The General Affairs Council (GAC), under the Cyprus Presidency, reached a partial negotiating position on Tuesday on the regulation establishing the National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs) – one of the key pillars of the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028-2034. The agreements reached at the GAC point towards “the objective of reaching an overall agreement on the MFF by the end of 2026, which is one of the main priorities of the Cyprus Presidency,” Deputy Minister for European Affairs Marilena Raouna stressed, welcoming today’s developmen.
Under the new framework, each member state will prepare a single, comprehensive plan replacing the current separate programmes for cohesion policy, agriculture, fisheries, migration, security and the Social Climate Fund. The position is considered “partial” as it does not yet cover the financial and horizontal aspects of the proposal, which continue to be negotiated as part of the broader MFF package.
In a written statement, Raouna welcomed the development, noting that the Cyprus Presidency had worked intensively and transparently on the three MFF files discussed by ministers on Tuesday. “The agreements reached today will allow us to move forward towards the goal of achieving an overall agreement on the MFF by the end of 2026, which is one of the key priorities of the Cyprus Presidency,” she said.
The Deputy Minister pointed out that the NRPPs bring together, under a single architecture, all shared-management funding for cohesion, agriculture, fisheries and home affairs, enabling the EU “to respond more effectively to national, regional and local challenges through reforms and investments.” The GAC also approved negotiating positions on the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) and the new “Global Europe” instrument.
According to Raouna, the newly established European Competitiveness Fund is aligned with the recommendations of the reports by Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta on strengthening Europe’s competitiveness, while the “Global Europe” instrument will make EU external action more flexible, while safeguarding predictability and preserving the Council’s ability to provide strategic direction.
Under the proposed implementation framework for the NRPPs, each plan will be financed through nationally pre-allocated budget envelopes and developed through close partnership between national, regional and local authorities. Funding will be released by the European Commission upon the achievement of agreed milestones and targets and will remain subject to horizontal conditions linked to fundamental rights and the rule of law.
The Council’s position also strengthens the role of regions and provides Member States with greater flexibility in designing and implementing their plans. The partial negotiating position agreed by the GAC constitutes the Council’s mandate to begin trilogue negotiations with the European Parliament on the NRPP regulation.
The overall funding envelope for the 2028-2034 period will depend on the final agreement on the MFF as a whole. EU institutions have stressed the importance of reaching an agreement within 2026, as this would allow the timely adoption of the necessary legislative acts in 2027 and ensure that funding reaches beneficiaries without interruption from January 2028.