Territorial cohesion policy in the light of peripherality

The basic task and the underlying ways of thinking in the current European regional policies can be described with key words such as economic competitiveness, regional specialisation and innovations. The current approach is criticised as too narrow, as it puts emphasis on economic issues and on growth centres at the expense of peripheralities. However, there are also signs of a change in the principles of the European spatial development policies. The construction of the territorial cohesion policy has brought the traditional equity-based and holistic approaches back into the discussions about the principles of spatial development. The material explored in the article reveals that peripherality – in its wider meaning – is seen as a significant issue to be handled in the territorial cohesion policy in the making.