Frequently asked questions

It is a policy that promotes the economic, territorial and social cohesion, reduces the disparities in terms of development among regions and makes the opportunities of citizens even. In Italy, Cohesion Policy is financed by additional resources from the EU budget (European Structural Funds) and the national budget (co-funding to the EU Structural Funds, National Fund for Development and Cohesion and Action plan for Cohesion

Within the European multiannual budget, cohesion policies co-financed by European resources are programmed for seven-year periods starting from 2000-2006. On the OpenCoesione portal, the data on the projects in progress relating to the 2007-2013, 2014-2020 and 2021-2027 programming periods are currently available in an open and navigable format. In relation to the 2000-2006 programming period, on OpenCoesione are monitored only those projects originally financed in this cycle and therefore transferred within the Development and Cohesion Plans. These can be filtered through a selection menu available starting from the publication of the data updated to 28th February 2023.

According to the financial rules valid for the European Funds, the effective duration of the seven-year programming periods is extended by a further 2 or 3 years (the so-called "n + 2" rule for the 2007-2013 and 2021-2027 periods, the "n + 3” rule for the 2014-2020 period). In these final phases, the implementation of the projects of the Programmes co-financed by the EU Cohesion Funds overlaps with the start of the next programming period.

The implementation of projects financed by entirely national resources (Development and Cohesion Fund and Cohesion Action Plan) takes place in continuity between the various programming periods.

The European Structural Funds are financial instruments offered by the EU, to varying degrees based on the territory, to support cohesion policy. European funding, with a national co-financing requirement, is allocated in the EU multi-year budget for the seven-year cycle starting with the 2000-2006 period.

The Structural Funds (SF) for the 2007-2013 period are the European Regional Development Funds (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF). In the 2014-2020 period the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) include in addition the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). In the 2021-2027 period the ESI Funds are completed by the Just Transition Fund (JTF) while the European Social Fund (ESF) is replaced by the ESF Plus (ESF+).

From Structural Funds (FS) we have thus moved on to talk about European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF).

In the 2021-2027 period, the Just Transition Fund (JTF) is added to the Structural Funds, while the European Social Fund (ESF) is replaced by the ESF Plus (ESF+).

Certification of expenditure to the EU corresponds to requests for reimbursement of the expenditures incurred and paid that are submitted to the European Commission by the Managing Authorities of the programmes co-financed by the Structural Funds. These applications, for each annual accounting of the resources committed in the EU budget for each Structural Fund (ESF, ERDF) and Operational Programme, are to be presented within a specific period of time, established specifically for each programming period. The resources that are not certified to the Commission by the deadline are subject to automatic decommitment, i.e. a reduction in EU financing and the corresponding national co-financing of the programme. In the 2007-2013 period, to encourage implementation of the Operational Programmes co-financed by the Structural Funds, Italy established during the National Strategic Framework Committee meeting of 9 April 2013 the national infra-annual targets for expenses actually incurred and certified. Therefore, in addition to 31 December of each year, certified expenditure is also monitored at 31 May and 31 October.

On OpenCoesione are available information on the rules for the certification of Structural Funds expenditures to the EU Commission for the 2007-2013 and 2014-2020 programming periods, useful to learn more about the difference between certified expenditure and monitored expenditure.

It is also possible to download the open data on the overall financial allocation, targets and EU-certified expenditure.

Major Projects are investments financed under the European Structural Funds aimed at achieving results of broad strategic significance. Within them there are two essential types:

- investments in infrastructure (eg railways, subways, ports, motorways, purifiers and water networks, major renovations, ultra-broadband networks);

- productive investments (aid for the development of large industrial plants).

For the 2014-2020 period, Major Projects are considered above €75 million for projects that contribute to Thematic Objective 7 – “Promoting sustainable transport and removing bottlenecks in key network infrastructures”). 

In the 2007-2013 period, the financial amount of the Major Projects was set as exceeding 50 million euros.

Unlike “ordinary” projects of programmes co-financed by the Structural Funds, which are automatically chosen and approved for financing by the Managing Authority of the operational programme, Major Projects are subject to specific procedures for approval by the European Commission that envisage a long, complex review process that is carried out in close cooperation with various Commission bodies. During this process, numerous factors of interest to the EU are assessed including, in addition to general eligibility, an analysis of the costs and benefits and financial return, environmental compatibility and compliance with the applicable directives, and consistency with the internal market and competition rules, including the existence of any state aid. The process concludes with the Commission’s decision of approval, which ratifies the essential technical characteristics, eligible expenditure and multi-year financial plan and assigns the Major Project a common code for identification (CCI), analogous to that assigned to Programmes co-financed with Structural Funds. In the case of any changes or additions to a Major Project in the course of implementation, the same process must be followed to receive a new decision from the Commission.

