increasing allocation of funds to security, diverting resources from cohesion policy.
Andrea Gallo emphasized that a key component of cohesion is a common vision of the future EU. This requires consistency in assessing the effectiveness of cohesion policy, particularly in achieving convergence. Key practical tasks include establishing effective management of cohesion policy funds, taking into account the experience of implementing the Recovery and Resilience Facility, setting investment priorities—including investments into human capital development, integrating with industrial policy based on sustainable growth, and creating a single digital platform to consolidate cohesion funding rules. The latter should ensure flexibility in actual financing.
Andrius Valickas highlighted the critical importance of cohesion in following to common European principles, which will ensure the predictability of a unified policy. To achieve this, shared rules should be kept as simple as possible. Cohesion policy implementation should content people's needs by solving key contemporary problems through joint policies, including overcoming high inflation, addressing social challenges in communities, ensuring sustainable urban development, and fostering cooperation between urban and rural areas.
Summarizing the discussion, Yaroslav Zhalilo noted the multidimensional nature of modern cohesion policy, which should not only redistribute funds but, most importantly, establish principles of interaction for a consolidated response to the most pressing issues of today.
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