Changes at "Include urban-rural functionality criteria in the post-2027 EU funding plans"

The Single National and, where appropriate, Regional Plans for the post-2027 EU budget should incorporate urban-rural functionalities into the criteria of funding programmes (successors to ERDF, ESF+, EAFRD and the Social Climate Fund) and into the new Performance Framework. Leaving this entirely to Member States, without criteria set at EU level, risks reversing progress on recognising rural demographic challenges, spatial targeting of urban and rural inequalities, and functional-area approaches.

Source: RURBANIVE submission to the EC consultation on the MFF 2028–2034 (October 2025). Proto-recommendation for validation and prioritisation.