On May 5–6, INSME contributed to the Common Provisions Regulation (CPR) partners’ discussion organized by Directorate-General Regional and Urban Policy – DG REGIO – in Brussels. The event focused on the midterm review package proposed by the European Commission, addressing three main areas: the modernization of cohesion policy; proposed amendments to the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund, and the Just Transition Fund (JTF); and the development of a financial instrument and grant model co-financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB), with particular emphasis on affordable housing initiatives.
These discussions take place in the context of profound global and geopolitical transformation as well as in an attempt of the EU to reassess its strategic autonomy, resilience, preparedness, and competitiveness. Within this framework, the event brought together a wide range of institutional stakeholders and policy experts, reflecting the EU’s growing commitment to updating cohesion policy tools considering current socio-economic and geopolitical challenges. INSME, in the person of Mr. Filippo Grassi – project officer – was invited to contribute based on its work on innovation and policy, as well as participation in EU-funded projects such as SuperShine that tackles social housing under the New European Bauhaus policy initiative.
A central topic of the discussion was the proposed amendment of the ERDF, the Cohesion Fund, and JTF regulations to support the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP). This includes introducing new incentives and flexibility for a total amount of €6.3 billion, of which €1.478 billion directly allocated SMEs. In particular, €581 million will go to digital and tech SMEs, €405 million to biotechnology, and €493 million to clean and resource-efficient technologies, a strategy that INSME welcomes.
The final major topic addressed was affordable housing, including the SuperShine experience INSME in involved in, specifically in light of raising energy costs and poverty. Accordingly, a new Model Financial Instrument, developed with the EIB Group and shaped through broad stakeholder consultation, was presented. This model offers a replicable toolkit to increase affordable housing funding, accelerate investment uptake, and allow Member States to double Cohesion Policy investments during the 2021–2027 period, with a total of €7.5 billion. It includes five financing schemes combining loans, guarantees, equity, and quasi-equity with various types of non-repayable assistance.
Source: INSME Secretariat
