On Wednesday 16 July, Raffaele Fitto, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, stated that, of the total funding proposed for ‘National and Regional Partnerships’ (€865 billion) in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028-2034, €452 billion in commitments (https://aeur.eu/f/hww ) will be devoted to cohesion, rural development and fisheries, “which is broadly equivalent to the level provided for in the current MFF”.
Of this amount, €218 billion will be allocated to Europe’s least developed regions, a level similar to that which they receive over the 2021-2027 period through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), stressed the Minister for Cohesion and Reform.
The architecture of the national and regional plans is designed to “allocate funding in a way that is more flexible, so that it can adapt quickly to emerging priorities and local needs”, emphasised Mr Fitto.
“The plans will be implemented in partnership between the Commission and the national and regional authorities, with the involvement of stakeholders at all levels, as is the case today with shared management”, Mr Fitto assured us. They will also follow a multi-level governance approach and will include national, sectoral, regional and territorial chapters, reflecting the specific institutional organisation of each Member State.
Mr Fitto stressed that economic, social and territorial cohesion is a fundamental cross-cutting objective of all the funds mobilised via these national and regional partnerships, in accordance with the Treaties.
There is also a “clear legal requirement” for plans to allocate resources between the three categories of regions currently recognised: the least developed regions, the regions in transition and the most developed regions.
When Member States present their plans, they will have to indicate the amounts allocated to each of these categories as well as to other specific areas (outermost regions, sparsely populated areas of northern Finland and Sweden, islands, urban areas, rural areas and eastern border regions).
“This is a proposal. It’s not the final step, but a starting point. We will reach the finish line together with the Parliament and the Council working for the prosperity of Europe and all its regions”, concluded Mr Fitto. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)