Is Territorial Cohesion Necessary for the Sustainable Development of the European Regions?

The Regional policy of the EU is pursuing the harmonious development of the European territory; this is a necessary condition for the creation of an environment that is favourable to the convergence of the Union’s policies. But, for these policies to converge, it is necessary that there are common objectives and these can arise only from the existence of common needs. It is obvious that a very different level of development leads to different needs for people and territories and therefore, to the pursuit of different objectives. The introduction of the territorial cohesion as an objective of the European Union through the Treaty of Lisbon has concluded many years of debate over the essence and future of the EU. But is this a prerequisite for the sustainable development of the EU regions? To answer this question, in this paper we will try to show the importance of the territorial cohesion in the EU. In order to do this, we will place the evolution of this concept in parallel with that of development and also with the process of enlargement and of deepening of the EU. We will thus try to determine the influence that territorial cohesion has on regions and on the European construction so that in the end we should be able to explain the effects that it has on their sustainable development