Changes from plenary report to adopted text

RemovedDRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

AddedP10_TA(2025)0177

Changedon the proposal for a regulation ofAmending theERDF, EuropeanCohesion ParliamentFund and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) 2021/1058 andJust (EU)Transition 2021/1056Fund as regards specific measures to address strategic challenges in the context of the mid-term review (COM(2025)0123 – C100063 – 2025/0084(COD))

AddedCommittee on Regional Development

AddedPE774.518

AddedEuropean Parliament legislative resolution of 10 September 2025 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) 2021/1058 and (EU) 2021/1056 as regards specific measures to address strategic challenges in the context of the mid-term review (COM(2025)0123 – C10-0063/2025 – 2025/0084(COD))

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2025)0123),

Changed– having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 175, 177,178177, 178 and 322 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C10-0063/2025),

– having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to the budgetary assessment by the Committee on Budgets,

Changed– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 29 April 20252025,

Changed– having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 15 May 2025,– having regard to Rules 60 and58of its Rules of Procedure,2025,

Added– having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committee responsible under Rule 75(4) of its Rules of Procedure and the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 23 July 2025 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Added– having regard to Rules 60 and 58 of its Rules of Procedure,

▸4 unchanged paragraphs

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Security and Defence,

– having regard to the letters from the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety and the Committee on Transport and Tourism,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Development (A10-0129/2025),

1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

Change 1

Added2. Takes note of the statement by the Commission annexed to this resolution, which will be published in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union;

3. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

4. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Change 2

RemovedTitle 1: Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulations (EU) 2021/1058, (EU) 2021/1056 and (EU) 2021/1060 as regards specific measures to address strategic challenges in the context of the mid-term review

AddedP10_TC1-COD(2025)0084

RemovedRecital 1: (1) In recent years, geopolitical dynamics have been marked by profound uncertainty, necessitating a fundamental re-evaluation of the Union’s strategic autonomy, resilience and the safeguarding of democratic principles and rule of law alongside the challenges stemming from the green, social and technological transitions. Those simultaneous transformations demonstrate the urgent need to close the innovation gap, accelerate decarbonisation efforts to reinforce economic competitiveness and reduce external dependencies by diversifying supply chains, scaling-up domestically produced green energy, and investing in critical sectors.

AddedPosition of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 10 September 2025 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2025/… of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) 2021/1058 and (EU) 2021/1056 as regards specific measures to address strategic challenges in the context of the mid-term review

RemovedRecital 2: (2) As the Union’s main investment instrument within the Multiannual Financial Framework, cohesion policy drives targeted investments that contribute to economic, social and territorial cohesion, as set out in Article 3(3) of the Treaty on the European Union and Article 174 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, while at the same time addressing emerging challenges. Moreover, the mid-term review is committed to the partnership principle and the principle of multi-level governance to safeguard an effective, regional and citizen-centred implementation of cohesion policy. This Regulation acknowledges the political and practical significance of the Union’s cohesion policy especially for regional and local authorities to transport the Union cohesion policy’s added value close to the citizens of the Union.

Added(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Regulation (EU) 2025/1914.)

RemovedRecital 2 a (new): (2a) Certain investments in dual-use or crisis-resilient infrastructure can serve both civilian and defence purposes, thereby contributing to territorial cohesion, regional resilience and Union preparedness. Such infrastructure include public facilities, such as community centres, educational institutions, parking structures or recreational parks, which supports social, economic and cultural activities in peacetime and can be converted into shelters, coordination centres or logistics hubs in times of crisis. Enhancing the resilience of critical infrastructure, including cybersecurity, secure communication systems, surveillance and threat detection, as well as public buildings and transport hubs, is essential to ensure the continuity of vital functions and reinforce national and Union’s security.

AddedANNEX TO THE LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

RemovedRecital 3: (3) The legal framework for cohesion policy programmes provides for a mid-term review in 2025, which offers a timely and unique opportunity to improve the effectiveness of cohesion policy, meet challenges and to accelerate implementation to achieve its goals set out in Article 174 TFEU.

