Abstract
Cohesion is an important facet of integration that is necessary in the European Union, it is related to the solidarity between the citizens among different Member States and the justice inside the European Union. A substantial budget is allocated for the Cohesion Policy which aims at aiding less economically developed countries in the Union. In the context of an ever-enlarging European Union, many believe that such enlargement can act as a serious challenge to the EU Cohesion Policy. Therefore, it will be worth answering the following question: to what extent has the Cohesion Policy addressed the cohesion issue with continuous enlargement? To answer this question, this paper will first take a detailed look in the enlargement of the European Union, and the development of the Cohesion Policy. Then, it will show that the effectiveness of the Cohesion Policy is limited, evaluating it from both economic and societal terms.
