Cohesion Fund

What does it finance?

Areas of support with relevance to disaster risk management include:

Prevention measures (including in cross-border and transnational areas), such as actions to improve the knowledge base, preparation and implementation of disaster risk management strategies, awareness-raising campaigns, flood protection and prevention infrastructure, disaster-proofing of buildings and networks, management of land, forests and rivers (incl. green infrastructure and natural water retention measures, hydro-morphological changes in line with River Basin Management Plans) to prevent specific risks, etc.
Preparedness measures (including in cross-border and transnational areas), such as infrastructure, response vehicles (incl. aircraft and vessels), equipment, shelters, development of early warning systems and training for civil protection units.

The 2025 mid-term review amendment added new specific objectives related to:

Promoting energy interconnectors and related transmition, distribution, storage and supporting infrastructure, as well as protection of critical energy infrastructure and deployment of recharging infrastructure;
ensuring civil preparedness and resilience in all types of territories;
developing resilient defence infrastructure, prioritising that of a dual-use nature, including to foster military mobility in the Union, as well as enhancing civil preparedness;
promoting access to affordable and sustainable housing;
promoting secure access to water and sustainable water management, including integrated water management, and water resilience.

Member States that reallocate funds to these priorities before 31 December 2025 will receive additional benefits in terms of flexibility, co-financing and pre-financing.

What kind of funding does it provide?

The Cohesion Fund delivers grants aimed at capital-intensive investments implemented under shared management between the European Commission and national/regional authorities.

Which authorities are responsible for this instrument?

The Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO, European Commission) and national and regional managing authorities, such as ministries and public institutions, are jointly responsible for managing the funding. The Member States' administrations choose which projects to finance and take responsibility for day-to-day management.

Which countries are eligible?

Member States with a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita under 90 % of the EU‑27 average (for 2021–2027 period) are eligible. These are: Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

Who is this call for?

Organisations that can benefit from regional funding include public bodies, some private sector organisations (especially small businesses), universities, associations, NGOs and voluntary organisations. Foreign firms with a base in the region covered by the relevant operational programme can also apply, provided they meet European public procurement rules. In most cases, funding is granted to projects, so you need to develop a project to be eligible for funding, which you will then receive at different stages of the process.

How to apply and other relevant information

For information on how to apply, please check the dedicated webpage.

All operational programmes have a website and require the publication of calls and the corresponding calendar. Please find on this website the list of all programmes and managing authorities per Member State.

Project example

Slovenia

Flood protection of the Gradaščica river basin

Fund: Cohesion Fund
Financial Allocation: EUR 46 466 000
EU Co-financing: EUR 42 046 482

The project, (July 2016 to December 2023) aimed to reduce flood risks in vulnerable areas. The project included 180 individual technical measures to protect 3,100 buildings and 17,800 inhabitants in the area of the Gradaščica river, located to the northwest of Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital.

Cohesion Policy also contributed with technical assistance (TA) in the form of JASPERS advisory work and AMI experts for the project documentations and designs and their implementation.

The area covered by the project is to the West of Ljubljana and in the south-western part of the capital city. There are two parts of the project: part 1 is about measures in the riverbed and along the river, and part 2 is a retention basin. The measures already completed have protected the city of Ljubljana from the effects of the floods of August 2023.

Learn more about the project.