(11 April 2017) – In a report published today on EU regions which are lagging behind in terms of growth or wealth, the European Commission identifies paths to support regional growth strategies, with the help of EU funds.
The report assesses what supports or hinders the competitiveness of these regions and why they have not yet reached the expected levels of growth and income for the EU.
More importantly, the report identifies the investment needs of the regions, namely human capital, innovation, quality of institutions, better accessibility, as well as the tools available within the framework of EU Cohesion Policy that could support them in their future.
47 regions in eight Member States were studied and categorised either as being ‘low-growth regions, with a GDP per capita of up to 90% of the EU average but with a persistent lack of growth, or ‘low-income regions’, where GDP per head is growing, but is still below 50% of the EU average.
These regions are home to 83 million inhabitants, i.e. 1 out of 6 EU residents. One group is clustered mostly in southern Europe, and a second group is concentrated in the east.