- Spatial disparities are inherent to European integration, which has led the EEC/EU to develop relevant policies and actions, the most important of which is the cohesion policy.
- Strong globalisation trends, rapid technological growth, as well as climate change are putting suffocating pressures on regional economies, with the result that those regions unable to adapt are locked in stagnant growth.
- European Cohesion Policy includes the concept of economic, social and territorial cohesion, with a clear emphasis on economic cohesion. At the same time, more emphasis is placed on eliminating divergences between regions at European level than at national level.
- In the European area there is a longitudinal pattern according to which regions of northern countries present a high degree of economic convergence while regions of southern countries, including those in Greece, tend to deviate from the European average.
- Greece is a country that has historically received large amounts of funding through the Cohesion Policy funds, while at the same time its regional policy is based on European policies and their accompanying funding.
Read here (in Greek) the Policy paper by Pery Bazoti, PhD candidate, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.