Territorial Instruments of National Policies as a Tool for Territorially Sensitive Policies

Based on a common analytical framework, this study provides comparative insights on how national territorial instruments target territories, coordinate governance and funding, integrate with EU instruments, and con-tribute to spatial planning. The report draws on desk research and stakeholder interviews that were conducted across territorial instrument case studies in five European countries (the Netherlands, Poland, France, Italy and Germany).
It includes conclusions and practical recommendations on how to use territorial instruments in practice in different contexts and how the implementation of territorial instruments can be used to contribute to the ‘do no harm to cohesion’ principle in conjunction with territorial impact assessment activities, spatial planning provisions. The report also draws out insights on the interaction between national and EU-funded territorial instruments, particularly with a view to informing the post-2027 Cohesion Policy debate.