Future regulatory discussions

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Within the Council’s Working Party on Structural Measures and Outermost Regions (SMOR), Member States are considering the Council’s proposals on the future ERDF/Interreg regulation, with the 5th compromise text from the Cyprus EU Presidency expected beginning of June and the Council’s position on the regulation anticipated by the end of June. The aim is to allow programmes to move forward in a smooth and predictable way.

The “Interreg Leaders’ Forum” under the auspices of the Cyprus EU Presidency was organised in Brussels on 7 May 2026. The event focused on strategic positioning of Interreg in the context of the Post 2027 EU legal framework, exploring how it could continue to deliver impact in supporting key EU priorities. For more information, including the video recording, please visit the event page.

Beginning of May 2026, the Committee of the Regions adopted, at its 171st plenary session, the Opinion on the European Fund for Regional Development including for Interreg and the Cohesion Fund, as well as the Opinion on the Performance Framework Regulation,

Overview

In 2025 the European Commission published a draft regulatory package for 2028-2034. The proposal is currently under negotiations at EU level.

Member States are examining the text at technical level within the working parties of the Council of the European Union. Discussions are ongoing and the negotiations remain at a preliminary stage.

The European Parliament is also responding to the Commission's proposal through its committees.

Interact is following the work, and is supporting the engagement of Interreg and other cooperation practitioners at opportune moments.

This follows past work In 2024, where Interact supported programmes to engage with citizens and stakeholders, and to engage with each other on the way the current regulations work, and what could be repaired or improved in the future period.

Where to start 

The draft legal acts are set out in more detail in this News Item | This summers' essential reading (August 2025).

A webinar MFF Post 2027 | What’s published, what’s next?, organised on 12 September 2025, outlined the key proposals and next steps. The Interreg Knowledge Fair 2025, organised in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on 4-5 November 2025, focused on the future of the MFF and post-2027 cooperation programmes, addressing proposed changes, programme start-up, and future roles and responsibilities, while the webinar MFF and Interreg Post 2027 Check-in from 11 March 2026 provided an Interreg-wide update on the MFF proposals and post-2027 framework.

To hear directly from high-level institutional representatives on future orientations and reflections on the role of cooperation in a changing European context, please watch the the “Interreg Leaders’ Forum” under the auspices of the Cyprus EU Presidency recording,

For more general background, as the European Elections in 2024 created the current Parliament, which appointed the President of the Commission and the college of Commissioners. As part of this process, Political Guidelines were published which established the orientation of the Commission. Each Commissioner-Designate receieved a Mission letter with more guidance. Of particular interest to Interreg is the letter sent to Commissioner-Designated as the Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms .

The exact shape of the future orientation of cohesion policy and Interreg will continue to be defined in ongoing political and policy-based discussions during 2026.

What we are working on

Interact continues to monitor developments, and has several engagement points on the practical implications of proposals.

The webinar organised on 12 September, followed by the Interreg Knowledge Fair  advanced our shared understanding of the proposals - which will be further explored in 2026.

In addition, the Performers Working Group was established in 2024 and sought to provide feedback on the implementation of Performance-based approaches in Interreg.

Interact's Working Group on Indicators continues to engage with DG EVAL on the use of Common Indicators in Interreg.

More points of contact and discussion on topics continue at a sectorial level, and information is regularly shared at Interact events on the latest development on the future shape of Cohesion Policy and Interreg.

Contact 

For more information please contact Jelena Stojovic