Territorial cohesion is a European Union concept which builds on the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP). The main idea of territorial cohesion is to contribute to European sustainable development and competitiveness. It is intended to strengthen the European regions, promote territorial integration and produce coherence of European Union (EU) policies so as to contribute to the sustainable development and global competitiveness of the EU.
Sustainable development is defined as development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".
The main aim of the territorial cohesion policy is to contribute to a balanced distribution of economic and social resources among the European regions with the priority on the territorial dimension. This means that resources and opportunities should be equally distributed among the regions and their populations. In order to achieve the goal of territorial cohesion, an integrative approach to other EU policies is required.
The main resource of EU’s territorial cohesion policy is EU’s structural funds, considered to be delivered to the most deprived areas of EU. There are two structural funds: the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF). The ERDF is intended to be used for the creation of infrastructure and productive job-creating investment and it is mainly for the businesses. The ESF is meant to contribute to the integration of the unemployed populations into the work life via training measurements.