TY - RPRT A1 - Hansum, Romy T1 - Breaking the traps – Smarter regional allocation of EU cohesion spending 2028-2034 N2 - The Commission’s proposal for National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs) could offer a fresh start for the EU’s cohesion policy after 2028. Given the mixed results and implementation difficulties of current cohesion instruments, the reform ambition is welcomed. However, some shortcomings of the proposal need to be addressed. In particular, the proposed regional allocation relies too narrowly on the category of less developed regions defined by regional GDP levels. This approach overlooks emerging and future regional divergences and allows too much national leeway. This Policy Brief therefore proposes a broader category of challenged regions that accounts not only for regional prosperity but also for development traps and regional vulnerabilities arising from demographic change and the green transition. Y1 - 2025 UR - https://www.delorscentre.eu/en/publications/detail/publication/breaking-the-traps ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Lindner, Johannes A1 - Nguyen, Thu A1 - Hansum, Romy T1 - What does it cost? Financial implications of the next enlargement N2 - Despite a broad consensus in the EU on the necessity of enlargement, it is far from a done deal. Especially the financial implications a Ukraine accession pose uncertainties. In our policy paper, Johannes Lindner, Thu Nguyen and Romy Hansum show that the next enlargement round would have less of an impact on the EU budget than is generally assumed. This is largely because the EU’s multiannual financial framework (MFF) has inherent adaptation mechanisms to mitigate significant fluctuations. At the same time, we stress that is impossible to predict precisely what the EU’s MFF, under which accession will happen, will look like as the rules and allocations are subject to political negotiations. Lastly, enlargement is not the only issue adding pressure on the EU budget in a Union that faces huge challenges. Y1 - 2023 UR - https://www.delorscentre.eu/en/publications/financial-implications-of-the-next-enlargement ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hansum, Romy T1 - Continuity amid change: Explaining budgetary choices in the national implementation of EU cohesion policy funds JF - European Union Politics N2 - At first glance, the implementation of EU funds should be fluctuating with economic or political demands. However, this quantitative analysis shows that the national implementation is instead characterised by policy continuity. National governments largely adhere to the same budgetary choices as in previous periods when implementing cohesion policy funds, independent of changing political and economic circumstances at the national level. Additionally, countries with a longer implementation experience show more policy continuity. These findings suggest that self-reinforcing dynamics develop not only for domestic funds but also in the EU multi-level governance context. In addition to policy continuity, EU-wide trends were found to matter in the broad national programmatic orientation. When policy continuity prevails, the resulting rigidity can threaten the effectiveness and responsiveness of EU funds. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/14651165251365553 N1 - Open Access publication is funded by the Hertie School Library. ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hansum, Romy T1 - The Role of Electoral Interests in the National Distribution of EU Covid‐19 Funds JF - JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies N2 - Expectations are high regarding the impact of the extensive Covid‐19 crisis support ‘Next Generation EU’. Mixed experiences from established EU distributive policies indicate, though, that ultimate policy outcomes largely depend on national implementation decisions. This article scrutinises vote‐buying strategies according to which domestic governments exploit the largely autonomous national distribution of EU funds to target certain constituencies. To study national strategies, the analysis takes advantage of the extraordinary leeway given to domestic governments in distributing REACT‐EU funds, part of Next Generation EU. The encompassing quantitative analysis covers a large sample of member states and committed funds. The regression results provide no support that national governments distribute REACT‐EU funds to politically opportune regions. In a departure from most previous analyses focusing on specific member states, these findings suggest that vote buying is not the dominant strategy in the national implementation of all EU funds. Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13711 SN - 0021-9886 N1 - Open Access publication is funded by the Hertie School Library PB - Wiley ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hansum, Romy T1 - 'Why organizations leave money on the table: explaining non-demand for EU funds' JF - Regional & Federal Studies N2 - The effectiveness of EU funds depends on their full and proper absorption, yet even regions with high administrative capacities face difficulties in the use of funds. This calls for more attention to a puzzling aspect: numerous potentially eligible organizations do not apply for EU funds. Unlike most previous studies, this analysis examines non-demand and a region with high administrative capacities. The first broad empirically grounded analytical framework of non-demand for EU cohesion funds is developed based on in-depth interviews with actual and potential beneficiaries and experts. It shows the main drivers for non-demand: unawareness of the offer, high administrative burden, and low perceived need for additional funding. Moreover, organization type and size are important moderators. Non-demand also causes adjustments in the supply of funds. These findings suggest that future EU implementation research should expand its focus to examine (non-)demand, as well as its dynamic interplay with the administration. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/13597566.2025.2485052 SN - 1359-7566 N1 - Open Access publication is funded by the Hertie School Library SP - 1 EP - 27 ER -