Expected Features of the EU Regional Policy after 2020

Abstract

The article shows proposed features of the regional policy of the European Union after 2020. In mid-2018 the EU outlined the main parameters of the Multiannual Financial Framework for 2021-2027. Revision of EU policies traditionally takes place with the adoption of such financial frameworks, and the regional policy (EU Cohesion Policy) is not an exception. The paper deals with the stated changes in the EU Cohesion Policy and new features of the distribution of funding for its needs. Based on the analysis of earlier reforms of the EU regional policy, the conclusion is made about cosmetic changes in the Cohesion Policy after 2020. In fact, as at the beginning of the current decade, when the parameters of the Multiannual Financial Framework for 2014-2020 were determined, the EU preferred minor adjustments, which are presented as significant improvements. Thus, Brexit did not become, like the crisis in the Euro area, an occasion for radical changes in the Cohesion policy designed to respond to the new challenges facing the European integration project. This once again calls into question the EU's ability to promote, through its Cohesion Policy, the competitiveness of European economies and the resolution of acute social problems.

Keywords

• european union
• regional policy
• eu cohesion policy
• eu multiannual financial framework