Combining territory and competitiveness in EU Regional Policy? Analyzing ERDF investment profiles in regions with specific geographical features

The policy priorities of European Union Regional Policy, particularly the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), shifted significantly between the 2000-06 and 2007-13 programming periods. The former period was based on a redistributive mechanism favouring the least favoured regions; the latter period was based mainly on growth-oriented objectives for all regions across the European Union. Focusing upon islands, mountains and sparsely populated regions, this paper explores the extent to which the shift in policy focus towards promoting growth' influenced the way in which the ERDF was used (or not) in these regions. The findings raise a number of policy insights related to addressing the inherent territorial tensions' in European Union Regional Policy.