The European Commissioners for Cohesion and Social Affairs, Elisa Ferreira and Nicolas Schmit, and the Vice-President of the Slovak government, Veronika Remišová, signed the partnership agreement between the European Commission and Slovakia on 18 July in Brussels, thereby determining the destination of Cohesion Funds for Bratislava for the 2021–2027 period.
On the same day, the European Commission also validated the partnership agreement with Estonia, following one concluded with Portugal on 15 July.
Slovakia will receive €12.8 billion to support economic, social and territorial cohesion as well as the ecological and digital transition since the country, like the rest of the EU, is dealing with “the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian aggression in Ukraine”, explained the Commissioner.
€4.2 billion from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund will go to support the ecological transition and to reduce dependency on Russia for energy, as well as making major investments in the modernisation of the railway network. €459 million from the Just Transition Fund (JTF) should help to create new jobs.
Finally, €1.9 billion will go to support the digital transition and the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises, while €3.2 billion from the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) will be devoted to implementing the European pillar of social rights. €680 million should also help to improve the living conditions of Roma communities in Slovakia.
The agreement also provides support for career retraining (203 million), for young people (280 million) and for the sustainable aquaculture sector (15 million).
Estonia. On Monday, the European Commission adopted the €3.5 billion partnership agreement with Estonia, which sets out the Member State’s investment strategy under the Cohesion Policy for 2021-2027.
Approximately €1.5 billion is set to come from the ERDF to support the decarbonisation of the economy and the competitiveness and innovation of the Estonian economy, €521 million will come from the Cohesion Fund, notably to promote rail transport, and €354 million will come from the Just Transition Fund to help the county of Viru-East achieve a successful climate change transition and to improve workers’ qualifications.
Portugal. On Friday 15 July, the partnership agreement with Portugal, which is worth €23 billion, was also adopted.
This agreement, which covers European Cohesion Policy funds as well as the EMFAF fund for fisheries and aquaculture, will finance 5 national programmes, 7 regional programmes, and 11 INTERREG cross-border cooperation programmes. In particular, €11 billion will come from the ERDF to boost the competitiveness of Portuguese businesses, €7.8 billion from the ESF+ to fight poverty and social exclusion and to train young people and workers, €5 billion from the ERDF and EMFAF to implement the European Green Deal, while the Portuguese outermost regions (Azores, Madeira) will benefit from €1.9 billion to support development.
See the partnerships that have already been adopted with EU countries: https://aeur.eu/f/2gr (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic with Mathieu Bion)