Analysis of the absorption of cohesion policy funding in Baranya county in the programming periods of 2007-2013 and 2014-2020

The 2007-2013 programming period in Hungary represented a step towards place -based regional development policy with NUTS 2 regions preparing their own operational programmes. However, the 2014-2020 programming period produced a step back again, given a single regional development operational programme with separate allocations for each county.The aim of this study is to reveal territorial patterns of funding in Baranya county in the two planning periods and review districts and towns that can be considered either as centres or peripheries from the perspective of the absorption of EU funding.Following a short introduction based on the literature, the study provides an overview of the strategic framework of the two periods, including the defined territorial objectives of the two programmes set for Baranya county. This is followed by the discussion of methods and research questions and a comparative analysis of programmes in the two programming periods, with a focus on territorial patterns of funding. The second part of the paper analyses the two regional development programmes from the perspective of territorial patterns of funding on the settlement and district level, in view of territorial objectives. The relationship between per capita funding and its concentration in centres highlights different approaches in the two analysed periods. The final section of the paper draws main statements of the analyses and provides a cohesion policy funding profile on each district of Baranya.The study concludes that share of Pecs in funding has decreased below 50% in the 2014-2020 period, which shows a clear preference towards rural areas. However, while in the 2007-2013 period there was a relatively equal distribution of funding (among and within districts as well), the 2014-2020 period brought a solid concentration, preferring predominantly districts under the economy development and restructuring territorial objective (Boly, Komlo, Mohics), while neglecting lagging regions. Centres of the preferred districts also significantly concentrated funding. This altogether increased the financing gap between lagging and the developed parts of the county. Concentrating EU-funded development policy in the core areas and urban centres leads to decreasing visibility of EU cohesion policy in the lagging regions and increasing emphasis on nationally funded development schemes in those areas.