MFF 2028-2034: Council backs simpler and more efficient rules for cohesion funds 14:35 The Council today reached positions on the cohesion-related parts of the next long-term[...]

The Council today agreed its partial negotiating position on two key regulations for the EU budget for the period 2028-2034 (MFF). The two regulations establish the cohesion policy funds: the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), including the European Territorial Cooperation (Interreg) and the Cohesion Fund (CF), and the European Social Fund (ESF).

This complements the recent partial general approach on the regulation concerning the National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPP).

The negotiating position is 'partial' because it excludes financial and horizontal issues. These are currently being discussed as part of the negotiations on the overall multiannual financial framework (MFF) covering the period 2028 to 2034.

The new ERDF/CF regulation and Interreg

The new ERDF and CF regulation sets specific rules on the scope of support of these two funds complementing the National and regional plans under shared management.

The Council's mandate strengthens the visibility of cohesion policy in line with the Treaty's objectives and provides for rules on areas specific to cohesion policy.

The regulation also lays down specific rules for Interreg by outlining the Interreg Plan, which will be separate from the NRPP due to its specificities, starting with the multitude of partners involved in the programming and implementation, including cooperation with non-member states.

Regarding the Interreg provisions, discrepancies between the Commission proposal and the NRPP were addressed in the text of the partial general approach. The text also reduces the scope of the secondary legislation that the Commission proposed to issue at a later stage: many aspects of such implementing act were moved to the regulation through the addition of Interreg-specific definitions and provisions, thus providing legal certainty since the very beginning of the new MFF period.

Furthermore, the partial general approach complements and derogates from rules of the NRPP regulation that cannot apply to Interreg due to its specificities. It also focuses on clarifying the specific procedures for approval and amendment of the Interreg Plan chapters and the role of the Commission in the process.

The new ESF regulation

The proposed new ESF regulation establishes conditions for the implementation of the EU's support to quality employment, skills and social inclusion for the period from 2028 to 2034, complementing the NRPP regulation, while setting specific rules on the scope of support from the ESF under the single Fund.

The Council's partial general approach aims to establish a better balance between the articles and recitals of the Commission's proposal, to provide definitions and clarifications relative to the scope of the regulation, and to harmonise it with the provisions of the NRPP regulation.

Next steps

The partial negotiating position approved today is the Council's mandate to start negotiations with the European Parliament. The budget available for the funding in question for 2028-2034 will depend on the final agreement on the next MFF as a whole.

Background

The ERDF/CF and ESF regulations are key elements of the next MFF, the EU's seven-year spending plan, as part of the NRPP regulation. Following the European Commission's initial proposals for the 2028-2034 period presented in July and September 2025, an EU agreement before the end of 2026 would allow for the adoption of legislative acts in 2027, which is necessary to ensure that EU funding reaches beneficiaries without interruption from January 2028

• Regulation establishing the European Fund for Regional Development for the period 2028-2034 (the ERDF regulation), Commission proposal, 16 July 2025
• Regulation establishing the European Social Fund for the period 2028-2034 (the ESF regulation), Commission proposal, 16 July 2025
• ERDF regulation - EU Law tracker (timeline)
• ESF regulation - EU Law tracker (timeline)
• The EU's long-term budget (background information)
• Cohesion: How the EU supports regional development to create jobs and prosperity across its member countries (background information)