On 29 June 2026, the Council of the European Union agreed its partial negotiating position on two key regulations governing cohesion policy under the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028–2034 (“Position “). The Position concerns the regulations cover the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund (CF) and the European Social Fund (ESF+), which will form the basis for regional development and investment support during the next EU budgetary period (“Proposals”). The full texts of the Proposals are available at these linsk: Document ST 11259/2026 and Document ST 11257/2026.

The Proposals aim to create a simpler, more flexible and more efficient framework for implementing cohesion policy funds, giving Member States greater ownership in defining investment priorities and planning reforms. At the same time, the Council stressed the importance of clear and workable implementation rules to ensure that programming and fund deployment can begin on time and with reduced administrative burden.

The agreed position also includes provisions for the Interreg programme, reflecting the specific nature of cross-border cooperation and the involvement of a wide range of partners, including cooperation with non-EU countries. Interreg will continue to operate under its own planning framework, separate from the National and Regional Partnership Plans.

The Council further amended parts of the European Commission’s original proposal in order to increase legal certainty and reduce the reliance on future implementing acts. Several provisions that were initially intended to be regulated through secondary legislation were incorporated directly into the regulation itself.

The agreed Position will serve as the Council’s mandate for negotiations with the European Parliament. The final volume of funding available for cohesion policy will depend on the overall agreement on the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028–2034.