Relationship between competitiveness and social cohesion in the European Union

Eperjesi, Zoltán

Keywords: Europe 2020 strategy, Eastern European countries, convergence, innovation

In this essay I tried to show that the European Union modified its economic policy due to the financial and economic crisis and the fierce global competitiveness requirements. The main emphasis was laid on the increase in competitiveness. Competitiveness became pre-ferred to cohesion and the economic and social comvergence of the newly accessed Central-Eastern European countries. The funding for competitiveness for growth and employment in-crease by 6-7% yearly during the financial perspective between 2007-2013. On the contrary, the funds for agriculture and rural development decreased by 3% yearly in this period.
This trend strengthens the establishment of the two speed Europe concept and causes tensions between the core regions and the peripheries.
According to the study, the core message of the Europe 2020 strategy concerning com-petitiveness is well established, even though social cohesion is neglected at the beginning be-cause the establishment of the knowledge economy assures Europe’s future for the long term. When executing the strategy, utmost attention has to be paid to the absorption capabilities of the Central-Eastern European countries. These countries have to undertake everything so that the standards of universities and professional education correspond the expectations of the market.

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