Study details policy recommendations on European Commission’s proposed MFF for 2028-2034

The study assesses how the European Commission’s proposed regulation on National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs) would restructure support related to cohesion policy and regional development. Based on this analysis, it offers policy recommendations on how the proposal could be enhanced to better achieve cohesion objectives. 

The Commission’s MFF for 2028-2034 proposes merging cohesion policy, common agriculture policy (CAP) and home affairs funds into a single European Fund implemented through the NRPPs. This could facilitate more coherent and integrated responses to territorial challenges, the study notes, which may be particularly beneficial for rural areas, where fragmentation across funding instruments has often limited effectiveness.  

The move towards more integrated programming also offers opportunities to reduce overlaps between CAP and cohesion spending. But the study warns that, in a context of reduced funding in real terms, the move risks intensifying budgetary competition between the two.  

The report also points out that enhanced budgetary flexibility could allow Member States to address emerging cohesion challenges that are insufficiently covered under the current cohesion policy framework, such as the rural-urban divide. 

Policy recommendations put forward 

To improve cohesion in NRPPs, the study makes several policy recommendations. These include clarifying how the plans are expected to promote cohesion; subjecting all NRPPs to a territorial impact assessment; and setting region-specific milestones and targets for NRPP measures in areas of exclusive regional competence.  

The Commission has proposed a 10% target for rural areas to be funded from the 2028-2034 NRPPs, aimed at boosting development in rural territories. However, the study authors fear that this target risks being absorbed by CAP-related interventions and might be difficult to monitor as many investments cannot be easily classified by territorial type, they say.  

Instead, they recommend replacing the 10% rural target with a 10% earmarking to support integrated local development strategies, giving Member States discretion to distribute the amounts between different local realities. This earmarking would create an incentive for Member States to maintain existing support for sustainable urban development strategies (which currently benefit from a 7% ERDF earmarking in the 2021-2027 programming period), the authors add. 

Other recommendations include ensuring that ringfenced allocations for less developed regions support cohesion-related interventions. The study also suggests clarifying the meaning of the 'right to stay' and providing guidance on how to interpret and promote it, to convert this right into an effective principle for action.