For monitoring purposes, a Major Project can be monitored as a single project or as different projects, based on the characteristics of the specific Major Project. In the open data catalogues of projects being implemented, projects belonging to a Major Project are identified by the variable COD_GRANDE_PROGETTO, to which the CCI of the Major Project is added (see metadata).

Financial instruments are not considered Major Projects.

For the 2014-2020 period, the key regulation is Regulation (EU) No. 1303/2013 (Articles 100-103), while for the 2007-2013 cycle it is Regulation (EC) No. 1083/2006 (Articles 39-41). Important technical and operational instructions for Major Projects can also be found in various subsequent EU rules and legislation, including the guidelines on the closure of operational programmes for 2007-2013, annexed to Decision C(2015) 2771 (for the rules applicable to Major Projects not completed in 2007-2013 and, specifically, for those that span across to the 2012-2020 programming, see this FAQ).

The Performance Framework (on the efficacy of implementation) is a tool introduced in the 2014-2020 programming cycle in order to enhance the efficacy of implementation of cohesion-policy programmes that are co-financed with European funding (Articles 21 and 22 of Regulation (EC) 1303/2013).

It is based on a system of indicators defined at the priority-axis level for each Operational Programme and mainly measures financial implementation and actual implementation of the operations. There is also an indicator that measures the key implementation steps, and the framework was used to verify the 2018 intermediate milestones for those operations that, when defining the programme, were expected to be completed after 2018 (date of the intermediate review). For all indicators, there are two targets: an intermediate milestone for 2018 and a final target for 2023.

The method for defining the Performance Framework is described in Annex II of Regulation (EC) 1303/2013 and, for Italy, is detailed under section 2.4 of the Partnership Agreement.

In 2019, the Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, will be conducting the intermediate performance review and assigning the performance reserve to the axes that have reached their milestones. Unsatisfactory levels of progress towards the milestones and final targets may also result in sanctions (suspension of payments in 2019 and financial adjustments in 2025). The intermediate and final reviews of the Performance Framework are based on the information and assessments provided in the annual progress reports presented by the Managing Authorities (by 30 June 2019 and 30 June 2024, respectively), which, in Italy, must fully match the data from the National Monitoring System, the source for the OpenCoesione portal.

The date of 31 December 2020, which should have corresponded to the end of the 2014-2020 programming period, did not coincide with the actual implementation deadline of the programmes and  projects co-financed by the European Structural Funds in the 2014-2020 period.

Based on the implementation rules of the EU budget in force, the so-called "n+3" rule, the implementation of the programming period will continue over the following three years, i.e. until 31 December 2023, the final date by which it was possible to report the expenditures incurred and paid to the EU budget. The financial contribution from the EU budget to the relevant 2014-2020 Programmes therefore remained usable for another three years after 31 December 2020.

In order to complete the projects which at that date were still unfinished and not functioning, two possibilities have emerged:

1. projects that meet certain requirements, described below, and therefore can also be completed with EU resources from the 2021-2027 period. These projects are also included in the new 2021-2027 programmes and therefore present a financial structure which, for the EU quote, includes both 2014-2020 and 2021-2027 resources,

2. projects that do not meet the required requirements must be completed using only the Member State's own resources (national, regional or local) and, under certain conditions, the share of spending already carried out on the 2014-2020 european programmes by 31st December 2023 may remain eligible if the projects are completed by 15th February 2026.

The details of the requirements are reported in the Guidelines Published by the European Commission in the OJEU on 14/10/2021 (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv%3AOJ.C_.2021.417.01.0001.01.ENG&toc=OJ%3AC%3A2021%3A417%3AFULL) and in the subsequent update of 14/12/2022 (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv%3AOJ.C_.2022.474.01.0001.01.ENG&toc=OJ%3AC%3A2022%3A474%3ATOC).
The summary presentation dedicated to the topic carried out at the Annual Review Meeting in March 2023 is also available (https://politichecoesione.governo.it/media/3125/1a-_rar-2022_orientamenti-chiusura_ce.pdf).

Finally, it is important to underline that with the final implementation report as of 31 December 2023 it is necessary to prepare the data relating to the output and result indicators of the effectiveness reference framework (performance framework) using the models in tables 1, 2, 3 and 4 referred to in Annex V to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/207. Thus, as done for the intermediate verification, the values reported in the final implementation report must be downloaded from the reports prepared in the National Monitoring System on the basis of the rules defined in the technical document on the Performance Framework.

