Interreg 2028-2034: programming through the lens of performance

The European Commission’s proposal foresees a new structure for all European funds. Instead of the currently separate structural funds (ERDF, CAP, ESF, etc.), each Member State will have a National and Regional Partnership Plan (NRPP). For European territorial cooperation, a 28th plan will be established at the European level: the Interreg Plan. It will bring together all cooperation programs in the form of distinct “chapters”.

The Commission sets a continuity goal for Interreg:

• a slightly increasing budget (the draft regulations plan for over 10 billion euros for Interreg);
• no major changes to the geographical coverage of the programs (unless they specifically request it);
• keeping the existing types of programs (cross-border, transnational, interregional, and overseas).

Beyond the continuity guidelines, a major change structures the draft regulation: the shift to a performance-based approach. Commission reimbursements to managing authorities will no longer be based on certified expenses, but on meeting milestones and targets defined by performance indicators for each area of intervention. The goal is to directly tie program funding to results, based on predefined and measurable objectives.

Programs will therefore need to integrate this approach from the very development of their chapter.

In practical terms, programmes will need to follow several steps:

• Programs must establish an intervention strategy based on a needs analysis and a territorial analysis.
• This strategy is broken down into measures, that is, investments or reforms:
  – Investments aim to promote an activity or a set of activities, in particular in fixed capital, intangible assets, human capital, and natural capital, which should generate tangible benefits for society, the economy, and/or the environment.
  – A reform under the PNR plan is an action or process designed to bring about structural changes and improvements, that have a significant impact and lasting effects on how a market or policy functions, as well as on the functioning or structures of an institution or administration at national or subnational level.
• Each measure is linked to one or more specific objectives set out in the regulations and is broken down into one or more areas of action.
• One or more performance indicators are assigned to a measure. These are quantitative performance indicators that track what is directly produced or supported by implementing a measure.
• One or more result indicators are also assigned, aiming to determine the direct effects of the supported activities.
• Qualitative milestones and quantitative targets then shape the course of each measure and the reimbursements from the programs.

For now, this approach applies to reimbursements between the European Commission and the managing authorities. How it will be implemented for Interreg project beneficiaries will be determined by each program, which may:

• Continue to operate on a reimbursement basis based on actual expenditures;
• Apply the performance-based approach to beneficiaries;
• Implement simplified cost options (SCOs);
• Adopt a hybrid approach.

The framework proposed by the Commission may still evolve as negotiations with the Council and the European Parliament, which began following the publication of the proposed regulation and are currently ongoing—progress. Several key elements for the preparation of the chapters are expected in the fall of 2026, including the Cooperation Orientation Papers, in which the Commission will provide its guidance for each Interreg chapter.