PURPOSE: to introduce targeted amendments to the proposal for a Regulation laying down common provisions with a view to integrating the Just Transition Fund as a new Cohesion Policy Fund.
BACKGROUND: this amended proposal is presented in the context of the long-term strategic vision presented by the Commission for a climate-neutral economy by 2050. It extends the Communication on the European Green Deal in which the Commission proposed a Just Transition Mechanism to complement the legislative and budgetary proposals already presented for the period 2021-2027.
The Just Transition Mechanism includes a Just Transition Fund (JTF) implemented in the framework of cohesion policy. The Commission has proposed to establish the JTF by means of a specific regulation laying down its objective, its geographical coverage, the method for allocating financial resources and the content of the territorial Just Transition Plans necessary to underpin programming.
The overall management of the Fund shall be governed by the provisions laid down in the proposal for a Regulation laying down common provisions for the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund plus, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and establishing financial rules for these Funds and for the Asylum and Migration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Border Management and Visa Instrument.
CONTENT: the main amendments proposed by the Commission relate to the following:
- clarification that the JTF shall support the specific objective of enabling regions and people to address the social, economic and environmental impacts of the transition towards a climate-neutral economy;
- providing that the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund and the JTF shall contribute to the actions of the Union leading to the strengthening of its economic, social and territorial cohesion and may provide joint support for programmes under the "Investment for jobs and growth" objective;
- adjustments to the content requirements for the Partnership Agreement and programmes receiving support from the Just Transition Fund. These set out in particular the obligation to submit territorial just transition plans, as defined in the proposal for a Just Transition Fund Regulation, as an annex to the programmes involving support from the Just Transition Fund;
- description of the mechanism and rules governing the obligatory transfer of ERDF and ESF+ resources to the Just Transition Fund, on the basis of the type of interventions to be supported;
- application of the provisions set out in the Common Provisions Regulation and in the proposal for a Just Transition Fund Regulation to the complementary ERDF/ESF+ resources to ensure that a single set of rules is applicable to all Just Transition Fund resources;
- explanation that the bases for the calculation of the thematic concentration requirements for the ERDF and the ESF+ do not include the amounts transferred from the ERDF and ESF+ as complementary resources to the Just Transition Fund.
The legislative proposal, as well as this amendment of the Commission’s proposal for the Common Provisions Regulation, will feed into the negotiation on the next MFF and expectedly will be integrated into the framework of an overall agreement on the next MFF.