Communications
Date: 31 mar 2010
Period: 2007-2013
Theme: Structural Funds management and Governance
Languages: en
This Communication provides, for the first time, a complete overview of the implementation of the cohesion policy programmes 2007-2013. It is primarily based on the 27 national strategic reports, which are a new feature of cohesion policy for this period.
The national strategic reports were introduced to improve transparency and encourage accountability of the policy at national level in the context of the shared management of cohesion policy. The national strategic reports are therefore a key tool to monitor the implementation of the strategic commitments of the Member States to delivery high level EU objectives through cohesion policy.
This Communication is intended to facilitate debate with the EU institutions in view of the policy's significant role in fostering sustainable economic and social development in Europe’s regions and the Member States. With that in mind the concluding section makes recommendations on how effective implementation could be strengthened to maximise the contribution of the 2007-2013 programmes to strengthened peer review and policy learning, also with a view to contributing to the Europe 2020 strategy.