PURPOSE: to reinforce economic, social and territorial cohesion by redressing the main regional imbalances in the Union (Regulation European Regional and Development Fund (ERDF) – period 2014-2020).
LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) No 1301/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and on specific provisions concerning the Investment for growth and jobs goal and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006.
CONTENT: the Regulation is part of a package of measures relating to the cohesion policy comprising the following Regulations:
· Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013.of the European Parliament and of the Council sets out the provisions common to five European structural funds, the ERDF, the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund (CF), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).
· The Regulations specific to the five funds for the ERDF, the ESF, the Cohesion Fund, the European Territorial Cooperation and the European grouping of territorial cooperation (EGTC).
This Regulation establishes: i) the tasks of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), ii) the scope of its support with regard to the Investment for growth and jobs goal set out in Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, as well as iii) the European territorial cooperation goal and specific provisions concerning ERDF support for the Investment for growth and jobs goal.
The ERDF contributes to the financing of support which aims to reinforce economic, social and territorial cohesion by redressing the main regional imbalances in the Union through the sustainable development and structural adjustment of regional economies, including the conversion of declining industrial regions and regions whose development is lagging behind.
Scope of support from the ERDF: the ERDF supports the following activities:
· productive investment which contributes to creating and safeguarding sustainable jobs, through direct aid for investment in SMEs;
· productive investment, irrespective of the size of the enterprise concerned, in the areas of research and innovation and the transition to a low-carbon economy and to investment in the technology of information and communication (ICT), and, where that investment involves cooperation between large enterprises and SMEs;
· investment in infrastructure providing basic services to citizens in the areas of energy, environment, transport and ICT;
· investment in social, health, research, innovation, business and educational infrastructure;
· investment through fixed investment in equipment and small-scale infrastructure, including small-scale cultural and sustainable tourism infrastructure, services to enterprises, support to research and innovation bodies and investment in technology and applied research in enterprises;
· networking, cooperation and exchange of experience between competent regional, local, urban and other public authorities, economic and social partners and relevant bodies representing civil society.
Under the European territorial cooperation goal, the ERDF may also support the sharing of human resources and facilities, and all types of infrastructure across borders in all regions.
The Regulation establishes a negative list of activities that are not eligible for support, for example, the decommissioning or the construction of nuclear power stations; investment to achieve the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; undertakings in difficulty, as defined under Union State aid rules; investment in airport infrastructure unless related to environmental protection.
The Regulation also sets priority investments for each of the thematic objectives.
Thematic concentration: according to this principle, minimum shares are set for a certain number of priority thematic objectives for the three types of funding beneficiary regions, namely:
· the less developed regions (GDP per capita is less than 75% of the average GDP of the EU-27);
· the transition regions (GDP per capita is between 75%-90% of the average GDP of the EU-27);
· the more developed regions (GDP per capita is more than 90% of the average GDP of the EU-27).
In more developed regions, for example, at least 80% of the total ERDF resources at national level shall be allocated to the transition towards an economy with low CO2 emissions (energy efficiency and renewables), to research and innovation, to improving the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or the access to ICT.
In the regions in transition, it will be 60% and, in the less developed regions, 50%, to take account of their greater needs in terms of development.
Sustainable urban development: within the framework of the operational Programmes, the ERDF supports sustainable urban development by the means of integrated actions to tackle the economic, environmental, climate, demographic and social challenges affecting urban areas. Innovative actions in this area should also be supported. A minimum of 5% of the ERDF resources will be reserved for sustainable urban development.
The Commission should establish an urban development network to promote capacity-building, networking and exchange of experience at Union level.
Regions which suffer from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps: the ERDF will also take into account the specific difficulties encountered by certain islands, border regions, mountain regions and sparsely populated areas, the geographical situation of which slows down their development, with a view to supporting their sustainable development. Particular attention will be paid to the outermost regions.
The Regulation sets out in an Annex a common set of output indicators to assess the aggregated progress at Union level of the implementation of programmes
ENTRY INTO FORCE: 21.12.2013.
DELEGATED ACTS: the Commission may adopt delegated acts concerning the detailed rules relating to the selection criteria and management of innovative actions. The power to adopt delegated acts shall be conferred on the Commission from 21 December 201 to 31 December 2020. The European Parliament or the Council may object to a delegated act within a period of two months from the date of notification (this period can be extended for two months). If the European Parliament or the Council make objections, the delegated act will not enter into force.