EU Cohesion Policy and its instruments are fundamental to reducing economic, social and territorial disparities between regions in the EU. Eight main funds work together to support economic development across its member states. These are:
- European Regional Development Fund(ERDF)
- European Social Fund Plus(ESF+)
- Cohesion Fund
- Just Transition Fund(JTF)
- European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund(EMFAF)
- Asylum and Migration Fund(AMIF)
- Internal Security Fund(ISF)
- Border Management and Visa Instrument(BMVI)
Altogether they make up the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds) for the programming period 2021-2027.
To tackle the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, EU leaders agreed on a recovery package of €1 824.3 billion, which combines the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and the Next Generation EU (NGEU) instrument. The individual programmes supported by NGEU are:
- Recovery and Resilience Facility
- ReactEU
- Horizon Europe
- InvestEU
- Rural Development
- Just Transition Fund (JTF)
- RescEU
The European Green Deal, which is focussed on fighting climate change and environmental degradation, is another fundamental programme financed by the NGEU Recovery Plan and the EU’s seven-year budget.