BUDGETARY ASSESSMENT (COM(2025)0123 – C100063/2025 – 2025/0084(COD))
On the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) 2021/1058 and (EU) 2021/1056 as regards specific measures to address strategic challenges in the context of the mid-term review
BUDG-AD-773419
Committee on Budgets · Rapporteur: Danuše Nerudová
✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 4 Sept 2026
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The Committee on Budgets opinion assesses the proposal to amend cohesion policy regulations for strategic challenges. It finds the proposal budget-neutral but notes front-loading of payments and calls for safeguards on conditionality, double financing, and transparency.¶¶¶
Committee position. The Committee on Budgets submits an amendment adding a recital stating that its budgetary assessment forms an integral part of Parliament's mandate for negotiations.¶
Key points
- Determines the proposal is compatible with the MFF Regulation and the Interinstitutional Agreement, and does not require additional human resources.¶¶¶
- Notes that pre-financing paid in 2026 will be counted as 2025 payments for decommitment calculations, raising concerns about annuality.¶
- Calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure compliance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights and EU values, and to apply rule-of-law conditionality to all EU funds without exception.¶¶
- Expects the Commission to consider the proposal and updated payment needs in the 2026 budgetary procedure and to keep Parliament informed of mid-term review progress.¶
- Regrets that cohesion policy is used as a flexibility tool and that no impact assessment was performed; calls for sufficient budgetary reserves in the next MFF without reducing long-term cohesion investment.¶¶
- Notes low absorption rates and risks of exceeding payment ceilings; calls for better access to funds and simplified procedures, especially for less developed regions and smaller beneficiaries.¶
- Recalls that 100% co-financing without additional resources reduces total financial support and must not lead to reduced support for initial objectives.¶
- Requests the Commission to report on transfers in a traceable and timely way to make the impact of the mid-term review identifiable.¶
- Considers the 15% reallocation threshold may be too high and disproportionately high for single national programmes; asks for reassessment.¶
- Calls for safeguards against double financing and for support to be additional to other Union programmes.¶
- Notes the mid-term review may reduce decommitments and asks for analysis of its impact on the European Union Recovery Instrument.¶
- Notes that extending the eligibility period increases risks of delayed payments and higher outstanding commitments.¶
Who is affected
- Member States implementing cohesion policy programmes, especially those reallocating funds to new priorities.¶¶¶
- Beneficiaries of cohesion policy, particularly in less developed regions and smaller communities.¶
- The Commission, which must ensure compliance with conditionality and report on transfers.¶¶¶
Figures and deadlines
- 30% pre-financing and 100% co-financing on new EU priorities.¶
- Additional one-off pre-financing of 4.5% (9.5% for NUTS 2 regions bordering Russia, Belarus or Ukraine).
- Reallocation of at least 15% of resources to new priorities.¶¶
- EUR 3.6 billion front-loading of payments in 2026.
- Eligibility period extended by one year, from end of 2029 to end of 2030.¶
- Decommitment rule for 2027 changes from year n+2 to year n+3.