The EU’s recent crises and evolving geopolitical landscape have underscored the need to reevaluate the EU budget, particularly for crisis management and rising spending demands. With the upcoming Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) discussions likely to emphasise reallocating existing funds over expanding the EU budget, cohesion policy faces increased scrutiny. Adaptations made to cohesion policy in response to crises have jeopardised its core focus on long-term investment. Declining absorption rates and overlap with the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) have raised concerns about inefficient overspending.
This policy panel will delve into the future of EU cohesion policy, exploring options for enhancing flexibility. Can flexibility help cohesion policy meet EU future challenges? What options are available, and to achieve which objectives? How can these options be implemented?
To kick off the discussion, the CEPS team will present key findings from its recent work, arguing that while flexibility in cohesion policy cannot solve all new EU challenges, it can help and should be explored.