Further details are given in the Annex of the Commission decision on the approval of the "Guidelines on the closure of operational programs adopted to receive assistance from the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Fund for maritime affairs and fisheries (2014-2020)” 

The Development and Cohesion Fund (Fondo per lo Sviluppo e la Coesione - FSC) is a financial instrument funded with national additional resources through which the Italian government implements the principle of territorial cohesion enshrined in Article 119 of the Constitution. The Fund, previously denominated the Fund for Underutilised Areas (Fondo per le aree sottoutilizzate - FAS), was established with the 2003 Finance Act (Article 61 of Law 289/2002) with the aim of ensuring an organic planning and financial structure for the national additional resources appropriated to achieve economic and social balance among the various areas of the country.

More specifically, the Fund finances special national initiatives and the disbursement of special grants for infrastructure and intangible assets of national, inter-regional and regional importance, implemented through major projects or investments structured into functionally connected single initiatives. 80% of the resources of the Fondo per lo Sviluppo e la Coesione are allocated to the South and 20% to the Center-North, for more details consult here.

Projects implemented under the Development and Cohesion Fund are included in the Unitary Monitoring System and monitored in OpenCoesione together with projects implemented under the European Structural Funds (SF) and the Cohesion Action Plan. 

The FSC is also associated with financial grants approved by the Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning (Comitato Interministeriale per la Programmazione Economica - CIPE), which are comparable to policy appropriations. On the open data section of the OpenCoesione website are available Data and metadata on the funding and on the decisions approving the 2014-2020 FSC Plans and Programmes, as well as the Data and metadata on the funding and on the decisions approving the 2007-2013 FSC Programmes

The date of 31 December 2013, which corresponds in theory to the end of the 2007-2013 programming cycle, did not coincide with the actual deadline for implementation of projects for programmes co-financed by the European Structural Funds in the 2007-2013. Based on the existing “n+2” rule  implementation rules for the EU budget the implementation of the cycle go on doing following two years, i.e. until 31 December 2015, which is the last date on which the payments actually incurred by the beneficiaries in respect of projects/operations could be charged to the EU budget. The financial contribution of the EU budget to the 2007-2013 Programs remained usable for another two years after 31 December 2013. An exception to this are the Financial Engineering Instruments (to which specific rules apply) for which the final date for payment to the final recipients was 31 March 2017. 

In general, therefore, December 31, 2015 was the deadline for making payments from community resources for the 2007-2013 cycle. To complete the projects that were still unfinished and inoperative on that date, two possibilities emerged:

1. the projects meets certain requirements, described elsewhere, and therefore can be completed even with the EU resources of the 2014-2020 cycle. Such projects are also inserted in the 2014-2020 programmes and therefore receive financing that, for the EU portion, includes both 2007-2013 and 2014-2020 resources, 

2. the projects do not meet the requirements and therefore must be completed using only the resources of the Member State (national, regional or local). The share of expenditure already incurred on the 2007-2013 EU programmes by 31 December 2015 may continue to be deemed eligible if the project is actually completed by the deadline indicated, i.e. by the deadline for submission of the final programme closure documents (31 March 2017) or by 31 March 2019 for “non-functioning” projects, i.e. those not completed and in use at the time of submission of the final programme closure documents.

The following is a brief list of the requirements for including in the 2014-2020 programming cycle projects already financed in 2007-2013:

- for Major Projects (which, for the 2007-2013 cycle, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No. 1083/2006, are investments for which the total cost exceeds €50 million, characterized by indivisible tasks of an economic or technical nature, for which the specific approval of the Commission is needed):

· the project must not have been approved by the Commission as a Major Project in the 2000-2006 programming period as well;

· the project must be divisible into two phases that are clearly identifiable from a material and financial standpoint in order for the second phase of the project to be eligible for 2014-2020 Structural Funds;

· an application to modify the Major Project must be made to reduce the funding for the 2007-2013 period (first phase) while at the same time maintaining the original general objective, which is therefore to be achieved during the 2014-2020 period, at the end of the second phase of the project;

- for all other projects (except Financial Engineering Instruments, which are not divisible into phases):

· the project must not have been chosen by the Member State in the 2000-2006 programming period;

· the total cost of the project must be equal to or greater than €5 million;

· the project must be divisible into two phases that are clearly identifiable from a material and financial standpoint in order for the second phase of the project to be eligible for 2014-2020 Structural Funds.

