Skip to content
DRAFT OPINION (COM(2025)0552 – C100168/2025 – 2025/0238(COD))

On the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the European Fund for Regional Development including for European Territorial Cooperation (Interreg) and the Cohesion Fund as part of the Fund set out in Regulation (EU) […] [NRP] and establishing conditions for the implementation of the Union support to regional development from 2028 to 2034

EMPL-PA-786812

Committee on Employment and Social Affairs · Rapporteur: João Oliveira

Official HTML ↗ PDF DOCX
✦ In shortFull text
✦ 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 the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Interreg and the Cohesion Fund for 2028 to 2034. The amendments add social conditions: support for quality employment, affordable housing, public services and social and labour rights, and exclude funding for beneficiaries that breach social and labour obligations. They require impact assessments on employment, annual reports on cross-border workers, and simpler access to funds for local authorities, small firms and social and cooperative organisations. They also seek extra support for island and outermost regions, including a POSEI Transport programme and possible additional ERDF allocations for islands.

Committee position. The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs proposes amendments to the Commission proposal, adding social and labour rights conditions, housing rules, support for public services and cross-border workers, and measures for island and outermost regions.

Key points

  1. Support from the ERDF and the Cohesion Fund is to be provided without prejudice to support from the National and Regional Partnership Fund.
  2. The recital listing the funds covered by the National and Regional Partnership Regulation is deleted.
  3. Member States and the Commission should aim to eliminate inequalities, promote equality between men and women, combat discrimination, and direct support to quality employment, poverty reduction, affordable housing and better working conditions.
  4. The ERDF and the Cohesion Fund should support a significant increase in public investment in universal, free, high-quality public services, including education, health, care facilities, water, energy, communications and public transport.
  5. The ERDF should support affordable and quality housing, public housing stock, non-profit construction and the social and cooperative sectors, and must not fund market-price or tourism housing, evictions or tax benefits for real estate funds, banks and large landowners.
  6. Support should fight precarious work and unemployment among young people and promote education, quality employment and opportunities in disadvantaged and depopulating regions.
  7. The ERDF should support small and medium-sized enterprises, productive sectors, reindustrialisation of depressed regions and modernisation of traditional industries.
  8. Island regions without a permanent fixed road or rail link to the mainland may receive an additional ERDF allocation to offset insularity costs, and outermost regions may benefit from an expanded POSEI including a POSEI Transport programme.
  9. The classification of NUTS 2 regions and EU co-financing rates should be reviewed so they reflect economic and social realities beyond GDP per capita.
  10. Interreg programmes should address cross-border labour challenges on employment and social security, recognition of professional qualifications, and access to communications and transport, with annual reports on cross-border workers benefiting.
  11. Member States must exclude from ERDF funding beneficiaries that do not comply with social and labour rights, and measures on enterprises or restructuring must be assessed for employment impact and guarantee improved working conditions.
  12. The administrative burden on local authorities, small and medium-sized enterprises and social and cooperative organisations should be reduced to a minimum through simplified cost options, lump-sum funding or non-cost-based financing.

Who is affected

  • Member States and their regions, which define funding priorities and must ensure compliance with social and labour rights.
  • Local authorities, small and medium-sized enterprises, and social and cooperative organisations, whose administrative burden should be reduced.
  • Cross-border workers, who should benefit from measures on employment, social security and recognition of qualifications.
  • Island and outermost regions, which may receive additional ERDF allocations and POSEI support.
  • Beneficiaries of ERDF funding, who must comply with social and labour rights to access funding.

Figures and deadlines

  • 2028 to 2034: the period for Union support to regional development under the regulation.
  • 2050: the target year for the fair transition towards a clean, climate-neutral and resilient economy.
  • Article 174, third paragraph, of the TFEU: recognises islands as territories requiring specific attention.
  • Article 349 of the TFEU: lists the permanent restraints of outermost regions.
  • Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003: establishes the classification of NUTS 2 regions.

Legal basis: Articles 174, 176 and 177 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.