The goal of the course is to provide students with the ability to deal with the planning of development policy in a thorough and integrated perspective, learning from the experience, problems, conflicts, limits and dilemmas of policy implementation in the EU and in Greece in the current period.

This course examines the design, the implementation, the conditions and the effectiveness of Competitiveness and Cohesion Policies in the EU and especially their regulation and funding through the Community Support Framework (CSF). The course places an emphasis on the debates and the results of policies financed through the Structural Funds at the European and the National or Regional level in the current programming period (2007-13). However, a critical account of the framework for the next programming period is also presented and discussed. 
The ultimate goal of the course, however, is to provide students with the ability to deal with the planning of development policy in a more thorough and integrated perspective, learning from the experience, problems, conflicts, limits and  dilemmas of policy implementation in the EU and Greece in the current period.
European Regional Policies have, in the last decades, gradually but steadily developed into a Cohesion Policy closely related to measures that aim at promoting European competitiveness.  As a result, the “Lisbon Agenda” goals have been incorporated in Cohesion Policy through the Community Strategic Guidelines on Cohesion and the compulsory “Lisbon earmarking” in the planning of all Operational Programs.
Since the beginning of 2010 some new questions and problematic have been set. Strategies like “Europe 2020” and “Smart Growth” have affected the direction and context of Cohesion Policy for the period 2014-2020.
Furthermore, regional development planning increasingly focuses on how to help a region’s enterprises become more competitive as well as on how to help the region to acquire a more prominent place in the national, European or even global economic “battlefield”.  The current economic crisis has led the European Union into adopting the “Europe 2020 Strategy” and the “Economic Governance Cycle”, which both put emphasis on competitive actions, results driven planning and macro-economic conditionalities.
On the other hand, regional development policy and planning is traditionally linked with redistributive and interventionist public economic policies, so that the theoretical debate, on whether regional and competitiveness policies are compatible, remains vivid. In fact many of the other European policies directly or indirectly affect competitiveness and cohesion in spatial level. So the connection between these other policies and the cohesion debate must be presented.
The course will also discuss and debate the policies related to the economic crisis in Europe and especially Greece, critically analyze fiscal consolidation and reform measures and their effects on the economy and will examine alternative propositions for post-crisis development.  
A number of lectures will introduce students into the relevant European policies, documents, policy principles and planning methodology. Also, some of the main European Policies like CAP, Competition policy will be discussed. Students will be aware of the consultation and public debate that take place in Europe and acquire the necessary qualifications in order to be able to apply methodological planning tools and techniques with analytical clarity, prospective thinking and strategic approach.

Students are evaluated on the basis of an individual assignment (33% of the final grade), a teamwork assignment (33% of the final grade) and an exam at the end of the semester (33% of the final grade).