Amending ERDF, ESF+, Cohesion Fund and Just Transition Fund as regards specific measures to address strategic challenges in the context of the mid-term review
This Commission Delegated Regulation amends Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the nomenclature for the dimensions and codes for the types of intervention for the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund and the Just Transition Fund (JTF).
Context
On 1 April 2025, the European Commission presented two legislative proposals to better align Member States' investment priorities under cohesion policy. These proposals amend the regulations on the ERDF, the Cohesion Fund, the ESF+ and the JTF, to integrate the Union's new strategic priorities of increasing competitiveness, strategic autonomy, resilience and preparedness, while promoting territorial and social cohesion.
Adopted by the co-legislators and entering into force on 20 September 2025, Regulations (EU) 2025/1914 and (EU) 2025/1913 amend or introduce several specific objectives within the framework of the 2021-2027 programming, in particular to:
- enhance industrial capacities to foster defence capabilities, prioritising capabilities of a dual-use nature;
- promote secure access to water, sustainable water management, including integrated water management, and water resilience;
- promote access to affordable and sustainable housing;
- promote energy interconnectors and related transmission, distribution, storage and supporting infrastructure, as well as the protection of critical energy infrastructure and the deployment of recharging infrastructure;
- develop resilient defence infrastructure prioritising that of a dual-use nature, including to foster military mobility in the Union, as well as enhancing civil preparedness;
- promote access to affordable and sustainable housing;
- foster integrated territorial development, through access to affordable and sustainable housing in all types of territories;
- ensure civil preparedness in all types of territories.
In accordance with the CPR Regulation, the Commission is empowered to adopt this delegated act amending Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 as regards the nomenclature (dimensions and codes) for the type of intervention fields, which are to be used for the categorisation of financial resources/support planned and implemented under the cohesion policy funds (ERDF, ESF+, Cohesion Fund, JTF).
Content
The present delegated act is necessary to ensure alignment and consistency between Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 (‘CPR Regulation’) and the fund-specific regulations (ERDF/Cohesion Fund, ESF+, JTF Regulations). The aim is to ensure that the amended and newly introduced specific can be implemented through the addition of corresponding intervention fields in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2021/1060. This will enable their use in programme implementation and reporting.
This delegated act is necessary to ensure alignment and coherence between Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 (CPR Regulation) and the regulations governing the individual funds (ERDF/Cohesion Fund, ESF+ and JTF Regulations). The objective is to ensure that the amended and newly introduced specific objectives can be implemented by adding corresponding areas of intervention to Annex I of the CPR Regulation. They can then be used for programme implementation and reporting.
This delegated act amends Annex I ‘Dimensions and codes for the types of intervention for the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund and the JTF to the CPR Regulation to add new areas of interventions and codes linked to the new specific objectives on defence, critical infrastructure and energy interconnectors. The existing 193 intervention fields remain applicable and can be used as appropriate under any of the new and amended specific objectives.
The delegated act:
- introduces two additional intervention fields for productive investments linked specifically to defence and dual-use technology in large firms and in small and medium-sized enterprises (including micro-enterprises);
- adds to the existing list a new intervention field on defence infrastructure and infrastructure upgrades of a dual-use nature, including military mobility;
- introduces an intervention field on energy interconnectors and related transmission, distribution, storage and supporting infrastructure, which is expected to capture the volume of the investment linked to this particular EU emerging priority;
- amends the existing intervention field (IF code 145a) covering the support for the development of skills or access to employment linked to the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) to encompass defence technologies alongside digital, deep tech and biotech.
This delegated act and the necessary changes to Annex I need to be adopted without delay to ensure that Member States are able to submit to the Commission consistent information on the programmed use of the cohesion policy funds as well as information on the cumulative allocation and expenditure of these Funds by type of intervention and the number of operations throughout the application period of a programme.