What are the current levels of citizen involvement in EU Cohesion Policymaking?

The direct involvement of citizens in EU cohesion policymaking is negligible (OECD 2022). EU documents outlining key cohesion policy structures make no reference to a direct role for citizens in cohesion policy processes (European Commission 2022a, European Commission 2014; European Parliament and Council 2021). Citizens have been designated as the passive recipients of cohesion policies, rather than being considered as proactive contributors to the policy process. The 5^th priority objective of the 2021-2027 EU cohesion policy programme is to bring ‘Europe closer to its citizens’, but this objective does not address bringing Europe closer to citizens via direct participation in cohesion policy processes (European Parliament and Council 2021). 

Traditionally, direct involvement in EU cohesion policy is reserved for the “usual suspect” stakeholders/beneficiaries (e.g. universities, industries, business, NGOs, and civil society groups) that regularly participate in the development and implementation of cohesion policy programmes (Stapper 2024). The role of citizens as passive recipients of cohesion policy is characterized by the top-down communication of cohesion policy to citizens via the dissemination of online impact assessment reports that have little readership outside policy and academic communities (Moodie et al 2022). Symbolic imagery has also been used to communicate the impact of cohesion policy to citizens, such as placing EU plaques on regional infrastructure constructed with cohesion policy funds. These communication efforts have proved to enhance citizen awareness of cohesion policy and support for European integration (Dabrowski et al 2021). Research has also shown that the active involvement of the “usual suspect” stakeholders/beneficiaries fosters learning and socialization dynamics that have the potential to alter the beliefs and norms of cohesion policy participants (Bachtler et al 2014). There is the possibility for the same learning and socialization dynamics to be transferred to citizens if they are actively involved in EU cohesion policy formulation and implementation processes. This suggests that more direct citizen engagement tools are needed in this policy sphere.