JRC report analyses territorial strategies in 2021-2027 EU cohesion policy

The report examines around 70% of integrated territorial development strategies in the EU under the 2021-2027 programming period, drawing on data from STRAT-Board.  

The analysis highlights the scale of integrated territorial development, which accounts for around 11% of total cohesion policy contributions. The share of allocations varies among Member States, from around 3-5% in Denmark, the Netherlands and Finland to above 20% in Bulgaria, Lithuania, Hungary and Malta.  

The most common territorial delivery mechanism is Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI), followed by other territorial tools and Community-led Local Development (CLLD).  

While strategies targeting sustainable urban development (SUD) are at the forefront and benefit from substantial investments, almost half of the strategies target territories with less than 50 000 inhabitants. These strategies generally support smaller-scale, community-driven approaches. The report also finds differences in thematic priorities: SUD strategies more often focus on environmental sustainability, while non-SUD strategies give greater emphasis to social inclusion and education. 

More than 50% of all strategies tackle mixed territorial typologies, reflecting the importance of urban-rural linkages in cohesion policy. The report found that 11% of SUD strategies target entirely rural areas, which may indicate that investments in very small or low-density settlements are sometimes being characterised as SUD. 

To strengthen urban-rural linkages, the report underlines the importance of recognising rural territories as active contributors to innovation, building trust through concrete initiatives and capacity-building measures, improving communication between authorities and citizens, and establishing formal cooperation frameworks. Furthermore, capacity asymmetries between urban and rural areas can be reduced through mutual learning and peer exchange, it concludes.