Investment or losers’ compensation? The mis-selling and re-selling of EU Cohesion Policy

The European Union Cohesion Policy – the flagship EU investment programme – has since its 1989 reform invested over a trillion euros to promote development across Europe. Over the decades, this policy has helped transform economies, create jobs and reduce disparities. Yet it faces a crisis of identity and legitimacy. Once promoted as a bold development investment in Europe’s future, it has increasingly been reframed in political narratives as a form of support, solidarity or even as a compensation or subsidy for the ‘losers’ of integration. This mis-selling of Cohesion Policy has eroded its public image and political support, just as new challenges – from competitiveness and trade to security – have put its future at stake in EU budget negotiations. This article delves into the narrative of EU Cohesion Policy since 1989 and examines how it shifted from ‘development investment’ to ‘losers’ compensation’. It argues that this reframing has undermined the policy’s relevance and credibility and contributed to its frail position in the current budget negotiations for the post-2027 period. A return to a development-focussed narrative to re-sell the policy is urgently needed.