AddedStatement of the Commission on the respect for rule of law on the occasion of the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2025/1914

RemovedRecital 5: (5) In light of the unprecedented geopolitical instability and the need for the Union to guarantee its own defence, civil preparedness and resilience, cohesion policy funding should be swiftly mobilised to directly support investments in defence capabilities at the same time that guarantees civil preparedness and resilience. It is therefore necessary to create new specific objectives for support from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund established by Regulation (EU) 2021/1058 of the European Parliament and of the Council3 to finance industrial capacities in the defence sector and civil preparedness, and to allow for investments in resilient dual-use infrastructure, including with a view to fostering military mobility, and to enhance preparedness, in line with the scope of those funds and the ‘do no significant harm’ principle and in cooperation with the regional and local authorities. Industrial capacities to foster defence capabilities should prioritise dual-use. Member States are encouraged to use the possibility foreseen in the current legal framework of voluntarily transferring resources allocated to them in shared management to directly managed programmes with defence and civil security and resilience objectives. In this context, transfers to the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) military mobility envelope would ensure coordinated interventions along the military mobility corridors highlighted in the White Paper on Defence. / When supportin…

AddedThe Commission underlines that the respect for rule of law and fundamental rights is of utmost importance for the European Union. The Commission understands the intention of the co-legislators to ensure the protection of the Union budget with its amendments to the Commission proposal. The Commission remains committed to ensuring the Rule of Law is upheld in the implementation of the Funds and will assess any request for programme amendments in line with the Common Provisions Regulation (CPR), the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation and the provisions of the Mid-Term Review Regulation.

RemovedRecital 5 a (new): (5a) Special attention and exceptional support should be dedicated to the Union’s Eastern border regions neighbouring Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, given their unique security challenges and geopolitical significance. Those regions are often on the frontline of potential conflicts and are particularly exposed to external threats, including hybrid attacks, breaches of the Union’s external borders, and other hostile activities. Strengthening local defence capabilities and community resilience in those areas is essential not only to deter potential aggression and safeguard European security, but also to support regional development, promote social cohesion, generate employment, and improve living conditions.

RemovedRecital 5 b (new): (5b) In the allocation and implementation of cohesion policy resources directed towards defence-related objectives, Member States should prioritise projects that promote employment, skills development and industrial diversification at regional level. Particular emphasis should be placed on supporting SMEs and regional clusters active in dual-use technologies, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, ensuring that such investments serve the Union’s strategic interests and the objective of economic, social and territorial cohesion.

RemovedRecital 5 c (new): (5c) Military mobility infrastructure constitutes, de facto, a dual-use asset, as investments in upgrading transport networks to meet military requirements also deliver significant benefits for civilian mobility, economic connectivity and crisis response capacities within the Union. Such investments improve cross-border infrastructure, reduce bottlenecks, enhance preparedness and contribute to the resilience of regions and critical supply chains. Furthermore, transport hubs enabling the rapid deployment of emergency services and distribution of essential supplies, contribute significantly to the continuity of vital functions and national security.

RemovedRecital 6: (6) Furthermore, in order to quickly inject liquidity to cover the most pressing needs notably for investments in enhanced defence capabilities, in particular dual use,civil preparedness and resilience, additional financing possibilities should be offered. In particular, it is necessary to provide for an additional one-off pre-financing of 30% of the amounts programmed under dedicated priorities for defence, in particular dual use,civil preparedness and resilience under the respective policy objectives of the ERDF and the Cohesion Fund and the possibility to apply a Union co-financing rate of up to 100%.

RemovedRecital 7: (7) The ERDF and the Cohesion Fund may, within their respective scopes, already support investments contributing to the objectives of the ‘Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform’ (STEP), which aims to strengthen Europe’s technological leadership. In order to further incentivise investments from the ERDF and the Cohesion Fund in those critical fields, the limitation for the overall contribution of the ERDF and the Cohesion Fund to those priorities should be removed and the possibility for Member States to receive a higher pre-financing for related programme amendments should be extended. Furthermore, the possibilities for the financing of productive investments contributing to STEP objectives in enterprises other than SMEs, while preserving a focus on SMEs, should also be possible in regions and Member States with a GDP per capita below the EU-27 average where they facilitate industrial adjustment linked to digital transformation, including digital capacities in cloud, AI and supercomputing, or the decarbonisation and circularity of production processes and products, such as in the automotive industry or the energy intensive industries. In addition, the possibility provided for investments contributing to STEP objectives to finance productive investments in enterprises other than SMEs, while preserving a focus on SMEs, from the Just Transition Fund (JTF) established by Regulation (EU) 2021/1056 of the European Parliament and of the Council4 without the need and irrespectiv…

