Press Release: New Commission report presents first assessment of roll-out of European cohesion policy

€93 billion or 27 % of EU funding has been allocated to projects for investment in jobs and growth in Europe over the last three years, according to a report adopted on 31 March 2010 on the EU's cohesion programmes for the 2007-2013 period. Presented by Commissioners Johannes Hahn (Regional Policy) and László Andor (Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion), the report assesses, for the first time, the rate of progress of each country on delivering agreed EU objectives. It shows how well Member States aligned their programmes to EU goals of jobs and growth and contributes to an open debate on achievements and challenges of cohesion policy programmes. Furthermore the report calls on Member States to improve the implementation of programmes, to make optimal use of the cohesion money, for instance in the rail sector, key energy and environment projects and the field of social inclusion.