From Lisbonisation to Hyper-Lisbonisation: the long goodbye to EU Cohesion Policy’s original goals

The paper examines the impact of major historical events, crises and theoretical models on the governance and objectives of Cohesion Policy over 25 years. It proposes a periodisation in three stages: Lisbonisation (2000–14), Territorialisation (2014–20) and Hyper-Lisbonisation (2020–present). In the first phase, Cohesion Policy aligned more closely with European Union-wide competitiveness goals. The Territorialisation phase sought to reconcile this course with place-based, bottom-up approaches. The Hyper-Lisbonisation stage, driven by recent crises, accentuates the focus on competitiveness through more (nationally) centralised and flexible governance to meet short-term priorities. The paper finds that across these phases, the policy has diverged from its original objectives.