Structural funds

The Commission's 5th Report on Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion, published in November 2010, shows that the EU's cohesion policy has made a significant contribution to growth and prosperity and to promoting balanced development across the Union. However, in view of recent substantial economic and social developments, the policy now has to address new challenges. In the wider context of the EU budget review, the report underlines that future cohesion policy investments must be closely aligned to the objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy. The key challenge is to ensure balanced and sustainable territorial development of the EU as a whole, strengthening its economic competitiveness and capacity for growth while respecting the need to preserve the regional diversity of its natural assets and ensuring social cohesion.

Under the EU 2020 Strategy's 'resource efficient Europe' flagship initiative, the Commission proposes to: use structural funds to promote resource efficiency; develop Europe's networks towards a European supergrid, support 'smart grids' and connect renewable energy sources to the grid; and invest in energy efficiency. The Commission will prepare for future reform of cohesion policy through discussions on the 5th Report on Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion. Legal proposals for the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund are being considered and will be accompanied by new EU strategic guidelines on cohesion for the period after 2013.