The Partnership Agreement (PA) provides the strategic direction for several funds under Cohesion Policy and in particular lays the ground for investments under several programmes, namely the European Regional Development Fund, Cohesion Fund and the Just Transition Fund Programme, the European Social Fund Plus Programme and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund Programme for the 2021-2027 period.
The PA defines the policy choices for the programmes mentioned above and sets out how these choices will contribute towards the achievement of the country’s socio-economic goals as outlined in relevant national policy documents and strategies. The PA covers a total budget (EU + MT contribution) of around €1.2 Billion that will be implemented through the cohesion programmes in order to address the following objectives:
A more competitive and smarter Europe by promoting innovative and smart economic transformation and regional ICT connectivity (PO 1)
A greener, low-carbon transitioning towards a net zero carbon economy and resilient Europe by promoting clean and fair energy transition, green and blue investment, the circular economy, climate change mitigation and adaptation, risk prevention and management and sustainable water management (PO 2)
o Energy
o Sustainable Multi-Modal Urban Mobility
o Sustainable Management of Water Resources
o A Circular and Resource Efficient Economy
o Protection and Preservation of Nature, Biodiversity and Green Infrastructure
A more connected Europe by enhancing mobility (PO 3)
o Climate Resilience, Intelligent, Secure, Sustainable and Intermodal TEN-T
A more social Europe implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights (PO 4)
o Culture and Sustainable Tourism
o Employment
o Education
o Health, Integration, Social Inequalities and Material Deprivation
o Social Innovation
Europe closer to citizens by fostering the sustainable and integrated development of all types of territories and local initiatives (PO 5)
Enabling regions and people to address the social, employment, economic and environmental impacts of the transition towards the Union’s 2030 targets for energy and climate and a climate-neutral economy of the Union by 2050, based on the Paris Agreement (JTF)
The PA lays out complementarities and delineations between several EU funds and other initiatives. The document also outlines the complementarities and synergies with other EU instruments including the Recovery and Resilience Facility, Invest EU, ERASMUS and Horizon, amongst others. Such coordination between instruments is critical for Member States to maximise the use of EU funding sources and to ensure coherence between different EU funded initiatives.
Through the PA, it is being envisaged that a total of €14.5 million is transferred from ERDF to Horizon Europe (€5 million) and Invest EU (€9.5 million) to focus on strengthening R&I and competitiveness.
The approved Partnership Agreement for Malta 2021-2027 may be found here.