Governance Performance and Cohesion Policy in Central and Eastern European Countries

The challenge of the absorption of structural funds has resulted in several adaptation strategies in CEE countries. The European Cohesion policy was one of the most ‘aggressive’ driving forces of Europeanization across different policy fields and even in shaping governance structures and models. After 10 years of EU membership it has to be realised that in the deeper layers of the central and local governance system the problems of legitimacy and efficiency have remained. This fact explores the weak performance of the managing of Structural Funds programmes in this programming period as well. The paper will examine the structural and functional features of the governance of cohesion policy in some CEE countries explaining the role of path dependence and weak reform capacities in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria, as well as in the only exception represented by Poland.