On Wednesday 18 June, the Committee of Member States’ Representatives to the EU (Coreper) approved its position on the proposal (of 1 April) for a mid-term review of cohesion policy to better respond to the new strategic priorities (see EUROPE 13612/12).
The Council will be able to negotiate a compromise with the European Parliament.
The two negotiating mandates concern, on the one hand (https://aeur.eu/f/hem ), the European Commission’s proposals amending the regulations on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund and the Just Transition Fund (JTF) and, on the other hand (https://aeur.eu/f/het ), the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+).
The aim is to redirect cohesion policy investment towards new priorities: competitiveness and decarbonisation, defence and security, affordable housing, access to water, energy transition and the challenges facing eastern border regions.
The negotiating mandate takes particular account of delegations’ concerns about the budgetary impact of the proposals, especially on the EU’s annual budget for 2026.
The compromise texts are based on the following main elements:
- reduction (from 30% in the initial proposal to 20%) of the pre-financing and co-financing rates at priority level for all the new Specific Objectives, and lowering (from 4.5% to 1.5%) of the threshold for granting additional financial incentives;
- introduction of additional derogations from the common provisions regulation (CPR) concerning the publicity obligations incumbent on beneficiaries;
- introduction of additional provisions concerning the flexibilities granted to Member States complying with the concentration requirements at the level of the categories of regions;
- introduction of a new article confirming that commitments suspended by virtue of measures adopted under the cross-compliance regulation and amounts corresponding to specific objectives which have been the subject of a negative assessment by the Commission on the basis of the application of horizontal enabling conditions in the CPR may not be the subject of programme modifications or transfers.
In addition, with regard to the regulations on the ERDF, the Cohesion Fund and the JTF, the text extends the scope of application for the specific objectives relating to energy infrastructure, as well as defence or dual-use infrastructure, by harmonising the eligibility rules for investments in these infrastructure projects with those set out in the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) regulation. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)