At the last minute, the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU, which will hand over to Ireland on Wednesday 1 July, announced two additional agreements on Monday 29 June on two draft regulations for the post-2027 European budget. The EU27 thus reached so-called ‘partial’ general approaches (because these compromises do not cover the figures, which are being negotiated separately - see EUROPE 13891/3) on the arrangements for the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF).
In the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), these two funds will be included in Heading 1, which includes the much-discussed ‘National and Regional Partnership Plans’ (known as ‘NRPPs’), which will notably absorb financing related to Cohesion, Agriculture and Fisheries.
Of the two agreements concluded on Monday, the one on the European Regional Development Fund, which covers Cohesion policy and is managed jointly by the European Commission and the national and regional authorities of the Member States, attracted by far the most attention.
From a general point of view, the compromise provides more detail on the scope of the ERDF, notably with the return of the concept of “just transition”. It also specifies that the Cohesion Funds could be mobilised by the Member States in the areas of the environment and the trans-European transport network (TEN-T).
The regulation is considered all the more important because it also governs spending linked to European territorial cooperation (Interreg) - supporting projects between regions in different countries aimed at finding solutions to common challenges linked to transport, the environment and health.
However, the Interreg programme, which would be guaranteed at least €10 billion under the Commission’s initial proposal, will depend on national plans separate from the NRPPs. This is because of its “specific features, starting with the multitude of partners involved in programming and implementation (...)”, a statement published by the Cyprus Presidency of the Council recalls.
On that side, the text significantly reduces the range of points that the European Commission intended to define at a later stage through the publication of implementing acts. Several provisions and definitions specific to Interreg have thus been incorporated directly into the regulation in the name of legal certainty.
There are also new articles, including one (4a) devoted to “support for innovation and regional transformation”, and another (4b) on how the ERDF can support the “right to stay”.
Lastly, the compromise includes several references to the specific needs of regions located on the EU’s eastern border.
The agreement on the draft regulation on the European Social Fund appears to have attracted less attention, having been concluded after two meetings of the EU Council working party. Rather than a financial envelope dedicated solely to the ESF, social spending would, for its part, be fully integrated into the National and Regional Partnership Plans. At least 14% of these NRPPs would be specifically allocated to objectives such as social innovation, demographic transition, education, professional retraining and the fight against material deprivation.
EU Council statement: https://aeur.eu/f/mmt (Original version in French by Clément Solal)