6. ARRANGEMENTS FOR ADDRESSING KEY TERRITORIAL CHALLENGES

Member States shall take account of geographic or demographic features and take steps to address the specific territorial challenges of each region to unlock their specific development potential, thereby also helping them to achieve smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in the most efficient way. The choice and combination of thematic objectives, as well as the selection of corresponding investment and Union priorities and the specific objectives set shall reflect the needs and potential for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth of each Member State and region. When preparing Partnership Agreements and programmes Member States shall therefore take into consideration that the major societal challenges faced by the Union today – globalisation, demographic change, environmental degradation, migration, climate change, energy use, the economic and social consequences of the crisis – may have different impacts in different regions. With a view to an integrated territorial approach to addressing territorial challenges Member States shall ensure that programmes under the ESI Funds reflect the diversity of European regions, in terms of employment and labour market characteristics, interdependencies between different sectors, commuting patterns, population ageing and demographic shifts, cultural, landscape and heritage features, climate change vulnerabilities and impacts, land use and resource constraints, potential for more sustainable use of natural resources including renewables, institutional and governance arrangements, connectivity and accessibility, and linkages between rural and urban areas. In accordance with point (a) of Article 15(1), Member States and regions shall therefore undertake the following steps for the purpose of preparation of their Partnership Agreements and programmes: An analysis of the Member State's or region's characteristics, development potential and capacity, particularly in relation to the key challenges identified in the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, the National Reform Programmes, where appropriate, relevant country-specific recommendations adopted in accordance with Article 121(2) TFEU and in relevant Council recommendations adopted in accordance with Article 148(4)TFEU; An assessment of the major challenges to be addressed by the region or Member State, the identification of the bottlenecks and missing links, innovation gaps, including the lack of planning and implementation capacity that inhibit the long-term potential for growth and jobs. This shall form the basis for the identification of the possible fields and activities for policy prioritisation, intervention and concentration; An assessment of the cross-sectoral, cross-jurisdictional or cross-border coordination challenges, particularly in the context of macro-regional and sea-basin strategies; Identification of steps to achieve improved coordination across different territorial levels, taking account of the appropriate territorial scale and context for policy design as well as Member States' institutional and legal framework, and sources of funding to deliver an integrated approach linking the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth with regional and local actors. In order to take into account the objective of territorial cohesion, the Member States and regions shall, in particular, ensure that the overall approach to promoting smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in the areas concerned: reflects the role of cities, urban and rural areas, fisheries and coastal areas, and areas facing specific geographical or demographic handicaps; takes account of the specific challenges of the outermost regions, the northernmost regions with a very low population density and of island, cross-border or mountain regions; addresses urban-rural linkages, in terms of access to affordable, high quality infrastructure and services, and problems in regions with a high concentration of socially marginalised communities.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-29 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.