Por who knows how to dive into it, the indicators regularly published by the European Commission and its various statistical bodies offer a kaleidoscope portrait, incomplete but enlightening, of the European Union (EU) – and above all, of the weaknesses likely to undermine its cohesion. . Following the example of the regional competitiveness index, unveiled on March 28. Created in 2010 and published every three years, it compiles a series of criteria – level of wealth, quality of institutions, level of education and innovation… −, in order to measure the competitiveness of different territories.
Unsurprisingly, a strong opposition emerges between, on the one hand, northern Europe and the capitals, such as the Dutch city of Utrecht and the region of South Holland, in the Netherlands, or the Island -de-France, at the top of the ranking, and, on the other hand, the peripheral areas, such as eastern Romania or southern Italy, at the back of the pack.
This confirms the observation – already well documented – made by the report published on March 22 by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), an EU agency. He recalls that the convergence between the Member States, observed between 2004 and 2019, was driven by the catch-up of the Eastern countries, in the wake of the fall of the Soviet bloc. But also that this convergence systematically slows down during recessions – in particular in southern Europe, where the catch-up is a little slower still after each crisis. Finally, “the speed of convergence is systematically slower at the regional level than at the national level, in all dimensions”. At the economic and social level, the national averages mask major differences between the regions.
A dizzying challenge
In fact, the creation of the single market in 1993 boosted European growth, but it also favored the concentration of industries and services with high added value on the diagonal running from the North Sea to the north of Italy, as well than in large cities. At the same time, the most southern and eastern areas of the EU have stalled, a trend that the various cohesion policies have failed to stem.
If we superimpose these data on those of the latest demographic evolutions, a vertiginous challenge emerges: the regions lagging behind are also those which suffer the most from brain drain, aging and the collapse of births. If it is not careful, Europe risks becoming a union of abandoned territories. Avoiding it will be all the more difficult as any response must also take into account the delicate energy transition. Eurofound summarizes the issues as follows: “The increased frequency of major shocks and the profound economic and social changes that will result from the dual transition to a digital and carbon-neutral Europe require the adaptation of European policy instruments, to ensure that they support convergence, at regional levels and nationally, significantly. »
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