Cohesion policy

Henceforth, central governments have the legal obligation to establish close cooperation with local government in all phases of the selection process for projects financed by the EU Structural and Investments Funds (i.e., improving the competitiveness of SMEs access to information technology, social inclusion or energy efficiency in buildings, among the investment priorities) : from the preparation to the implementation, as well as the monitoring and evaluation of projects. They will also build an ongoing dialogue with local government aiming to increase transparency.
 
Our municipalities and regions can be involved in this process, for instance, through the establishment of working groups bringing together the different levels of governance, as well as socio-economic partners and civil society.

This legally binding obligation was formally introduced by the European Commission on 7 January 2014, coinciding with the implementation of the new cohesion policy (2014-2020) early this year. This regulation also defines the objectives and criteria to allow Member States to implement this type of collaboration.

The press release of the European Commission is available in English and French.