Marginalising the Goal of Rebalancing Regional Policy in the European Union

Abstract

The aim of the presentation is to prove that the European Union has, in its regional policy, given up its traditional compensatory paradigm on the level of particular countries. Even on the level of the whole Union, the aim of balancing regional development is today less important than it was. The basic research method used for the paper was critical analysis of EU documents: legal acts, action plans and reports that paint a misleading picture of the facts. Conclusions from the research identify reasons that, since 2000, an increase in regional disparities has occurred in the vast majority of EU countries. The main reason for changes in the specific priorities for regional policy and its financing is the primacy of strategic macroeconomic objectives. Changes in the EU’s approach to regional problems are attributable to a lesser extent to legal matters, and to a greater extent from changes in the economic environment, political situation in a growing EU, changes in society’s awareness, and the dominance of ten-year programmes in the decision-making process.