Successes and Failures in EU Cohesion Policy: An Introduction to EU Cohesion Policy in Eastern, Central, and Southern Europe As we delve into the realm of EU cohesion policy in Eastern, Central, and Southern Europe, it becomes evident that there are both successes and failures in the implementation of this policy. The regions in these areas tend to perform poorly across various rankings, from economic development to quality of government, social justice, and innovation potential, despite the fact that the vast majority of EU structural funding has been spent in these countries. However, each country followed a unique development trajectory, and some have thrived while others struggle or remain stuck in a middle-income trap. This diversity of experiences provides valuable feedback for future plans and highlights the need to study and understand the process of technology evolution. The implementation exercise can be challenging, as both the public and private sectors often have low absorption capacity. Nevertheless, positive experiences have also emerged, particularly in Central and Eastern European countries, where improvements in GDP per capita have been benchmarked against the EU average between 2008 and 2015. In contrast, Southern Europe improved similarly between 2002 and 2008.

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