John Bachtler was an invited expert at a European Parliament Public Hearing held on 24 September 2013 on the experiences of Central and Eastern Europe in implementing Cohesion policy. Chaired by Professor Danuta Hübner who heads the European Parliament's Regional Development Committee, the hearing took stock of the performance of Cohesion policy in Central and Eastern European countries from academic, policymaker, NGO and consultant perspectives.
John's presentation focused on management and implementation issues in the 2004-06 and 2007-13 periods, reviewing the progress made with respect to financial absorption and physical outcomes as well as the continuing problems with administrative capacity in certain areas. Other contributions considered the experience of regional growth poles, the role of partnership and the influence of Structural Funds on research and innovation. The subsequent debate among MEPs covered a range of questions relating to the variable performance of Cohesion policy and how this might be improved.
The full programme of the event can be accessed here.