The Friends of Cohesion is an informal group of 17 European Union Member States which support maintaining a strong position of cohesion policy in the EU budget for 2021-2027.

The first summit of Friends of Cohesion this year was held in the Portuguese city of Beja. During the event, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki presented the position of Poland which concerned, among others, the importance of cohesion policy and the common agricultural policy. The effect of the summit is a declaration of states-friends of cohesion which summarises the arrangements made during the meeting and is a counterweight to the position of states that want to limit the importance of cohesion policy. 

“In many discussions during today's meeting, we emphasised the importance of unity. This is a good sign for the upcoming negotiations on the future budget of the European Union,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said.

“The Friends of Cohesion group proposes a good budget for all EU Member States. Good, that is pro-development and pro-investment, but also fair. Cohesion policy is a tool that completely matches this description,” Minister Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak emphasised.

Members of the Friends of Cohesion group are: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary and Italy.