A master thesis from Aalborg University
Alignment or Divergence? Meeting the Outermost Regions' Specific Needs through EU Regional Development Policies
Author(s)
Term
4. semester
Education
Publication year
2025
Submitted on
2025-01-31
Pages
53 pages
Abstract
The European Union has been trying to integrate and develop its Outermost Regions through regional development policies for a long time. These regions, that are defined under Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), face unique socio-economic, environmental, and infrastructural challenges due to their geographic isolation and historical dependencies. This thesis investigates whether EU regional development policies align with or diverge from the specific needs of the ORs, by applying a neoliberal analytical framework to assess the European Parliament's resolutions, European Commission Communications, and the implementation of European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) programs. The study finds that while EU policies emphasise economic liberalisation, structural reforms, and competitiveness, their application in the ORs often necessitates exemptions and targeted financial interventions to address local disparities. The research highlights some of the tensions between the EU’s overarching strategic interests - such as market integration and trade expansion - and the ORs' urgent need for economic diversification, infrastructure investments, and social sustainability. By critically analysing EU policies, this thesis contributes to the discourse on regional cohesion, questioning whether the EU’s development strategies genuinely foster a long-term resilience in the ORs or perpetuate structural dependencies. The findings suggest that a more tailored, inclusive, and region-specific policy approach is required to bridge the gap between EU economic objectives and the socio-economic and environmental issues of the Outermost Regions.
Keywords
Documents
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