​

Cohesion policy accounts for a significant share of spending from the EU budget and of public investment in many Member States. We have regularly reported on the design, implementation and monitoring of Cohesion programmes and projects.

As the EU’s auditors, we also look ahead in order to help address key challenges facing the EU in future. Economic and social cohesion are essential for the EU. High and rising inequality could harm our societies in many respects, not least in terms of economic growth, and hamper cohesion. There will be growing pressure in the years to come on the effectiveness and efficiency of cohesion and rural development policy in reducing regional inequalities. At the same time, cohesion spending supports other EU policy objectives and, during the 2021-2027 programme period, will increasingly be tied to the European Semester.

We will keep all these factors in mind when selecting our audit tasks and formulating recommendations for the future.