Regional development policy or cohesion policy, the latter term being used mainly since the Treaty of Amsterdam, has its origins in the Treaty of Rome, document in which it was mentioned for the first time the need to eliminate economic and social disparities between Member States. Cohesion policy was formalized since the Single European Act entered into force in 1987, and gradually came to benefit from over a third of the Union budget, being the EU's most important investment policy. The paper aims to analyze the evolution of the Eu Cohesion Policy, by underlining the most important milestones from 1957 until nowadays. The paper also includes a comparative perspective regarding the budget allocated to the policy over time, as well as the benefits and challenges of this policy, by highlighting the results as well as the most important reforms that would improve the functioning of this policy within the next financing period. The research methods are both qualitative and quantitative and the study enriches the existing literature on cohesion policy by making a detailed analysis of the main benefits of the policy in terms of results and of the reforms that the policy must undergo in the next financing period in order to improve its efficiency. The cohesion policy for the next financing period should focus on responding to the local needs, speeding up and simplifying the implementation procedures and creating a stronger link between the policy and the reforms and performance in order to improve its efficiency.