Article 1 -
Establishment of the Cohesion Fund and subject matter
1. A Cohesion Fund is hereby established for the purpose of strengthening the economic, social and territorial cohesion of the Union in the interests of promoting sustainable development.
2. This Regulation establishes the tasks of the Cohesion Fund and the scope of its support with regard to the Investment for growth and jobs goal referred to in Article 89 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013.
Article 2 -
Scope of support from the Cohesion Fund
1. The Cohesion Fund shall, while ensuring an appropriate balance and according to the investment and infrastructure needs specific to each Member State, support:
(a)
investment in the environment, including areas related to sustainable development and energy which present environmental benefits;
(b)
TEN-T, in compliance with the guidelines adopted by Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013;
(c)
technical assistance.
2. The Cohesion Fund shall not support:
(a)
the decommissioning or the construction of nuclear power stations;
(b)
investment to achieve the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from activities listed in Annex I to Directive 2003/87/EC;
(c)
investment in housing unless related to the promotion of energy efficiency or renewable energy use;
(d)
the manufacturing, processing and marketing of tobacco and tobacco products;
(e)
undertakings in difficulty, as defined under Union State aid rules;
(f)
investment in airport infrastructure unless related to environmental protection or accompanied by investment necessary to mitigate or reduce its negative environmental impact.
Article 3 -
Cohesion Fund support for transport infrastructure projects under the Connecting Europe Facility
The Cohesion Fund shall support transport infrastructure projects of European added value provided for in Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013 for an amount of EUR 10 000 000 000 in accordance with Article 92(6) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013.
Article 4 -
Investment priorities
The Cohesion Fund shall support the following investment priorities within the thematic objectives set out in the first paragraph of Article 9 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, in accordance with the development needs and growth potential referred to in point (a)(i) of Article 15(1) of that Regulation and set out in the Partnership Agreement:
(a)
supporting the shift towards a low-carbon economy in all sectors by:
(i)
promoting the production and distribution of energy derived from renewable sources;
(ii)
promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy use in enterprises;
(iii)
supporting energy efficiency, smart energy management and renewable energy use in public infrastructure, including in public buildings, and in the housing sector;
(iv)
developing and implementing smart distribution systems that operate at low and medium voltage levels;
(v)
promoting low-carbon strategies for all types of territories, in particular for urban areas, including the promotion of sustainable multimodal urban mobility and mitigation-relevant adaptation measures;
(vi)
promoting the use of high-efficiency co-generation of heat and power based on useful heat demand;
(b)
promoting climate change adaptation, risk prevention and management by:
(i)
supporting investment for adaptation to climate change, including ecosystem-based approaches;
(ii)
promoting investment to address specific risks, ensuring disaster resilience and developing disaster management systems;
(c)
preserving and protecting the environment and promoting resource efficiency by:
(i)
investing in the waste sector to meet the requirements of the Union's environmental acquis and to address needs, identified by the Member States, for investment that goes beyond those requirements;
(ii)
investing in the water sector to meet the requirements of the Union's environmental acquis and to address needs, identified by the Member States, for investment that goes beyond those requirements;
(iii)
protecting and restoring biodiversity and soil and promoting ecosystem services, including through Natura 2000, and green infrastructure;
(iv)
taking action to improve the urban environment, to revitalise cities, regenerate and decontaminate brownfield sites (including conversion areas), reduce air pollution and promote noise-reduction measures;
(d)
promoting sustainable transport and removing bottlenecks in key network infrastructures by:
(i)
supporting a multimodal Single European Transport Area by investing in the TEN-T;
(ii)
developing and improving environmentally-friendly (including low-noise) and low-carbon transport systems, including inland waterways and maritime transport, ports, multimodal links and airport infrastructure, in order to promote sustainable regional and local mobility;
(iii)
developing and rehabilitating comprehensive, high quality and interoperable railway systems, and promoting noise-reduction measures;
(e)
enhancing institutional capacity of public authorities and stakeholders and efficient public administration through actions to strengthen the institutional capacity and the efficiency of public administrations and public services related to the implementation of the Cohesion Fund.
Article 5 -
Indicators
1. Common output indicators, as set out in Annex I to this Regulation, programme-specific result indicators and, where relevant, programme-specific output indicators shall be used in accordance with Article 27(4) and point (b)(ii) and (iv) and point (c)(ii) and (iv) of Article 96(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013.
2. For common and programme-specific output indicators, baselines shall be set at zero. Cumulative quantified target values for those indicators shall be set for 2023.
3. For programme-specific result indicators, which relate to investment priorities, baselines shall use the latest available data and targets shall be set for 2023. Targets may be expressed in quantitative or qualitative terms.
4. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 7 to amend the list of common output indicators set out in Annex I, in order to make adjustments, where justified to ensure effective assessment of progress in operational programme implementation.
Article 6 -
Transitional provisions
1. This Regulation shall not affect either the continuation or modification, including the total or partial cancellation of assistance approved by the Commission on the basis of Regulation (EC) No 1084/2006 or any other legislation applying to that assistance on 31 December 2013. That Regulation or such other applicable legislation shall consequently continue to apply after 31 December 2013 to that assistance or the operations concerned until their closure. For the purposes of this paragraph assistance shall cover operational programmes and major projects.
2. Applications to receive assistance made or approved under Regulation (EC) No 1084/2006 shall remain valid.
Article 7 -
Exercise of the delegation
1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.
2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 5(4) shall be conferred on the Commission from 21 December 2013 until 31 December 2020.
3. The delegation of power referred to in Article 5(4) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.
4. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.
5. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 5(4) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or the Council.
Article 8 -
Repeal
Without prejudice to Article 6 of this Regulation, Regulation (EC) No 1084/2006 is hereby repealed with effect from 1 January 2014.
References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as references to this Regulation and shall be read in accordance with the correlation table set out in Annex II.
Article 9 -
Review
The European Parliament and the Council shall review this Regulation by 31 December 2020, in accordance with Article 177 TFEU.
Article 10 -
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
