European Regional Development Financing : Looking for Cohesion

Sébastien BOURDIN Enseignant-chercheur, Laboratoire Métis, Département Économie des térritoires et développement durable, École de Management de Normandie.

André TORRE Directeur de recherche, UMR Sad-Apt, Université Paris-Saclay, Inra, AgroParisTech. Contact : torre@agroparistech.fr.

This article reviews the successive reforms of the European Union Cohesion Policy. We study the economic and political context, the nature and logic of EU cohesion policy reforms and reflect on the concept of cohesion and its involvement in terms of European public policies. The paper highlights a paradigmatic change that has gradually moved towards more territorialization. Particular emphasis is placed on the concept of smart specialization and its use to facilitate the implementation of a policy that takes more into account local peculiarities. The article also opens a reflection on the future budget of the Cohesion Policy for 2021-2027 and its stakes in a Brexit context.