Regional & Urban Policy Investments for growth & jobs Promoting development and good governance in EU regions and cities 6 th Report on economic, social and territorial cohesion, July 2014

Regional & Urban Policy Key messages & conclusions Rudolf Niessler, Director of the Policy Directorate DG for Regional and Urban Policy

Regional & Urban Policy 6 th Cohesion Report Art. 175 of the consolidated treaty: 'The Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions every three years on the progress made towards achieving economic, social and territorial cohesion …' Exceptionally, the report has been delayed by one year to report on the new Cohesion Policy programming period

Regional & Urban Policy New structure instead of old 1.Smart growth 2.Inclusive growth 3.Sustainable growth 4.Public investment, growth and the crisis 5.Good governance 6.Evolution of Cohesion Policy 7.Impact of Cohesion Policy 8.Cohesion Policy in Economic, social and territorial situation 2. National policies and cohesion 3. Other EU policies and cohesion 4. Impact of Cohesion Policy

Regional & Urban Policy Regional disparities increased

Regional & Urban Policy Economic disparities Crisis halted regional economic convergence National GDP projections show slow convergence post-crisis

Regional & Urban Policy Crisis reinforced role of Cohesion Policy Crisis led to a rapid reduction of public investment as a part of the fiscal consolidation efforts

Regional & Urban Policy Cohesion policy and national counterpart represents a significant proportion of public investment in Member States

Regional & Urban Policy Tangible benefits of cohesion policy in jobs created – at least in SMEs start-up companies supported KM of new or reconstructed railways KM of new or reconstructed roads Broadband access for 5 million citizens Access to clean drinking water for 3.2 million citizens ESF: 15 million participants per year 940 financial instruments in 25 Member States rising EUR 12.6 billion € OP funding (including EUR 8.36 billion structural Funds) for equity, loans and guarantees

Regional & Urban Policy Cohesion Policy in the EU economic policy mix Country-specific recommendations are the reference for Partnership Agreements and programmes

Regional & Urban Policy Cohesion Policy Focus on growth- enhancing investments Concentration on Europe 2020 priorities Improving governance Linked to the European Semester Linked to structural reform through ex-ante conditionalities

Regional & Urban Policy State of programming Partnership Agreements (PAs) adopted All remaining PAs have been commented and will be adopted by the end of the year 197 out of the 205 REGIO-led Operational Programmes (Ops) have been submitted. 181 out of 187 ESF/YEI OPs have been submitted, incl. 33 OPs covering YEI So far 6 OPs have been adopted.

Regional & Urban Policy

Ex-ante conditionality is challenging

Regional & Urban Policy Next steps Full reporting on Cohesion Policy programming period by end of 2015 Ex-post evaluation of by end of 2015 Midterm review/revision of MFF by end of th Cohesion Report in 2017 (including policy proposals post 2020)

Regional & Urban Policy 6th Cohesion Report Manuela GELENG Head of Unit, ESF Policy and Legislation DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion European Commission

Regional & Urban Policy Overview 1. Employment, social and education trends (chapter 2 of the Report) 2. Policy framework and ESIF (ch.2) 3. ESF support to institutional capacity building and public administration reform (ch.5/ ch.8) 4. Results of ESF programmes (ch.7) 5. State of play programming of ESF and YEI OPs (ch.8)

Regional & Urban Policy Key trends  The crisis has widened disparities in employment rates;  EU2020 employment target of 75% is currently far from reach;  Unemployment highest in the EU in over a decade; major risks for youth;  Early school leaving rates improve but significant challenges for education and training systems;  At-risk-of-poverty rates increased in 17 MS;  Severe material deprivation is on the rise 11% of the EU population in It is worst in southern and eastern MS.

Regional & Urban Policy EU Policy framework and ESIF  The EU2020 policy framework for "inclusive growth": higher employment rates as well as greater focus on social inclusion  EU2020 is now the backbone of the ESIF legal framework => Funds will have to concentrate on a limited number of priorities (for the ESF, up to 5 investment priorities)  Despite the increasing needs as outlined already, need to ensure value for EU investments.

