Sección POLÍTICA REGIONAL EUROPEA New Directions in European Regional Policy and their Implications for Spain

ABSTRACT: This paper focuses on the new architecture of Cohesion Policy and the new European financial framework within which it is set. The discussion is divi-ded into five sections. Section one examines the structure of the new European Fi-nancial Framework, highlighting its impact on financial transfers between Europe and Spain. In section two the new architecture of Cohesion Policy is explained, pointing out the relationships with related agriculture and fisheries policies and en-ding with an assessment of the principal features of the new Cohesion policy archi-tecture. Section three examines the financial resources behind Cohesion Policy and their distribution in Spain. In section four the discussion shifts to a consideration of the concepts of convergence and the nature of regions. Finally the conclusion sug-gests that there are significant administrative, financial and strategic planning impli-cations of the new financial framework and remodelled Cohesion policy: for econo-mic development in general and for regional development in particular over the coming years