No one should be left behind! For an inclusive and participatory cohesion policy in support of social, economic and territorial cohesion

Key points

The EESC:

• calls on the Member States of the European Union and its leaders, the European institutions and the EU citizens, to safeguard and protect the economic, social and territorial cohesion of the EU according to Article 174 of the TFEU;

• stress that the fundamental principle of cohesion policy, according to which ‘no one should be left behind’, remains sound and valid, and that civil society partners are ready to continue working towards it by means of a solid EU investment policy;

• stress that inequality of opportunity can have a detrimental effect on long-term growth and competitiveness at regional, national and EU level. Cohesion policy therefore needs to be more diversified and flexible but at the same time credible stable and clear in order to be able to pay more attention to people, especially the most vulnerable, and to better address the inequality of opportunities faced by many;

• is critical of eliminating the role of a Commissioner whose main responsibility is a cohesion policy portfolio;

• is against the reduction and transformation of cohesion policy into an instrument for tackling emergency crises;

• rejects the idea of converting cohesion policy into an instrument similar to the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) with little or no structural stakeholder involvement, shared management and muti-level governance;

• is in favour of the partnership principle and clear rules for the inclusion of civil society in the selection, governance and monitoring of EU-funded operations;

• requests a strong wording regarding the involvement of civil society in the next Common Provisions Regulation (CPR), which governs the use of Cohesion Funds as well as other EU funding after 2027 in the same manner as it was for the period 2021-2027;

• calls for a cohesion policy that is place-based and people-based;

• calls for a new impetus for cohesion policy. it believes that the range of instruments and approaches should be broadened, modernised or revised to build a strong, effective, flexible and renewed cohesion policy, focusing more on capacity, interregional links, effectiveness of results and opportunities for beneficiaries beyond investment alone;

• will do whatever it takes to safeguard the core principles of cohesion policy and ensure that it remains the glue that keeps Europe united.