European Commission report on economic, social and territorial cohesion

During the past three decades, EU Cohesion Policy has played a pivotal role in fostering economic and social convergence across Europe, not least in view of the 2004 enlargement. Today, socio-economic disparities persist and a growing number of regions across Europe are facing new challenges. This report takes stock of achievements of EU Cohesion Policy but also look into ways it can be adapted to meet emerging challenges. 

The report also looks into progress made in terms of youth employment as well as the rate of young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs). It is highlighted that the decline in both youth unemployment and NEET rates which took place since 2014 resumed throughout 2021-22 only temporarily increasing during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this positive development, youth unemployment remains more than double of overall unemployment rates and while the NEET rate has declined by 4 percentage points between 2013 and 2022 it remains an important policy challenge. Also the gap in NEETs rates between less developed regions and other regions narrowed between 2013 and 2022. Nevertheless, the NEETs rate in less developed regions remains almost twice that in more developed regions.