The reform of European cohesion policy or how to couple the streams successfully

Cohesion policy is one of the European Union's central spending policies, which is characterized by path-dependency and only incremental change. However, the policy has been reformed significantly in 2013. This case study sets out to trace this ground-breaking and significant reform in a fairly path-dependent environment by using Kingdon's multiple streams approach (MSA).The approach is adapted to the characteristics of policy-making in the European Union, the particularities of the Union's multilevel governance with its institutionalized and well-practised policy-making and almost predictable policy windows. The modified approach helps to separate two windows of opportunity with two different policy entrepreneurs. The first agenda window with the European Commission as entrepreneur prepared the grounds for the decision window with an entrepreneurial group of Member States. The second coupling reframed and refocused the proposals of the agenda coupling and linked cohesion policy more closely with the Union's economic policy co-ordination.