Urban-rural relations in Europe

Social Inclusion

This brief editorial introduces a set of articles dealing with territorial challenges in Europe. The EU and the member states have put attention to a silent, but growing issue of inequality: The spatial disparities are in several member states considered able to provide wider political tensions and challenges. Consequently, the EU has launched a research theme in its framework programme Horizon 2020 to cope with such matter. Most of the papers in this issue have their origin in the Horizon COHSMO project “Inequality, Urbanization and Territorial Cohesion. Developing the European Social Model of Economic Growth and Democratic Capacity.” While social or economic inequalities are recognized as a social problem, spatial disparities are forgotten or ignored. However, territorial inequalities do boost social and economic differences and add to growing tensions and contradictions in many cases. Coping with such challenges is a difficult matter; most European countries have had programmes a...

2008

There is a relative consensus about the multidimensional nature of territorial cohesion, encompassing economy, environment and society. However, its social dimension is rarely analysed (Faludi 2003, Schön, 2005). Following the Reports on Cohesion and EU ministerial meetings on spatial planning, this social dimension namely means "accessibility to basic services and facilities". The lack of attention is usually explained by a lack of data.

2017

The aim of the report is to formulate the policy recommendations on the method for integration of the Cohesion Policy with urban and rural policies. It addresses the problem of how territorial cohesion objectives match the ‘real problems’ that were compared in current and past programming periods. It also identifies the potential spheres where mixing the EU policy instruments can result in better achievement of regional needs as well as the issues that call for greater integration of different areas of the EU, national and local policies.

2013

The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight on the concept of territorial cohesion in the direction of its enhancing the EU Cohesion Policy. In order to present that territorial cooperation as a new way of overcoming the problems of the EU regions, especially with regard to the current economic crisis, the paper will at first refer to the evolution of economic and social cohesion into a territorial cohesion which if it were to be appropriately implemented could lead to a maximum usage of the so called territorial capital and potential of the urban regions defined as urban systems. Furthermore, the paper will shed a critical reflection on the issue of "Whether [or not] there is a need to reconsider/revise EU Cohesion Policy by actively implementing the concept of territorial cohesion?", Therefore the paper shall try to answer whether territorial cohesion could actually become a 'bridging concept', by explaining the functionality of this concept in practice, d...

The Regional policy of the EU is pursuing the harmonious development of the European territory; this is a necessary condition for the creation of an environment that is favourable to the convergence of the Union’s policies. But, for these policies to converge, it is necessary that there are common objectives and these can arise only from the existence of common needs. It is obvious that a very different level of development leads to different needs for people and territories and therefore, to the pursuit of different objectives. The introduction of the territorial cohesion as an objective of the European Union through the Treaty of Lisbon has concluded many years of debate over the essence and future of the EU. But is this a prerequisite for the sustainable development of the EU regions? To answer this question, in this paper we will try to show the importance of the territorial cohesion in the EU. In order to do this, we will place the evolution of this concept in parallel with tha...

2004

The European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP)(1999) and the Third Report on Economic and Social Cohesion A New Partnership for Cohesion (2004) have firmly established the central role of spatial planning and spatial development strategies in ...

2017

The aim of the report is to formulate the policy recommendations on the method for integration of the Cohesion Policy with urban and rural policies. It addresses the problem of how territorial cohesion objectives match the 'real problems' that were compared in current and past programming periods. It also identifies the potential spheres where mixing the EU policy instruments can result in better achievement of regional needs as well as the issues that call for greater integration of different areas of the EU, national and local policies.

Territorial cohesion' has become a fashionable term during the past ten years. It was first mentioned in a report published by the Association of European Regions (AER) while the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam was being negotiated. Since then, the concept has been given an increasing profile through multiple documents on the topic of territorial cohesion. Territorial cohesion is currently part of the pending Lisbon Treaty which, if adopted, would define territorial cohesion as a shared competence between the Commission and the Member States. At the same time, there is considerable confusion about the meaning of territorial cohesion. The many documents published on the topic added new layers to an alreadycomplex concept but they did not contain an authoritative definition. One can identify at least four different definitions of territorial cohesion. First, it can be seen as polycentric and endogenous development, aiming to cultivate several clusters of competitiveness and innovation across Europe. Second, it can be seen as a balanced development model with the primary aim of reducing socio-economic disparities and avoiding imbalances. Third, territorial cohesion is sometimes formulated in terms of accessibility, i.e. the ambition for citizens to have equal access to facilities, services and knowledge, regardless of where they live. And finally, it could be seen as a form of networking, giving emphasis to the physical and interactive connections that exist between different communication centres and that also link them with their surrounding areas. Given the contradictory nature of some of these possible definitions, territorial cohesion is a controversial objective of EU Cohesion policy. The concept's evolution reveals an underlying disagreement over spatial planning competences between the Member States on the one hand and the Commission and other European bodies on the other. A major disagreement concerns the question of whether a common working definition should be sought at all. Thus, while Austria considers the concept in its current form to be too vague to be of any practical use, Italy maintains that it should remain flexible enough to permit different interpretations. A second major debate concerns the objectives of territorial Cohesion policy. Thus, France and the Netherlands argue it should primarily aim to correct regional disparities, while Finland and Sweden suggest that it should stimulate innovation and competitiveness. Member States also hold opposing views on the appropriate focus and spatial coverage of territorial cohesion: the UK and Germany would prefer to see Structural Funds restricted to the poorest regions, identified through the GDP per capita indicator. Others, including Poland and Norway, would like to make new types of region, such as mountainous areas, border regions or islands, eligible for financial support. Given these disagreements, a common definition looks difficult to achieve. A different way to approach the concept of territorial cohesion is to consider the courses of action by which its proponents want to achieve it. Cooperation, both horizontally and vertically, is