ERDF is part of the EU Cohesion policy and it aims to strengthen the economic, social and territorial cohesion in the European Union by correcting imbalances between its regions, by supporting economic recovery, job creation, competitiveness, innovation, and sustainability. It delivers on the Union’s political priorities, especially the green and digital transition.
Within ERDF, the Interreg programmes support cross-border (Interreg A and IPA), transnational (Interreg B), interregional (Interreg C) and outermost regions’ (Interreg D) cooperation.
The Cohesion Fund is also one of the funds through which EU Cohesion policy is delivered, aimed at Member States whose Gross National Income (GNI) per inhabitant is less than 90 % of the EU average, and which support projects in the field of TEN-T and the environment.
As ERDF/CF are managed predominantly via shared management, managing authorities and partner countries are entrusted to allocate funding and set up a management and control system to ensure the implementation of the fund based on agreed programmes (which are also developed and implemented in a multi-level governance approach, in line with the partnership principle).
For the implementation of the ERDF programmes, the respective managing authorities’ launch call for projects adapted to the specific needs. See the website of your managing authority for further details.
In addition, there is also a specific ERDF instrument under direct management, the Interregional Innovation Investments (I3).
More specific regulatory provisions are laid out in the European Regional Development Fund and Cohesion Fund and the European Territorial Cooperation Regulations.
• For Interreg, organisations must be based in one the 27 EU Member States (including their insular and outermost areas) or a partner country.
• For the 2021-2027 period, the Cohesion Fund concerns Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.