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REPORT (2023/2121(INI))

On cohesion policy 2014-2020 - implementation and outcomes in the Member States

A-9-2024-0049

Committee on Regional Development · Rapporteur: Andrey Novakov

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This is a committee report on the implementation and outcomes of cohesion policy in 2014-2020, with a motion for a resolution. It finds that cohesion policy brought positive results in many areas but that implementation was slow, and it sets out recommendations for the future cohesion policy after 2027. The report notes that by February 2024, EU payments for the main funds reached EUR 368 billion with an absorption rate of 91%, but that spending was slower than in the previous period and that some Member States lag behind. It asks for cohesion policy to remain the EU's main investment instrument under shared management, for an increase in the cohesion budget, and for all regions to remain eligible. It calls for simplification, a shift to performance-based implementation, stronger multilevel governance and partnership, and measures against fraud and irregularities. It also demands a dedicated system for border regions with 0.26% of the cohesion budget reserved for them, and asks the Commission to assess the impact of enlargement on cohesion policy.

Committee position. The Committee on Regional Development proposes that Parliament adopt the resolution, which takes stock of the 2014-2020 cohesion policy, finds positive results but slow implementation, and makes recommendations for the future cohesion policy after 2027, including keeping it as the main investment instrument under shared management, increasing its budget, simplifying rules and strengthening multilevel governance.

Key points

  1. The report takes stock of the 2014-2020 cohesion policy funds (ERDF, Cohesion Fund, ESF, Youth Employment Initiative) and the crisis instruments CRII, CRII+, REACT-EU, CARE, FAST-CARE and SAFE.
  2. It finds that cohesion policy brought positive results in research and innovation, support to small and medium-sized enterprises, energy efficiency, climate adaptation, water and waste management, transport and energy networks, employment and training, healthcare and territorial cooperation.
  3. It notes that implementation was slow at the start, that the 2014-2020 framework was adopted late, and that by the end of 2022 the absorption rate was 77%, with significant differences across Member States and thematic objectives.
  4. It welcomes the flexibility used to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, the refugee crisis and the energy crisis, with almost EUR 28 billion redirected through CRII and CRII+.
  5. It insists that cohesion policy should remain the EU's main investment instrument for reducing disparities, under shared management, and opposes any renationalisation.
  6. It regrets the reduction in the share of the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework dedicated to cohesion and calls for an increase in real terms in the overall cohesion budget.
  7. It calls for all EU regions to remain eligible, with attention to regions with severe and permanent natural or demographic limitations, outermost regions and border regions.
  8. It demands that 0.26% of the EU's cohesion policy budget be reserved exclusively for border regions ('borderland billion') at the beginning of every new programming period, starting with 2028-2034.
  9. It calls for simplification of procedures, a shift to performance-based implementation, wider use of digital technologies, and avoidance of overlapping controls and audits.
  10. It asks the Commission, Member States and regional authorities to enhance mechanisms to detect and fight irregularities, fraud and corruption, and calls on remaining Member States to join the European Public Prosecutor's Office.
  11. It calls for the principles of multilevel governance and partnership to remain guiding principles of post-2027 cohesion policy and to be rigorously applied.
  12. It asks the Commission to assess the impact of future enlargement on cohesion policy and to ensure an enlargement-ready cohesion policy by 2030 at the latest.

Who is affected

  • Member States and their regional and local authorities, which manage and implement cohesion funds and are asked to improve capacity and involvement.
  • Managing authorities and beneficiaries, who face complex rules and administrative burdens that the report wants simplified.
  • Border regions, which would receive a dedicated system for regional aid and a reserved share of the cohesion budget.
  • Outermost regions and island territories, for which the report asks tailor-made programmes and high co-financing rates.
  • Rural areas, which should benefit from a genuine structural policy and a rural proofing mechanism.

Figures and deadlines

  • EUR 368 billion: total EU payments for the main funds (ERDF, CF, ESF and YEI) for 2014-2020 as of February 2024.
  • 91%: absorption rate for the main funds as of February 2024, excluding national co-financing and REACT-EU.
  • 7.6%: payment rate by the end of 2016.
  • 77%: absorption rate at the end of 2022, excluding REACT-EU.
  • 50%: share of total REACT-EU funds paid out to Member States to date.
  • EUR 28 billion: funds redirected through CRII and CRII+ to tackle the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis.
  • EUR 13 billion: funds redirected through CRII and CRII+ to provide business support to companies most affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
  • 0.26%: share of the EU's cohesion policy budget to be reserved exclusively for border regions ('borderland billion').

Legal basis: Articles 174 and 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.