What future for Cohesion Policy post 2020?

In 2018, the European Commission consulted stakeholders on the post-2020 Cohesion Policy. Euromontana responded to the public consultation on EU cohesion funds to share recommendations on the best ways to shape a 2021-2027 Cohesion Policy that would better fit the needs of mountain territories.

This position paper includes:

• A state of play on the contribution of European mountain areas to delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2020.
• Recommendations for a better use of existing tools to address place-based development in mountain areas, including dedicated Operational Programmes for mountain areas and tools such as CLLDs and ITIs.
• Recommendations to design new tools in the Cohesion Policy to take even better account of the specific challenges of mountain areas, such as cross-border Operation Programmes, new macro-regional strategies or earmarked funds for mountain areas.
• Recommendations to simplify Cohesion Policy, for instance through the creation of one-stop-shops, simplification of reporting processes and use of proportionality principle in audits.