The history and evolution of Cohesion policy
Cohesion policy targets the regions and cities in the European Union (EU) and aims at fostering business competitiveness, job creation, economic growth, sustainable development, and improving citizens' quality of life. Nowadays, almost a third of the total EU budget is set aside for this policy. However, this is a relatively recent policy: it was founded in the second half of the 1980s and, since then, its aims and resources have periodically changed. The purpose of this chapter is twofold. On the one hand, it describes and analyses the main turning points of EU Cohesion policy. Starting from its origin, it goes through its subsequent reforms and concludes by emphasising some of the challenges this policy has to face today. On the other hand, it explores some of the political dynamics that have characterised this important policy. More specifically, along with its official purposes, Cohesion policy has also served unofficial and undeclared functions as its spending has often been used to create support for further integration, broaden the consensus for widening the EU or for deepening its competences (Baun and Marek 2014: 5) In the wake of new enlargements or new treaty reform, or during the negotiations on the EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) Cohesion policy reform has been used as a compensatory mechanism for the more reluctant member states (MSs)