WHAT ABOUT COHESION POLICY AND ESIF
Cohesion Policy targets all EU regions and cities in order to support job creation, business competitiveness, economic growth, sustainable development, and improve citizens’ quality of life. In order to reach these objectives, € 392 billion has been allocated for a period of 7 years [2021-2027].
For next years 5 objectives has been defined within the Policy supporting and complementing the EU objectives:
• a more competitive and smarter Europe
• a greener, low‑carbon transitioning towards a net zero carbon economy
• a more connected Europe by enhancing mobility
• a more social and inclusive Europe
• Europe closer to citizens by fostering the sustainable and integrated development of all types of territories.
Cohesion Policy is delivered through specific Funds, the European Structural and Investments Funds [ESIF]:
• the European Regional Development Fund [ERDF]: to strengthen economic, social and territorial cohesion in the European Union by correcting imbalances between its regions. ERDF will enable investments in a more competitive and smarter Europe, through innovation, digitisation and support to small and medium-sized businesses, as well as greener, more connected, by enhancing mobility, more social and closer to its citizens, by supporting employment, education, social inclusion and locally development
• the Cohesion Fund [CF]: to support the field of environment and transport in the less prosperous EU Countries [Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia]
• the European Social Fund Plus [ESF+]: it is the EU’s main instrument for investing in people. It will provide an important contribution to the EU’s employment, social, education and skills policies
• the Just Transition Fund [JTF]: new instrument of Cohesion Policy, in the context of the European Green Deal aiming at achieving the EU climate-neutrality by 2050. The JTF supports the territories most affected by the transition towards climate neutrality to avoid regional inequalities growing.
For the 2021-2027 programming period, the European Commission has set down common rules for the ESIF [Common Provisions Regulation – Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021], in order to simplify rules and ensure a more efficient use of funds. The CPR is then complemented by specific Regulations for each Fund.
Cohesion policy covers every Region in the EU. However, most of the funds are concentrated on less developed European Countries and Regions in order to help them to reduce the economic, social and territorial disparities.
The Policy is implemented by national and regional bodies in partnership with the European Commission, through a process of consultation:
• each Member State produces a draft Partnership Agreement, which outlines the country’s strategy and priorities and proposes a list of multi-annual programmes. In addition to this, Member States also present draft Operational Programmes [OPs], detailed plans for the implementation of concrete actions based on the Partnership Agreement, which cover entire Member States and/or regions;
• the Commission negotiates and approves the final content of the Partnership Agreement, as well as each Programme proposed and allocates resources;
• for each Operational Programme, a managing authority is appointed, i.e. a national, regional or local public authority or public/private body that manages the Programme, implements it by selecting, monitoring and evaluating projects and finally controls and assesses it.
Beneficiaries of the funding can be public bodies, some private sector organisations [especially small businesses], universities, associations, NGOs and voluntary organisations.