Regional & Urban Policy ESF support to institutional capacity building and public administration reform  ICB is a key EU2020 and CPR priority  Need to differentiate between stricto senso capacity to manage EU funds and the broader needs for comprehensive public administration reforms.  A strategic approach to ICB is a prerequisite for successful reforms (though not present in all MS)

Regional & Urban Policy Results of ESF OPs Preliminary results of evaluations (end-2012): Access to employment:  Around 20 million participations (i.e. cases of participation in programmes); of which over 3 million found a job soon after the support ended.  20 million young people received support (30% of the total)  Around 500,000 gained qualifications under these measures Social inclusion:  EUR 13 bn of ESF support; at least 164,000 persons entered employment after activation.

Regional & Urban Policy Results of ESF OPs (ctnd) Education, training and lifelong learning:  10% of total ESF (EUR 35 billion) for education and training;  25.9 million participations in human capital development measures  5.5 million low-skilled participated in lifelong learning Institutional Capacity Building:  EUR 3.7 bn ESF allocated to efficiency of public administrations and public services; ICB recognised as a goal.

Regional & Urban Policy State of play ESF/YEI programming  187 ESF/YEI OPs expected; 181 officially submitted, incl. 33 OPs covering YEI  5 OPs adopted (incl. 2 YEI dedicated OPs)  Overall, close link between CSR and MS selection of investment priorities for the ESF  ESF continues to be the main employment and human capital EU instrument, now boosted also by YEI for youth employment  More could be desired as regards funding allocations to Roma, social systems and PES reforms, education, and the ambition of public administration reforms.

Regional & Urban Policy Further information ESF thematic publications :  Youth employment/YEI:  Promoting inclusive growth:  Promoting Good Governance:  Simplified cost options with the ESF in Italy:

Regional & Urban Policy 6th Cohesion Report Lewis Dijkstra Deputy Head of the Economic Analysis Unit DG for Regional and Urban Policy

Regional & Urban Policy Chapter 1

Regional & Urban Policy Chapter 1

Regional & Urban Policy Chapter 1

Regional & Urban Policy Chapter 1

Regional & Urban Policy Chapter 1

Regional & Urban Policy Major roads Chapter 1

Regional & Urban Policy Major roads Chapter 1

Regional & Urban Policy Major roads Chapter 1

Regional & Urban Policy Major roads Chapter 1

Regional & Urban Policy Major roads Chapter 1

Regional & Urban Policy Major roads Chapter 1

Regional & Urban Policy Major roads Chapter 1

Regional & Urban Policy Regional competitiveness Boosting competitiveness requires more investments in innovation, entrepreneurship, education, digital and physical networks and more exports & FDI Chapter 1

Regional & Urban Policy Chapter 2

Regional & Urban Policy Chapter 2

Regional & Urban Policy Chapter 2

Regional & Urban Policy Chapter 3

Regional & Urban Policy Chapter 3

Regional & Urban Policy Chapter 3

Regional & Urban Policy Chapter 3

Regional & Urban Policy Governance Poor governance slows down Cohesion Policy implementation, reduces its impact and hinders economic growth and entrepreneurship Chapter 5

Regional & Urban Policy Chapter 5

Regional & Urban Policy A growing source of investment Chapter 6

Regional & Urban Policy A stronger focus on key priorities Chapter 6

Regional & Urban Policy Europe 2020 Less developed regions furthest removed from both EU and national 2020 targets Chapter 6

Regional & Urban Policy Impact on EU economies Evaluations have shown that cohesion investments have contributed to improving the structure of the EU economies by: enhancing the performance of enterprises, increase their investment and employment, particularly for SMEs. increasing firms activities in R&D and their capacity to innovate improving public infrastructure improving the matching between supply and demand on the labour market At the macro level, model simulations show that Cohesion Policy has a significant impact on GDP, in particular in the Member States which are the main beneficiaries of the policy. Chapter 7

Regional & Urban Policy Cohesion Policy will significantly boost GDP per head in less developed regions The impact over time will spread to main trade partners Better core TEN-T network strengthens market integration and specialisation. Chapter 8

Regional & Urban Policy Chapter 8

Regional & Urban Policy Conclusions Real challenges Regional economic disparities Increasing unemployment, poverty and exclusion Real impact Growth and jobs, innovation, networks, sustainable development Real change Linked to Europe 2020 and the European Semester Concentrated on EU priorities