Updated EU cohesion policy prioritizes defense and energy sectors for increased funding and attention.
The European Commission has unveiled a modernised Cohesion policy with a mid-term review, as announced in a communication titled 'A modernised Cohesion policy: The mid-term review' on April 1, 2025. This update forms part of a broader effort to adapt the policy to current and future challenges, including breaking news about the impact of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine on EU regions.
The changes propose favourable conditions for EU regions adversely impacted by the conflict, particularly those bordering Russia and Belarus. However, the specific changes for these regions are not explicitly mentioned in the available search results.
The EU Cohesion Policy aims to reduce economic, social, and territorial disparities between regions to foster growth and create a more equitable, competitive, and sustainable European Union. Under the new regulations, member states can now spend funds on defence, security, and civil preparedness, addressing the breaking news and current challenges.
EU Member States and regions investing in new priorities like defence, sustainable housing, water resilience, and energy transition will benefit from higher prefinancing rates, up to 20%. Reprogrammed funds will also benefit from co-financing rates 10 percentage points above the applicable rates.
For programmes reallocating at least 10% of their total value to the new priorities, prefinancing rates will further increase. This reallocation of funds is expected to reduce the necessary top-up coming from national budgets.
Once published in the Official Journal of the European Commission, Member States and regions can submit amendments to their Cohesion programmes to make use of the new flexibilities. The exact date for when Member States and regions can start utilizing the new flexibilities is dependent on the publication in the Official Journal of the European Commission.
The updates in the EU Cohesion Policy have been agreed upon by the EU Parliament and Council. A Regulation amending regulations (EU) 2021/1058 and (EU) 2021/1056 has been announced for September 2025. However, the new regulations do not mention any specific changes in funding for regions bordering Russia and Belarus adversely impacted by Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
Denmark's Minister for European affairs, Marie Bjerre, stated that these changes are an important step towards a more secure European Union. The updates enable member states to better address current and future challenges, including the breaking news about the conflict, fostering growth, and creating a more equitable, competitive, and sustainable European Union.
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