The submission of the final closure documents for the Scottish 2014-20 programmes earlier this year marked the end of a half-century of EU Structural Funds in Scotland which began with the start of ERDF funding in 1975. Over five decades, more than 60 multi-year programmes and Community Initiatives supported many thousands of projects and made a lasting contribution to Scotland’s regional and local development. The experience of Scotland is a case study of how the implementation of Cohesion Policy has evolved across the EU and provides some important lessons for the future of the policy, including from Scotland’s involvement in Interreg and the Nordic-Scottish cooperation.
EPRC’s recent report for the Scottish Government looks back over 50 years of implementation of EU Structural Funds in Scotland. It reviews the role and influence of EU Cohesion Policy in Scotland over the past five decades covering governance, funding, achievements and lessons for future regional policy. Publication of the report is being complemented by dissemination events in Glasgow and Brussels.