EU Cohesion Policy

Over the last decade, the process of European integration has placed increasing emphasis on the promotion of economic and social cohesion. Under the Single European Act, the implementation of the Community’s common policies and the completion of the internal market were to take account of this objective and contribute to its achievement. This commitment is strengthened under the Treaty on European Union, where not only the implementation but also the formulation of policy must take cohesion into consideration. The most high-profile aspect of the EU concerned with cohesion was the reform of the structural funds agreed in 1988. This involved not only a complete overhaul of the administration and implementation of the funds, but also a significant increase in budget allocations; these were set to double over the period 1987-93. Negotiations during 1993 culminated in new structural fund regulations for the period 1994-9 bringing some further, albeit less dramatic, changes and additional financial resources. By the end of the decade, ‘Structural Actions’ (the cohesion fund and the structural funds) will account for over 35 per cent of EU spending-some 27.4 billion ECU in 1999-compared with 7 billion ECU, or just 19 per cent of the budget, in 1987 (Commission 1994c; Eurostat 1992).

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• Buying support and regime change

  Open Access•J E Jackson, Bogdan W Mach et al.•European Union Politics•2011

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