Cohesion policy is the main investment policy of the European Union, which promotes more balanced and sustainable territorial development and supports projects across Europe. Its main purpose is to reduce social, economic and territorial differences or disparities between regions and support solidarity. It is intended for all regions in the European Union.
The purpose of my master's thesis was to present and analyze the system of obtaining, drawing and spending cohesion funds on cohesion projects in Slovenian education. In connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, I was also interested in the effectiveness of drawing and spending cohesion funds in this period and the comparison with the period before and after the pandemic. I defined in more detail the similarities and differences in the content and financial aspects of four ESS projects: NA-MA POTI, OBJEM, POGUM and PODVIG.
The theoretical framework of the thesis employed descriptive, comparative, and compilation methods. For the empirical analysis, I utilized data, financial reports, and other relevant materials obtained from the Institute of Education of the Republic of Slovenia. These resources enabled me to test hypotheses and gather valuable insights.
Slovenia demonstrated strong performance in absorbing EU funds for education during the 2014–2020 period. It effectively addressed challenges related to fund withdrawal during the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring minimal unspent resources. International comparisons revealed that Slovenia achieved results on par with the other two countries examined. The observed patterns in fund utilization across the projects studied offer practical guidance for policymakers and cohesion policy implementers in planning future initiatives.
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