The regional competitiveness and employment objective and policy prioritisation

In this paper we propose an analysis of policy strategies of operative programmes co-funded by Structural Funds in the current period in the regions eligible for the future Regional Competitiveness and Employment Objective, adopting a forward-looking perspective. We analyse interventions eligible for the period 2007-2013 and compare this range with the actual policy strategies. We discuss about potential changes in policy prioritisation in the future programming period: the most important challenge concerns potential re-addressing of interventions needed to meet the objectives of the new regional development framework, as in the three-pronged menu of priority themes from the Lisbon and Gothenburg agendas. This is particularly relevant in the framework of potential tensions between the rationales of new Structural Funds Regulations and the Lisbon strategies. A cross-cutting reading of policy priorities at the regional level reveals that in many regions certain typologies of investments can not be directly repeated. This adjustment to the new legal and policy framework can be pursued, in some cases, through a radical overhaul of regional strategy or, in some others, a fine-tuning of interventions towards Lisbon consistent policies.