RemovedRecital 8: (8) In order to enhance energy security, accelerate the energy transition and clean mobility, the investments under STEP and the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility should be complemented by creating a new specific objective for the ERDF and the Cohesion Fund under policy objective 2 to promote energy interconnectors and related transmission, distribution and supportive infrastructure, as well as to protect and safeguard that infrastructure and to enhance the deployment of charging infrastructure. In order to accelerate investments in these fields, priorities dedicated to this specific objective should benefit from an additional one-off pre-financing of 30% of the amounts programmed under those priorities and from the possibility to apply a Union co-financing rate of up to 100%. Managing authorities should aim to leverage a maximum amount of private finance, where relevant. This enhanced investment effort will enable energy-intensive sectors to access more stable and diverse energy sources in a less fragmented internal energy market, buttressing their sustainability and competitiveness. Moreover, expanding the ERDF’s support for decarbonisation projects allows energy-intensive industries to prioritise high-impact innovations aligned with EU climate objectives.

RemovedRecital 8 a (new): (8a) To ensure the resilience of the Union’s energy system and the competitiveness of transition regions, long-duration electricity storage infrastructure, such as pumped-storage hydropower, should be eligible for support under cohesion policy. Those investments ensure grid stability, especially in regions phasing out fossil fuel-based generation.

RemovedRecital 9: (9) Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) result from a State aid instrument requiring cross-European cooperation for innovative technologies or pan-European infrastructures. IPCEI are projects that support and promote large-scale, cross-border projects that are considered essential for the economic growth, innovation, and competitiveness of the Union. To help accelerate the design of new IPCEI and the implementation of the existing ones, support from the ERDF for investments in projects participating in an IPCEI as approved by the Commission pursuant to Article 107(3), point (b), of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and to Communication C(2021) 8481 should be allowed in all categories of regions giving priority to the less developed regions in line with the objectives and scope of the ERDF and Cohesion Funds. Furthermore, operations contributing to an IPCEI approved by the Commission should benefit from simplified selection procedures.

RemovedRecital 10: (10) Affordable and sustainable housing is another challenge that has come to the forefront due to the significant increase in prices and rents in recent years. Disadvantaged groups and low and middle-income families are facing difficulties in accessing decent housing and a growing risk of homelessness. With a view to incentivising Member States and regions to double investments from the ERDF and the Cohesion Fund, within their respective scopes, in the construction and renovation of the affordable and sustainable housing stock, including social housing, new specific objectives should be created under different policy objectives to provide flexibility for the programming of housing interventions under dedicated priorities. While acknowledging that the definition of affordability may vary according to the circumstances of each Member State, a flexible common Union framework of social and affordable housing eligibility should be created, allowing local and regional authorities to identify possible target groups of people, such as low and middle-income households, who are unable to access housing at market conditions. Such priorities should be linked to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and entail the possibility to apply a Union co-financing rate of up to 100% and benefit from an additional one-off pre-financing of 30% of the amounts programmed in order to alleviate the burden on public budgets in all categories of regions. For example, investments under the princip…

RemovedRecital 10 a (new): (10a) The Cohesion Policy should respond in a balanced way both to challenges in rural and peripheral regions and to the growing pressures in densely populated urban areas where the accelerated rise in housing prices and rents is causing social exclusion. Cohesion funds must support integrated measures to build, renovate and transform urban spaces, including by converting unused buildings to homes. Interventions must be flexible, tailored to the local context and eligible for increased European co-financing in order to reduce the pressure on the budgets of local authorities.

RemovedRecital 11: (11) Water has a vital role as a resource for the security of food, energy and economic systems. This is also a key aspect of ensuring climate resilience. Given the challenges posed by the impact of climate change on water resources, further investments in water resilience should be encouraged. It is urgent to enhance the implementation of the water and marine protection legislation and improve water efficiency, address water scarcity, and progress towards a water resilient Europe. This requires important investments in infrastructure to ensure sustainable irrigation by means of advanced solutions, such as desalination, water reuse and blue biotechnology, and in water stress and drought prevention infrastructure, as well as in the deployment of nature-based solutions, ecological restoration and wastewater treatment. It is therefore appropriate to include a reference to secure access to water, sustainable water management and water resilience in the specific objective under policy objective 2 to allow for proactive, risk-based management and increased preparedness. New dedicated priorities established for that specific objective should also benefit from an additional one-off pre-financing of 30% of the amounts programmed and the possibility of a co-financing rate of up to 100% in order to incentivise crucial investments in that field. The existing thematic enabling condition for that specific objective continues to apply.

