What is the EU’s Cohesion Policy?
While the EU’s overarching goal is that to ensure peace and prosperity across the continent, the Union’s Cohesion Policy seeks to reduce disparities between its Member States and its regions. It is a key tool in putting the concept of European solidarity into practice, by ensuring that no one is left behind, and that disadvantaged citizens from all corners of the continent are able to share from the wealth created by their more prosperous peers.
This policy is implemented through hundreds of thousands of projects all over Europe that receive funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Cohesion Fund.
According to the Lisbon Treaty, EU cohesion has three facets, these being economic, social and territorial.