ABSTRACT
This chapter adds to the academic debate by first discussing the territorialisation of policies. It then examines the main dimensions and components of the notion of 'territorial dimension of policies' to facilitate its analysis. The chapter focuses on the territorial dimension of European Union (EU) Cohesion Policy, as that most financed by the EU. EU Cohesion Policy has produced significant territorial impacts in the EU territory as clearly expressed by EC official documents and in independent analysis. The impacts of this policy cover all the main dimensions of both territorial development and territorial cohesion, not only in terms of economic and social effects, which are seen as the most relevant policy impacts in certain circles. Finally, this policy has a strong association with several territorial scales. More particularly, it supports specific regional operational programmes (regional focus) and urban development instruments (urban focus).
