Regional Policy is one of the EU’s main investment policies. It targets all regions and cities in the European Union in order to support job creation, business competitiveness, economic growth, sustainable development, and improve citizens’ quality of life. It is implemented through several specific Funds in financial cycles of seven years (programming periods), reflecting the EU’s multiannual financial framework.
This evaluation addressed the investments made through cooperation programmes under the European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) goal, co-financed by the ERDF during the 2014-20 period. It assessed their rationale and the evidence of their effectiveness, efficiency and impact, as well as their coherence with other policies, their relevance and the EU added value. It identified factors that contributed to the success or failure of these investments under different socio-economic conditions, highlighted good practice, and examined their contribution to growth, sustainable development and job creation.
The evaluation analysed the effects of investments on integrated regional development between neighbouring border regions (land and maritime) and transnational areas, the challenges and barriers to cooperation, and how these were addressed. This was carried out through the identification of theories of change (ToC) relevant to clusters of ETC programmes.