The third Cohesion Report and the European Spatial Development Perspective

The third Cohesion Report discusses policy delivery mechanisms in the Conclusions section, tucked away after the Executive Summary, which itself only rarely mentions territorial cohesion as such. However, they do give indications as to what may be in the offing. They firstly state the belief that the ‘...delivery mechanism for cohesion policy has demonstrated its capacity to deliver quality projects of European interest on the ground while maintaining high standards in the management and control of public expenditure.’ The Conclusions nevertheless announce a number of reforms, designed among others to encourage a more strategic approach: