THE REGIONAL POLICY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 2007-2013

The European Union is one of the richest areas in the world. It has 27 Member States forming a community and a domestic market of 493 million citizens. However, economic and social disparities amongst these States and their 268 regions are, at the same time, quite considerable.

Disparities amongst European regions have become deeper as a result of the recent enlargement processes. Thus, the richest of the Member States, i.e. Luxembourg, is now seven times richer than the poorest, i.e. Romania. On a regional level, differences become more substantial.

The EU regional policy seeks to diminish structural differences amongst the regions of the Union; accomplish a balanced development of the Community; and ensure that all people have equal opportunities by transferring resources from the richer to the poorer regions. This stands as a financial solidarity instrument and a powerful tool for economic integration.

The regional policy of the European Union is based on two fundamental values:

• Solidarity, because the purpose of the policy is to benefit the least economically and socially favoured citizens and regions in relation to the EU average.
•  Cohesion, because reducing the existing income and wealth differences amongst the poorer and richer countries and regions will benefit all.

The new EU regional policy for the period 2007-2013 will help achieve the objectives defined during the Lisbon Council (see the Lisbon strategy ), that is, to make the EU ‘the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion, and respect for the environment’, by creating growth and employment. To do so, it will focus on three pillars:

• Making countries and regions more attractive to invest in, improving accessibility, offering quality services and protecting the environment.
• Encouraging innovation, entrepreneurship and the knowledge economy by developing information technologies and communications.
• Creating more and better jobs, making employment more attractive to people, encouraging the adaptability of workers, and investing more in human capital.