European Integration, Regional Policy, and Growth

Abstract

The European Union (EU) stands out internationally as one of the regions of the world that has most explicitly and deliberately attempted to reduce regional disparities within its constituents. How effective this effort has been, and continues to be, is a matter of open debate. The current enlargement of the EU include to less affluent new members gives rise to a fresh set of questions: How can the cohesion objective best be advanced in a context were initial income will now be greater? Will the accession process cause the income of the poorer regions to converge toward EU standards, or will prevailing disparities be exacerbated? What if anything, can the new members do about this? What help can they expect from the EU structural funds, and how should the funds be applied to maximize the cohesion objective? To answer these questions the World Bank, the Bertelsmann Foundation, and the CIDOB Foundation brought together leading scholars, senior policy makers, as well as representatives from European Commission, at a conference in Barcelona in October 2002. This book presents the results of their discussions.