Presentation
During the 2028–2034 period, the EU’s Cohesion Policy will undergo a profound transformation. This change forms part of a broader set of measures designed to strengthen and reposition the European Union in response to the various challenges it faces.
Among these challenges, the first is the need to address the EU’s economic weakening, which has been evident and has intensified over more than two decades. To tackle this issue, in 2024 the European Commission commissioned two renowned experts to prepare reports analysing the situation and proposing solutions to two fundamental issues that underpin two of the Union’s major current priorities: (1) overcoming the EU’s technological lag behind the United States and China, addressed by the Draghi Report; and (2) revitalising the European Single Market, addressed by the Letta Report.
The second major challenge is the increasingly adverse geopolitical environment in Europe and worldwide, which poses serious security and defence concerns. The Niinistö Report seeks to address these issues.
The proposals set out in the Draghi Report, as reflected in the European Competitiveness Compass, point, in particular, towards aligning Cohesion Policy with competitiveness policy and centralising the management of these policies in Brussels and at the central level of Member States, thereby limiting the role of subnational authorities. These proposals have significant implications for Cohesion Policy. Combined with the proposals of the Letta Report, they give rise to a New Cohesion Policy for the 2028–2034 period.

General Objectives

1. To revisit the place and role assigned to Cohesion Policy, from the outset, within the overall framework of EU policies.

2. To understand the current challenges facing Cohesion Policy within the broader context of the reforms the EU must undertake to address the major issues confronting it.

3. To assess the importance of Cohesion Policy for Portugal.

Specific Objectives

1. To understand and interpret the new budget for the 2028–2034 period.

2. To assess its financial impact on Cohesion Policy.

3. To analyse the main strategic directions of Cohesion Policy for 2028–2034.

4. To discuss the scope and limitations of National and Regional Partnership Plans, consolidated into a single plan per country combining reforms and investment.

5. To assess the effects of the EU’s new agenda on governance and multilevel partnerships.

6. To consider the specific implications for the territorial dimension of Cohesion Policy.

7. To understand and interpret the shift from payments based on expenditure incurred to payments based on performance (conditionality).

Syllabus

1. Multiannual Financial Framework for the 2028–2034 Period

• The EU’s new global agenda and its translation into the 2028–2034 budget.

• The reduction in the funding envelope for cohesion: rationale and implications.

• Comparison with the previous programming period.

2. Financial Instruments for Cohesion

• Existing funds.

• New funds.

• Combining instruments.

3. Programming: Institutional Levels and Programme Diversity

• European level.

• National central level.

• Regional and local levels.

• Programme diversity versus programme consolidation.

4. Management: Territorial Levels and Stakeholders Involved

• European level.

• National central level.

• Regional and local levels.

5. Objectives of the New Cohesion Policy

• Alignment with European priorities.

• Thematic concentration versus diversity.

• The future of regional and local development policies.

• Integrated actions.

• Integration into national policies.

6. Payments and Auditing

• The expenditure-incurred criterion.

• Performance- and results-based criteria.

• Expenditure auditing.

• How to assess results.

• Dual criteria versus exclusivity.

7. Evaluation of Fund Implementation

• The importance of evaluation.

• Methods and challenges.

• The internal evaluation model for the Funds.

• Evaluation in light of national objectives.
  
  

Target Audience

• Central government officials and technical staff involved in structural policy.

• Elected representatives at all territorial levels and individuals holding positions of responsibility at any level.

• Business owners and company managers.

• Regional and local development stakeholders.

• The academic community.

• The general public.

Trainers

Alfredo Marques
Alfredo Marques is a retired Full Professor at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra, where he taught from 1974 to 2013. He completed his academic training in Economics in France and has extensive teaching and research experience in economic development, industrial policy, international economics and European integration. He has authored numerous publications on the Portuguese and European economies, international trade and economic growth. He held senior positions as Principal Administrator at the European Commission, in the field of competition policy, and as President of the Regional Coordination and Development Commission of the Centre (CCDR Centro). He also served as Rector of Universidade Portucalense. His professional activities have further included participation in the creation of technology-based companies, consultancy on European policies and the evaluation of operational programmes co-financed by European funds.

João Faria
João Faria holds a degree in Economics from ISEG (1981) and a Master’s degree in Regional Planning from the University of Lisbon (1987). His professional career has been shaped by extensive experience in European institutions, regional public administration and university teaching. He has been a European Commission official since 1989, holding positions in financial engineering, relations with the European Investment Bank, regional policy and the European Commission’s institutional representation in Portugal. At the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO), he was responsible for several operational programmes and contributed to the preparation of Portugal’s National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) for 2007–2013. Between 2000 and 2003 and again between 2007 and 2011, he served as Vice-President and President of the Algarve Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR Algarve). He also taught at ISEG and NOVA University Lisbon in the fields of Portuguese and European economics, European policies and the history of economic thought. In 2023 and 2024, he served as Deputy Executive Commissioner of the Commission for the 50th Anniversary of 25 April.

Course Details

Minimum number of participants: 12

Total duration: 30 hours

Schedule: Wednesdays, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Teaching format: In person and online.

Dates: The course will be scheduled once the minimum number of participants has been reached.

Registration: Registration can be completed using the form available at the following link: https://tally.so/r/7RB0B0

Fee: €210.00