Support to public consultation on cohesion policy : final report

The EC launched an open public consultation on 'EU Funds in the area of Cohesion' on 10 January this year which ran until 9 March. It covered the European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Social Fund) the European Aid to the Most Deprived, the European Globalisation Fund and the European Programme for Employment and Social Innovation. It was conducted through an online questionnaire covering five multiple-choice and four open questions on the policy challenges facing the Funds, their success in responding to them, the added-value of the Funds, the obstacles to achieving their objectives and the means of simplifying their administration. In all 4,395 valid responses were received, 438 of which were identified as part of a campaign. Some 582 respondents also submitted a position paper. This report summarises the results of the questionnaire and the points made in the replies to the open questions and in the positon papers.