Around 90% of public investment comes from EU cohesion funds

"During the 2014-2020 programming period, cohesion policy contributed, on average, 14% of total public investment in the EU as a whole, but with considerable variations between Member States", indicates the European Court of Auditors (ECA) in a report published today.

In a document on the future of cohesion policy and the lessons to be learned from the past, the EU auditor points to Portugal as the country in the community area with the highest percentage of these European funds in relation to public investment, which is 90% according to the ECA's accounts.

This is followed by Croatia (69%), Lithuania (67%), Slovakia (60%) and Bulgaria (58%).

Conversely, the countries with the lowest weight of cohesion in their public investments are Denmark, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Sweden, all with 1%.

Overall, EU cohesion policy has provided around €1 trillion to EU countries between 1989 and 2023, with a further €400 billion expected by 2027, making it the largest regional development policy of its kind in the world.

According to the European Commission, cohesion has helped to reduce social and economic differences in the bloc, but the ECA points out that this process has not been the same in all regions.

"Patterns of economic convergence reflect diverse national dynamics. For example, stronger growth in the capital regions of eastern Member States often increases disparities in those countries, and in Portugal, regional convergence has resulted from slower past growth in previously high-performing regions," the report states.

In a statement, the EU auditor notes that "in recent periods, the implementation of [cohesion] policy has focused more on performance, without much visible success".

"In this area, one aspect to consider would be supporting national and regional reforms to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of investments funded by Brussels. Furthermore, the ECA has repeatedly noted that it would be easier to create evidence-based policies if performance were better monitored and assessed," he adds.

In the report, the Community auditor also stresses "the importance of the applicable rules being adopted early, so that programming can be faster and there is a good level of advance financing so that implementation can start on time".

And it suggests a review of the rules to avoid "useless bureaucracy and a high risk of error", as well as greater transparency to be able to "hold managers accountable" and also "recover funds used improperly".

The ECA further notes that, over time, cohesion policy has had to encompass an ever-expanding set of EU priorities and objectives, including unforeseen situations such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the influx of refugees from Ukraine following the invasion of the country.

"Although it recognises that it is important to have flexibility in the use of money, the ECA warns that this will disperse cohesion policy funds and could divert them from their main purpose, which is to reduce inequalities between regions. [Therefore] it is essential that the objectives of the future policy continue to be linked to the development needs of each region and focused on increasing economic and social convergence", it concludes.

With a budget of €392 billion for the current programming period 2021-2027, cohesion policy is the EU's main investment policy.

The community framework in force in the EU provides around 23 billion euros for Portugal to implement cohesion programmes.

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