This research for the European Parliament's REGI Committee, co-written by t33 and Spatial Foresight, deals with the impact of COVID-19 on EU Cohesion Policy. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated fragmentations between societal groups and between places. Cohesion Policy played a key role in avoiding the worst and most direct impacts of the crisis through the implementation of swift policy actions.

The introduction of new measures to counteract the socio-economic effects of the pandemic were extremely important. In the aftermath of these developments the objective of this study is to address the cohesion challenges lying ahead of us and identify how Cohesion Policy may be required to change in order to use the crisis as a chance for a transition towards a greener and more digital future.

Addressing European cooperation more widely, the report also spotlights the importance of cross-border cooperation. Nothing that border regions were in many regards at the forefront of areas affected by the political responses to the pandemic.