Brussels, 03/07/2007 (Agence Europe) - During the hearing organised in Brussels on 25 June by the European Parliament's regional development committee, the thematic department on “structural policies and cohesion” presented a study entitled “Regional disparities and cohesion: What strategies for the future?” Conducted by Nordregio (Sweden), the study aims to assess the extent of regional disparities within the European Union. Using state-of-the-art scientific methodologies and tools enabling a critical analysis, it presents empirical evidence on the dynamics of regional disparities and territorial cohesion challenges. On this basis, perspectives on how to approach territorial cohesion from a statistical and a political point of view are introduced. Finally, the study puts forward a number of methods to help overcome the current shortcomings of the territorial evidence base, while providing concrete recommendations on how to improve the design, implementation and monitoring of cohesion policy. For information: ipoldepb@europarl.europa.eu (gb)