Skip to content
OPINION (COM(2025)0545 – C100166/2025 – 2025/0545(COD))

On the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing a budget expenditure tracking and performance framework and other horizontal rules for the Union programmes and activities

EMPL-AD-785252

Committee on Employment and Social Affairs · Rapporteur: Estelle Ceulemans

Official HTML ↗ PDF DOCX
✦ In shortFull textProcedure & committee votes
✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 25 Sept 2026

Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs proposes amendments to the proposed regulation establishing a budget expenditure tracking and performance framework. It wants social objectives, gender equality, disability rights, working conditions and the partnership principle written into the framework, and reporting kept proportionate. The amendments add new articles on fundamental rights, the partnership principle and the rights of persons with disabilities, and require a social and employment guidance and a disability guidance from the Commission. They set a climate and environment spending target of at least 35% of the budget over the 2028-2034 multiannual financial framework, excluding defence and security spending, and require monitoring of social and employment spending. They require the Single Gateway to be accessible for persons with disabilities, add a mid-term review by 1 July 2031, and shorten personal data storage to five years.

Committee position. The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs proposes amendments to the lead committees to strengthen social objectives, gender equality, disability rights, working conditions and the partnership principle in the proposed regulation, and to keep reporting proportionate.

Key points

  1. Adds a citation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in particular Article 19 on the right to independent living.
  2. Amends recitals to require the framework to support a Social Union, economic growth and job creation, and to keep reporting proportionate and free of duplication.
  3. Amends recitals to require place-based approaches for urban, rural, outermost and depopulated areas, and support for workers affected by transitions through income support, reskilling and upskilling.
  4. Amends recitals to require need-based resource allocation coherent with the Porto 2030 social targets, and assessment of the real social impact of spending beyond financial execution.
  5. Amends recitals to require compliance with national law, collective agreements, Union law, International Labour Organisation conventions and the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
  6. Amends recitals to require reporting on the geographic distribution of supported operations in rural and outermost regions and demonstration of territorial need.
  7. Amends recitals to distinguish social investment under the European Social Fund from other social investment, and to protect the Fund's objectives and thematic concentration.
  8. Amends recitals to require a single social and employment guidance and a disability guidance, and to prohibit Union funds from supporting institutionalisation of persons with disabilities and children.
  9. Amends recitals to require tracking of expenditure on gender equality, disability, working and employment conditions, climate and biodiversity, supported by specific targets and monitoring systems.
  10. Adds Article 3a on fundamental rights and non-discrimination, Article 3b on the partnership principle, and Article 7a on the rights and freedoms of persons with disabilities.
  11. Sets an overall spending target of at least 35% of the budget on climate action and environmental objectives over 2028-2034, excluding defence and security spending.
  12. Requires monitoring of social objectives and a social and employment spending target, disaggregation of social indicators by gender, and a mid-term review by 1 July 2031.

Who is affected

  • Member States and regional authorities: must carry out evaluations, draw up joint evaluation roadmaps and demonstrate national policy frameworks.
  • Beneficiaries, applicants and managing authorities: reporting requirements must remain proportionate and avoid unnecessary administrative burden.
  • Persons with disabilities and children: programmes must comply with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
  • Social partners, civil society and regional and local authorities: must be involved under the partnership principle and the European code of conduct on partnership.
  • Third countries: plans must use performance indicators and provide baseline and estimated values for result indicators.

Figures and deadlines

  • At least 35% of the total amount of the budget on climate action and environmental objectives over the 2028-2034 multiannual financial framework.
  • Reducing administrative burden by at least 25% for all companies and at least 35% for small- and medium-sized enterprises.
  • EU climate coefficients: 100% for substantial contribution, 40% for non-marginal positive contribution, 0% for neutral impact.
  • Implementation report for each programme or activity no later than four years after the start of its implementation.
  • Evaluations at the latest two years after the end of the programming period.
  • Evaluation roadmap submitted no later than one year after approval of plans.
  • Personal data stored no longer than five years from the end of the activity, and no longer than twelve years for evaluation purposes.
  • Mid-term review by 1 July 2031.

Legal basis: Article 322(1), point (a), of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.