| European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms | |
|---|---|
| Appointer | President of the European Commission |
| Inaugural holder | Hans von der Groeben |
| Formation | 1967 |
The Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms is a portfolio within the European Commission. The current Commissioner is Elisa Ferreira.
The portfolio is responsible for managing the regional policy of the European Union, such as the European Regional Development Fund, which takes up a third of the EU's budget.
Commissioner Elisa Ferreira was approved by the European Parliament in 2019.
| # | Name | Country | Period | Commission | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Hans von der Groeben |  Germany | 1967–1970 | Rey Commission |
| 2 | Albert Borschette |  Luxembourg | 1970–1973 | Malfatti Commission, Mansholt Commission | |
| 3 |  | George Thomson |  United Kingdom | 1973–1977 | Ortoli Commission |
| 4 |  | Antonio Giolitti |  Italy | 1977–1985 | Jenkins Commission, Thorn Commission |
| 5 | Grigoris Varfis |  Greece | 1985–1989 | Delors Commission I | |
| 6 |  | Bruce Millan | United Kingdom | 1989–1994 | Delors Commission II & III |
| 7 |  | Monika Wulf-Mathies | Germany | 1994–1999 | Santer Commission |
| 8 |  | Michel Barnier |  France | 1999–2004 | Prodi Commission |
| 9 |  | Jacques Barrot | France | 2004 | Prodi Commission |
| 10 |  | Péter Balázs |  Hungary | 2004 | Prodi Commission |
| 11 |  | Danuta Hübner |  Poland | 2004–2009 | Barroso Commission I |
| 12 |  | Paweł Samecki | Poland | 2009–2010 | Barroso Commission I |
| 13 |  | Johannes Hahn |  Austria | 2010–2014 | Barroso Commission II |
| 14 |  | Corina Crețu |  Romania | 2014–2019 | Juncker Commission |
| 15 |  | Elisa Ferreira |  Portugal | 2019–present | Von der Leyen Commission |
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Elisa Maria da Costa Guimarães Ferreira, GCC is a Portuguese politician and economist who has been serving as European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms in the administration of President Ursula von der Leyen since 2019. She previously served as vice-governor of the Bank of Portugal from 2016 until 2019. She was as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Socialist Party; part of the Party of European Socialists between 2004 and 2016. In 2019, she was selected by Portugal to serve as a European Commissioner.
The regional policy of the European Union (EU), also referred as Cohesion Policy, is a policy with the stated aim of improving the economic well-being of regions in the European Union and also to avoid regional disparities. More than one third of the EU's budget is devoted to this policy, which aims to remove economic, social and territorial disparities across the EU, restructure declining industrial areas and diversify rural areas which have declining agriculture. In doing so, EU regional policy is geared towards making regions more competitive, fostering economic growth and creating new jobs. The policy also has a role to play in wider challenges for the future, including climate change, energy supply and globalisation.
The European Structural and Investment Funds are financial tools governed by a common rulebook, set up to implement the regional policy of the European Union, as well as the structural policy pillars of the Common Agricultural Policy and the Common Fisheries Policy. They aim to reduce regional disparities in income, wealth and opportunities. Europe's poorer regions receive most of the support, but all European regions are eligible for funding under the policy's various funds and programmes. The current framework is set for a period of seven years, from 2021 to 2027.
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Johannes Hahn is an Austrian politician who has served as European Commissioner for Budget and Administration under Ursula von der Leyen since 1 December 2019.
The Ministry of Regional Development was a ministerial department within the government of Poland. The ministry was created under the premiership of Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz on 31 October 2005, having its functions devolved from the previous Ministry of Economy and Labour. The department was merged with the Ministry of Transport, Construction and Marine Economy in November 2013 under Prime Minister Donald Tusk, creating the Ministry of Infrastructure and Development.
Cross-border cooperation is the collaboration between adjacent areas across borders. In the European Union this is one of the forms of territorial cooperation. The European model is very diverse with cooperation between border regions or municipalities, or through specific cooperation structures. These structures are usually composed by public authorities from different countries organized in working communities, euroregions or EGTCs.
The Cohesion Fund (CF), one of the five European Structural and Investment Funds of the European Union, provides support to Member States with a gross national income (GNI) per capita below 90% EU-27 average to strengthen the economic, social and territorial cohesion of the EU. Common regulatory provisions apply to the five ESIF funds, along with the Just Transition Fund, the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy.
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The Ministry of Infrastructure and Development was a ministerial department of the government of Poland. The ministry was created in November 2013 following the merger of the Ministry of Regional Development and the Ministry of Transport, Construction and Marine Economy during the cabinet of Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The last minister responsible for the department was Andrzej Adamczyk. It was split in late 2015 into Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Infrastructure and Construction and Ministry of Development.
The community-led local development (CLLD) funding approach is a European Union initiative to support the decentralised management of development projects, primarily in rural, but also in coastal and urban areas, by involving relevant local actors, including local organizations and associations, as well as individual citizens. At first it was limited to the rural areas under the name LEADER. The approach is regularly evaluated, and also discussed widely in academic literature on local economic and social development.
Since its accession in the European Union in 2007, Bulgaria has been part of the EU's Cohesion Policy. This program introduces financial instruments, also known as the European Structural and Investment Funds, which aim to reduce the gap between different regions of the EU and improve their economic wellbeing.
