Adaptation of cohesion policy to the enlarged Europe and the Lisbon and Gothenburg objectives

This study was requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Regional Development. Faced with the challenge of enlargement and increasing regional disparities, the European Commission proposed a restructuring of cohesion policy with the aim of adapting it to current needs. The purpose of the study is on the one hand, to identify the problems faced by cohesion policy, in the light of the financial perspectives, and on the other hand to assess the coherence of the proposed reforms with regard to current and future challenges and with the Lisbon and Gothenburg objectives. The last part of the study formulates recommendations for decision-markers.