In tandem for cohesion? Synergies and conflicts between regional and agricultural policies of the European Union

The paper analyzes the financial allocations from the Regional, Rural Development and Agricultural policies of the European Union in order to assess their territorial coordination and synergies with the objective of territorial cohesion. Regression analysis is used to uncover the link between funds and territorial disadvantage for the 1994-2013 period. The analysis reveals that both coordination and compatibility with territorial cohesion have not always improved in response to major policy reforms. The territorial ‘vocation’ of overall Community spending is weakly linked to its distribution among different policies, but it crucially depends upon appropriate ‘place-based’ allocation mechanism