Weakest Regions

Guidance Lab > Weakest Regions

Territorial cohesion is a central objective within the Next Generation EU framework to ensure that all regions, including less developed, benefit from recovery efforts. 

For Italy, given its historical and growing territorial disparities, the NRRP is an opportunity to reduce the North-South divide and specifically address the skills and innovation gap and the provision of essential services.

The Plan not only considers territorial cohesion as one of the cross-cutting priorities, but also allocates significant resources to this objective with the specific measure "Inclusion and Cohesion". In addition, at least 40% of the territorialized resources of the Plan have to be spent in the Southern regions, where weak local contextual conditions have proved to be detrimental to the final impact of previous policies. 

Within the EU Cohesion Policy, the southern regions of Italy (the Italian Mezzogiorno) have historically belonged to the category of the most disadvantaged regions of the Union, i.e. regions with a level of economic development much lower than the EU average (the classification of regions is based on regional GDP per capita, which for the most disadvantaged regions is less than 75% of the EU average). These regions are eligible for increased financial support from EU cohesion policy funds to promote economic growth, job creation and social cohesion. 

For the 2021-2027 programming period, Campania, Molise, Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily and Sardinia are classified as Less Developed Regions (LDRs), and those of the Centre-North are classified More Developed Regions (MDRs), with the exception of Umbria, Marche and Abruzzo which are classified as Transition regions.  

LDRs face a set of challenges that limit opportunities, economic activity and investment attraction. The specific set of economic, social, institutional and environmental factors that characterise a given region contributes to the wide diversity of local development trajectories observed in our economy and to the success of the policies implemented to strengthen the development trajectory itself. The provision of infrastructure (transport, civil, network, etc.) is an important precondition for the initiation of virtuous local development processes. The presence of adequate human capital (in businesses and public administration), the ability to conceive new products or services (or to design new production processes), and the presence of well-functioning institutions at both central and local levels are all relevant factors. Openness and participation in global flows of capital (e.g., attracting foreign investments and participating in global value chains), people (through migration and labor mobility), and ideas are other immaterial key cornerstones of sustainable and long-term local development.   

Measures for LDRs include financial support for infrastructure, innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as investment in education, training and skills development. Improving connectivity, promoting research and innovation, tackling social inequalities and ensuring environmental sustainability are key priorities. These actions aim to foster economic growth, job creation and social cohesion, reduce disparities and promote balanced development across the European Union. 

Note: 

EU territorial classification criteria for Cohesion Policy eligibility: a) less developed regions - average GDP per capita below 75% of the EU average; b) transition regions - average GDP per capita between 75% and 100% of the EU average; c) more developed regions - average GDP per capita above the EU average.