In both cases the second phase of the project must meet the eligibility requirements for funding from the Structural Funds in the 2014-2020 period.

Further details are found in the Annex to the Commission Decision on the approval of the guidelines on the closure of operational programmes adopted for assistance from the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund (2007-2013).

The Cohesion Action Plan (Piano d’Azione per la Coesione - PAC) was launched in 2011 as a measure to accelerate the implementation of programmes co-financed by the 2007-2013 Structural Funds and boost the effectiveness of the interventions. The PAC is funded with national resources generated from the reduction of the rate of national co-financing of the Operational Programmes and by resources that have been reprogrammed through the internal replanning of those Programmes.

In the 2014-2020 programming period, the experience of the PAC continues in the Complementary Operational Programs (POC) financed by a portion of the resources of the Revolving Fund which support the national co-financing of the Operational Programmes of the European Structural and Investment Funds.

The Development and Cohesion Plan (PSC) represents an instrument, introduced during 2014-2020 and envisaged by article 44 of Legislative Decree 34/2019 and subsequent amendments, aimed at harmonization of the planning of resources relating to the Development and Cohesion Fund (FSC, former Fund for Underutilized Areas FAS) relating to three programming periods, 2014-2020, 2007-2013 and 2000-2006.

The 43 Development and Cohesion Plans identified during the 2014-2020 period (the complete list is available in the programming section) therefore replace around 900 of the previous programming instruments of the FSC, such as Development Pacts, Regional Implementation Programmes, Regional Implementation, Service Objectives and Programme Agreements.

The projects initially monitored through these tools are being migrated to the new Development and Cohesion Plans.

Cohesion policy resources are allocated on a geographical basis, giving priority to less developed areas. As regards European resources, regions with per capita GDP of less than 75% of the EU average are the largest beneficiaries of funds through projects to foster their growth and convergence. During the programming periods, Italian regions have been divided into “Objective 1/Objective 2” regions (until 2000-2006), “Convergence/Competitiveness” regions (in 2007-2013), and “Less-developed/Transition/More-developed” regions (in 2014-2020 and 2021-2027).

In 2021-2027, the "Less developed regions" are Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Puglia, Sardinia and Sicily; Abruzzo, Marche and Umbria are the "Regions in transition" while the "Most developed regions" are Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardy, Piedmont, Tuscany, Valle d'Aosta, Veneto and the Autonomous Provinces of Bolzano and of Trento. As regards cohesion policy financed with national resources, the classification criteria does not change compared to the previous period.

In 2014-2020, the “Less-developed” regions are Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Puglia and Sicily; Abruzzo, Molise and Sardinia are “Transition” regions, while the “More-developed” regions are Emilia Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardy, Marche, Piedmont, Tuscany, Valle d’Aosta, Veneto, Umbria and the Autonomous Provinces of Bolzano and Trento.

In 2007-2013, the “Convergence” regions were Calabria, Campania, Puglia and Sicily, with Basilicata receiving transitional support. All of the others were “Competitiveness” regions.

As far as national resources are concerned, the regions are classified on a geographical basis, grouped into “Southern Italy” (Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Puglia, Sardinia and Sicily) and “Centre-North” (all others).

European territorial cooperation is a central element for the setting up of a common European space and represents a pillar of European integration, bringing the clear added value in various aspects: ensure that borders do not become barriers, brings European citizens together, promotes the joint solution for common problems, facilitates the sharing of ideas and good practices and encourages strategic collaboration to achieve common objectives.

European territorial cooperation programmes, funded by the ERDF, promote collaboration between regional and local administrations to solve common problems by the means of the exchange of experiences, the establishing of networks and the implementation of joint projects.

The Italian territories are eligible and are participating in 19 European territorial cooperation programmes. The Department for the Cohesion Policy of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers is the Italian National Authority and the referent body for the EU Commission.

In the section of the OpenCoesione portal dedicated to programming, it is possible to consult the list of the ETC Programmes under monitoring in the 2014-2020 period (7) and in the 2021-2027 period (10).

The Unique Project Code (CUP) identifies a project financed with public resources and consists of a 15-character alphanumeric string. It is one of the main classification features adopted in order to ensure the transparency and traceability of public financial flows and is also a variable recorded in the National Monitoring System of the cohesion policies. On the OpenCoesione portal, the CUP is reported as the first information indicated in the column of each project sheet, and it is used as a key for projects' search.

The CUP request is mandatory for all operations financed with national and EU public funds, therefore - with reference to cohesion policies - both the European Structural and Investment Funds, the National Fund for Development and Cohesion and the funds of the Plan of Action and Cohesion.

