Monitoring cohesion policy funds in central and eastern Europe

Briefing    |    12 December 2023

Download

In central and eastern Europe, cohesion policy funds are an important source of funding for supporting a fair transition to a green economy. Partnership is a cornerstone of the programming and implementation of the European Union’s cohesion policy. In order to achieve a meaningful and structured partnership, Member States must establish monitoring committees in which partners are represented, informed, and empowered to contribute to the design of the programmes. Monitoring committees therefore play a watchdog role in scrutinising the direction of the cohesion policy.

The purpose of this briefing is to provide an overview of the monitoring committees charged with overseeing programmes on the environment, climate and energy, and the just transition in eight countries in central and eastern Europe: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. It includes an explanation of the legal framework underpinning the monitoring committees, and outlines the functioning and composition of these committees, highlighting good and bad examples, as well as recommendations.

This publication is also available in Polish.