Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council. Eighth progress report on economic, social and territorial cohesion. The regional and urban dimension of the crisis

In 2014, the Cohesion Policy programming period will start in the aftermath of the worst recession of the last fifty years. The crisis has reversed the process of convergence of regional GDP per head and unemployment within the EU. The challenge now is to ensure a prompt return to a strong growth path, especially in the less developed regions and cities.

To support the forthcoming programme negotiations, this report highlights the crisis-induced changes that will affect the context and priorities of the new programmes. The report first sets the scene with an overview of the main developments at national level. It then looks at the impact of the crisis on regions and cities and the growing disparities. Finally, it outlines how the changed economic environment will affect the future Cohesion programmes and underlines the need for a strong thematic concentration.

This report follows the 7th progress report, published in 2011, and will be followed by the publication of the 6th Cohesion Report in 2014. The 6th Cohesion report will also cover issues such innovation, climate and environment, which could not be included here.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)463: Follow the progress of this report through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:463:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2013)232: Commission Staff Working Document accompanying the report http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2013:232:FIN

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