The Council of the European Union has given the final green light to the adoption of the 330 billion euros cohesion package for the financial period 2021-2027.
The package consists of a set of regulations governing the Structural and Investment Funds for the financing of regional and local projects aimed at reducing economic and social disparities between Member States and regions, while stimulating a sustainable recovery from the pandemic.
The 2021-2027 package pursues the defined cohesion policy which provides for multiannual investments; in this context, most of the resources will be allocated to the least developed countries and regions in order to promote social cohesion, economic and territorial throughout the EU. The priorities will be to strengthen innovation and digitisation, make a transition to a net carbon-free economy, further improve connectivity with strategic transport and digital networks, and emphasise social inclusion.
The Council’s first-reading positions on the regulations, which have been adopted, must now be submitted to the European Parliament’s plenary formal confirmation vote, scheduled for the end of June, before being published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The Regulations will enter into force on the day following their publication.