The 2007-13 operational programmes: a preliminary assessment: Spring – Autumn 2005

A preliminary assessment of the 2007-13 operational programmes on EU cohesion policy

Research for REGI - Lessons Learnt from the Closure of the 2007-13 Programming Period

This study analyses the closure process for programmes funded under the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund in 2007-13. It details the regulatory provisions, guidance and support provided for closure in 2007-13 and assesses the closure experiences of programme authorities before drawing lessons and developing conclusions and recommendations for EU-level institutions and programme authorities

Maximisation of synergies between European structural and investment funds and other EU instruments

This article is based on a study for the Committee on Regional Development of the European Parliament. It provides a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the existing scope for synergies between European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds) and other EU instruments contributing to Europe 2020 goals. It identifies different arenas for the pursuit of synergies (regulatory settings, governance arrangements, strategic frameworks and implementation approaches), noting achievement thus far, and, looking towards 2020, assessing the potential for maximising synergies. This analysis is based on a review ofacademic and evaluation evidence from the 2007-2013 period, recent research, legislation, EC and Member State policy papers and guidance for the 2014-2020 period as well as evidence from EU, national and sub-national stakeholders on the degree of change in approaches to synergistic working and the associated benefits and challenges. The study identifies a shift from focusing on the demarcation of Funds and instruments to avoid overlaps and duplication towards a push for more synergistic working in the design and implementation of initiatives under specific themes and objectives. However, this process is not uniform: there is strong variation in the scope for and extent of synergistic working at different stages in the policy process, in different thematic fields and in different territories

From environmental sustainability to sustainable development? : Making concepts tangible in structural funds programmes

Explains how concepts of environmental sustainability and sustainable development can be made tangible in EU structural funds programmes

Comparing the influence of Structural Funds programmes on regional development approaches in Western Scotland and Silesia: Adaptation or Assimilation?

The implementation of EU Structural Funds (SF) programmes is credited with influencing the focus and content of domestic regional development activities, enhancing coordination of national and sub-national levels tasked with regional development and strengthening partnerships between public, private and voluntary actors. However, the influence of programmes is uneven. Analyses, based on the Europeanization literature, present a complex relationship between EU and domestic factors. A range of variables has been identified to explain this differential influence. The paper contends that, when considering New Member States (NMS) from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), this approach requires reorientation. In the face of strategically weak and under-resourced domestic approaches, programmes are driving, rather than attempting to adjust, the domestic regional development agendas. To support this, the paper takes a comparative approach, assessing the influence of programmes in cases from opposite ends of the SF implementation spectrum: the UK (Western Scotland) and Poland (Silesia)

The role of EU funds in enhancing the development potential of CEE economies

The starting point for this chapter1 is the disjuncture between fast productivity growth in Central and East European (CEE) economies and poor performance in developing innovative capacities for longer-term sustainable growth and development. The implicit ‘development model’ of the CEE economies in the past two decades has been based on institutional, trade/FDI and financial integration with Western Europe. Until the global financial crisis of 2008/2009 this model was considered a success. More recent assessments (see e.g. Becker and Jäger 2010) show that this model (particularly its strong reliance on external finance) is unsustainable. There is an argument that, as levels of FDI fall, the CEE Member States need to embark on a ‘high road’ of development based on ‘competitive advantage’, since the ‘comparative advantage’ stemming from low production costs cannot provide a foundation for long-term development. However, CEE economies are low performers in the development of indigenous technological capabilities, as demonstrated by stagnant or even falling research and development (R&D) expenditures, low propensity for innovation and limited patenting activities. According to the European Union (EU) Innovation Scoreboard, most CEE countries are ‘moderate’ innovators, performing below the EU average for different measurements, particularly for open, excellent and attractive research systems and linkages between research and entrepreneurship (European Commission 2016a)

Study on Integrated Territorial Investments as an Effective Tool of the Cohesion Policy : Report to BUDG Committee, European Parliament

This paper assesses Integrated Territorial Investments as an effective tool of Cohesion policy (CP). Based on a review of the experience of designing ITI strategies and implementation experience thus far in 2014-2020, it highlights the key factors facilitating or impeding effectiveness and sets out recommendations for the future

Pulling things together : regional policy coordination approaches and drivers in Europe

Coordination is a long-term issue for regional policy that has gained traction in academic and practitioner circles in recent years. The capacity challenges of responding to a broadening set of issues that cut across sectoral and administrative boundaries focus attention on regional policy coordination. Various concepts have emerged to study policy coordination processes, but efforts are ongoing to bring these together into overarching analytical frameworks. This paper contributes to these efforts by disaggregating coordination mechanisms according to different components of regional policy design and delivery (rule-based coordination, organisational arrangements, strategic policy coordination and policy instrument coordination) and by identifying cognitive, political and institutional factors that drive their use. The paper explores the relationship between coordination mechanisms and these drivers in the regional policy systems of three countries: Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom. It assesses the different dynamics at work and notes the importance of administrative capacity as a prerequisite for effective coordination

The "intelligentsia in power" and the development of civil society: Mazowiecki's Poland

The subject of this thesis is Poland's first post communist government (September 1989 - December 1990), formed under the premiership of the veteran 'Solidarity' activist Tadousz Mazowiecki. The threat of economic collapse and social disorder had prompted the communist authorities to grant the non-communist elements organised around the 'Solidarity' movement limited access to the Polish parliament through partially free elections. In June 1989 the results of these elections delivered a fatal blow to communist rule in Poland. 'Solidarity' triumphed in practically all the parliamentary seats the communist authorities had permitted it to contest. Bereft of ideological confidence and Soviet support, the Polish Communist Party rapidly disintegrated and the task of forming an administration fell to 'Solidarity'. The new government, led by Mazowiecki and dominated by representatives of Solidarity's intellectual elite, was appointed in September 1989. In the months that followed, the new government took advantage of strong social support and popularity to introduce comprehensive political and economic reforms. The reforms introduced irrevocably dismantled the country's disastrous command economy and introduced a radical shift to market based criteria. Although they entailed austerity for much of Polish society, at least initially, the personal prestige of the new elite and its promise of the future benefits which would flow from the introduction of market rules seemed to guarantee an ongoing state of acquiescence. The political reform process was admittedly slower but the removal of the last vestiges of communist power from the system progressed steadily. Within nine months the government had taken great strides in ending communist control of the police and military and was tackling the continued influence of the nomenklatura in the state bureaucracy. State control of the media and previous prohibitions on freedom of conscience, association and speech were ended. Completely free parliamentary and presidential elections were planned for the near future. It seemed that for the duration of the transition Poland would be led to a 'Western style' liberal-democratic polity and free market economy by a government composed of Solidarity's 'best and brightest'. Apolitical intellectuals would patriotically put the higher needs of the nation before the distractions of everyday political competitiveness. They would be supported in this by the Solidarity movement which would also act as a nursery for fledgling political parties. Over time these organisations would gather the societal support and organisational strength necessary to form a conventional, stable political system