[ABGESAGT] The end of policy implementation: Evidence from Halle (Saale)

Abstract

European subsidies enable regional structural development. Many regions depend on subsidies due to their financial weaknesses - including Halle (Saale) in the German federal state of Saxony-Anhalt. EU (and national) subsidies finance a large part of the voluntary tasks, for example, the participation of migrants, living together in the neighborhood, and youth work. In the municipality and project-funded social work, the working environment highly depends on higher-level processes. In this context, the narratives of the European programs, like ESF+ and Erasmus+, call for a greener, more digital, and more inclusive Europe. The EU requires the drawdown of funds by local and regional stakeholders to achieve these policy objectives. However, the call for funds and thus the implementation of the policies can not succeed if, for example, the wording does not fit the problems at the local level, if financial resources are not available for co-payment and staff to call for the funding, or if the ideas cannot be mapped in the bureaucratic processes.

From an urban research perspective, we will discuss the thesis of how policy implementation in European federalism occurs through a one-sided responsibility transfer in complex funding systems at the expense of local practice. Based on interviews and workshops with representatives of projects and associations as well as employees of the municipality Halle (Saale), the federal state Saxony-Anhalt, and the European Commission, we have traced the conditions under which local cohesion policies of the EU are (or can be) implemented. We analyzed the formats of collaboration and the competencies and resources of each level in the development and implementation of the European programs ESF+ and Erasmus+. Our results point out, that, currently, the goals of European policies, such as inclusion, promotion of mobility and participation cannot be achieved. Due to structural financial weakness, the region can not break out of a state of reactive problem-solving and selective activity. It is stuck in a development trap and the project-based funding schemes lead to ever-renewing cycles that wear out the knowledge, resources, and expertise of local stakeholders. The results point to structural challenges that other European (spatial) policies face in the region – like the JTF, which is now implemented.

The presentation is based on the project “AIM - Analysis of Institutional Action in Governing Mobility of People in Europe. Conditions for Promoting European Cohesion”, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and supplemented by research in the coal mine area Mitteldeutsches Revier.