RemovedRecital 12: deleted

RemovedRecital 13: (13) In order to enable Member States to carry out a meaningful reprogramming in the context of the mid-term review and focus resources on those new strategic Union priorities, additional restrictions should be lifted. As regards thematic concentration requirements, it is appropriate to allow Member States to count amounts programmed for new strategic priorities, irrespective of whether the Member States comply with the thematic concentration requirements at national level or at the level of category of region, including those contributing to STEP objectives, towards the amounts required to ensure compliance with thematic concentration requirements. This should be accompanied with some flexibility regarding the calculation of the respective climate contribution for the ERDF and the Cohesion Fund as set out in Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, while respecting the overall requirements of that Article. In addition, to accelerate the decarbonisation of industry that is necessary for reaching the Union’s climate objectives, it is necessary to provide for the possibility to finance, through the ERDF, investments aimed at achieving the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions also from activities listed in Annex I to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council5 provided that they have been awarded a Seal Excellence. Similarly, as regards the JTF, the conditions for financing such investments should be simplified. Furthermore, in order to ensure consistency…

RemovedRecital 15: (15) Furthermore, to take account of the time needed to refocus investments in the context of the mid-term review and allow best use of available resources, the deadlines for the eligibility of expenditure as well as decommitment rules should be adjusted for programmes carrying out a reallocation of resources to strategic priorities in the context of the mid-term review exercise. It should also be possible to apply a maximum co-financing rate of up to 100% to priorities in programmes under the Investment for jobs and growth goal covering one or more NUTS2 regions bordering Russia, Belarus or Ukraine, taking into account the adverse impact on those regions of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, having due regard to the need for the timely closure of programmes, the timely launch of new programmes and the full absorption of programme funding.

RemovedRecital 16: (16) The mid-term review should also be used to reinforce the crucial role of cities in delivering many Union objectives by giving Member States the possibility , in close cooperation with the regional and local authorities and keeping in mind the regional specificities and the scope of the cohesion policies, to reallocate financial resources from the ERDF to reinforce the European Urban Initiative referred to in Article 12 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1058 and the metropolitan areas. In addition, in order to facilitate the uptake of key innovative actions identified under the European Urban Initiative, such actions should benefit from a simplified selection procedure for support under cohesion policy programmes. Member States should also be provided with the possibility to reallocate ERDF resources from their programmes under the Investment for jobs and growth goal to the Interregional Innovation Investment Instrument referred to in Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1058 to enhance flexibility in the use of resources.

RemovedRecital 19 a (new): (19a) The Commission should carry out an ex post impact assessment of the new measures on cohesion policy in line with its Staff Working Document of 31 November 2021 entitled ‘Better Regulation Guidelines’.

RemovedRecital 19 b (new): (19b) Any programme amendment or transfer of amounts that would be carried out should be without prejudice to the application of measures adopted pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2020/2092 and to the compliance of relevant programmes with horizontal enabling conditions in accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060. Amounts that are suspended under Regulation (EU) 2020/2092 or withheld on the basis of horizontal enabling conditions under article 15 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 should not be subject to amended programmes or transfers.

RemovedRecital 20: (20) Given the urgent need to enable crucial investments notably in security and defence capabilities and related supply chains in the context of pressing geopolitical challenges, this Regulation should enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union,

RemovedRecital 20 a (new): (20a) This Regulation has implications for the Union budget. Accordingly, the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgets adopted a budgetary assessment, which forms an integral part of Parliament’s mandate for negotiations.

RemovedRegulation (EU) 2021/1058

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1 – point a – point i, Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point a – point vii: (vii) enhancing industrial capacities to foster defence capabilities prioritising dual use.;

RemovedRegulation (EU) 2021/1058

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1 – point a – point ii, Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b – point v: (v) promoting secure access to water, sustainable and integrated water management and water resilience;

RemovedRegulation (EU) 2021/1058

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1 – point a – point iii, Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b – point xi: (xi) promoting access to affordable, sustainable housing;