The CUP is released upon request and following the filling out of several data concerning the public investment project within the CUP System. Some of these data, such as the nature, type or sector of intervention, are reported on the OpenCoesione portal. It is possible to consult the metadata to find out which are the variables coming from the CUP information kit.

The data of the CUP are available in open format on the OpenCUP portal. In the portal it is possible to consult and perform the search on all the investment projects connected to CUP whose nature is public works, grants or contributions for disasters.

Starting from the update as of 30th June 2022, OpenCoesione portal releases data relating to the Development and Cohesion Plans (PSC) identified during the 2014-2020 programming period. The availability and the update of PSCs in the National Monitoring System is an activity that foresees the elimination of projects from the previous initial FSC Plans or Programmes and the simultaneous inclusion in the new PSCs, where the monitoring of their implementation is foreseen to continue.

This activity, carried out by each administration with the support of IGRUE and Agency for Territorial Cohesion, is differentiated over time for each individual PSC. Until the migration in the National Monitoring System is completed, the framework of projects and financial resources in each PSC published on OpenCoesione is partial.
In the summary pages of the portal for each PSC, the migration current status is indicated as well as those plans or programmes representing the origin for the projects not yet migrated. In addition to the projects that will undergo the migration process, each PSC can be populated with projects from European programmes of the 2014-2020 period following the COVID-19 emergency response strategy with cohesion policies, and new projects financed with the PSC's own resources.

As of the data update as at 31 August 2023, there are 14 Programmes for which the migration is still in progress:

- 8 relate to the 2014-2020 period, namely ABRUZZO AGREEMENT, EMILIA-ROMAGNA REGION PSC, CITY OF BARI AGREEMENT, CITY OF CATANIA AGREEMENT, CITY OF FLORENCE AGREEMENT, CITY OF MESSINA, CITY PACT OF PALERMO, CITY PACT OF VENICE;

- 6 relating to the 2007-2013 period, namely PAR BOLZANO, PAR ABRUZZO, PRA ABRUZZO, ABRUZZO SERVICE TARGETS, PRA BASILICATA, PAR EMILIA-ROMAGNA.

The main sources for data on the context of cohesion policies that can be downloaded from OpenCoesione are indicated hereinafter:

• For territorial and thematic statistical indicators that enable assessment of how resources are being used to meet territorial needs, the data source is the ISTAT database.

• For information on cash flows (current and capital revenue and expenditure flows) of general government and the extended public sector, the source is the Regional Public Accounts (RPA), which since 1996 produce annual regional data by sector of intervention, level of government and economic category.

Download here the open data and the associated metadata on the cohesion policy context.

The funding monitored indicates the total public funding referred to the monitored projects, net of any savings. The funding monitored includes funding from all financial sources, while it does not include funding coming from private entities. The cohesion amount stands for the part of the monitored public funding which is financed by European and national resources of the cohesion policies.

The difference between the funding monitored and the cohesion amount is the co-financing "attracted" by the cohesion policies that represents ordinary resources, coming from the national, regional or municipal level, which contribute to the financing of the projects.

Payments monitored represent the total amount of payments disbursed for a particular monitored project, while cohesion payments indicate the amount of total payments referring to cohesion policy resources and therefore represent the portion of payments financed by European or national cohesion funds.

The ERDF supports programmes that focus on regional development, improving competitiveness, and investing in research and sustainable development, as well as European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) projects. The ESF+ is the European Union's main instrument for investing in people, jobs, society, education and skills and brings together four funding instruments that were separated in the 2014-2020 programming period: the European Social Fund (ESF), the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD), the Youth Employment Initiative and the European Program for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI). The EAFRD supports European rural development policy and, to this aim, finances rural development programmes carried out in all Member States and regions of the Union; the EMFF contributes to sustainable fisheries and economic development in European coastal regions. The JTF aims to provide support to territories facing serious socio-economic challenges arising from the transition to climate neutrality. Other funds are those for asylum and migration (AMIF), internal security (ISF) and border and visa management (BMVI).

On the OpenCoesione portal, as soon as the 2021-2027 National Monitoring System is operational, data from projects financed with the Structural Funds and the JTF can be browsed.

The Structural Funds are implemented by Managing Authorities (i.e. Administrations in charge of managing the allocated funds) through Operational Programmes which, in the various programming periods, can have a national (PON or PN for 2021-2027) or regional (POR or PR for 2021-2027) or international (ETC Programmes) scale. In 2007-2013, there were also Operational Programmes on an Interregional scale (POIN).