ERDF Danmark — Regional Udvikling

Supports

The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) provides funding to public and private bodies in all EU regions to reduce economic, social and territorial disparities. The Fund supports investments through dedicated national or regional programmes. In 2021-2027, the fund will enable investments to make Europe and its regions: more competitive and smarter, through innovation and support to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), as well as digitisation and digital connectivity greener, low-carbon and resilient more connected by enhancing mobility more social, supporting effective and inclusive employment, education, skills, social inclusion and equal access to healthcare, as well as enhancing the role of culture and sustainable tourism closer to citizens, supporting locally-led development and sustainable urban development across the EU The ERDF is delivered under shared management. Local authorities call for projects adapted to their specific needs. It is governed by the Common Provisions Regulation. Learn how to propose a project, and how the project selection process works. Fund duration 2021-2027 Climate contribution 30% (target) Total budget 2021-2027 € 226.05 billion (current prices) Relevant regulation Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council. EU funding is managed by the Commission, jointly with the Member States, or through implementing partners. The management mode determines the procedure for applications and how they are evaluated. To get funding for a project, the applicant needs to identify a relevant call for proposals/project and carefully follow the specific guidelines on how to apply – each call is unique. The project will compete for funding with those submitted by other applicants for that call. In shared management, both the European Commission and national authorities in Member States, such as ministries and public institutions, are in charge of running a particular programme. Around 70% of EU programmes are run this way. The Member States' administrations (at national, regional and local level) choose which projects to finance and take responsibility for day-to-day management. Working together with the Member States, the Commission makes sure that the projects are successfully concluded, and the money is well spent. How to access EU regional funds Regional and national funding authorities EuroAccess: a free online search tool to support the use of existing funding opportunities to improve economic, social and territorial cohesion in the European Union and its Macro-Regions. A common provisions regulation is established to govern 8 EU funds whose delivery is shared with Member States and regions. Together, they represent a third of the EU budget. The largest share of this budget is allocated to 5 common policy objectives: a more competitive and smarter Europe by promoting innovative and smart economic transformation and regional ICT connectivity; 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 urban mobility; a more social and inclusive Europe implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights; a Europe closer to citizens by fostering the sustainable and integrated development of all types of territories and local initiatives. Each fund has specific objectives defined in their respective Fund-specific regulations. Key achievements from the 2021-2027 European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) programmes 262000 businesses have been targeted to receive support through selected projects providing grants, equity, guarantees, loans and advice. 1.6million households arecovered by selected projects to provide very high-capacity broadband access. 223000 enterprises are covered by selected projects to provide to very high-capacity broadband access. 242000 dwellings are covered by selected projects to improve their energy performance. 20million people are covered by selected projects to provide new or modernised health services. 24million people are covered by selected projects to provide protection measures against climate-related natural disasters. 22million hectares of land are covered by selected projects to protect against wildfires. Cohesion policy programmes contribute to strengthening the economic, social and territorial cohesion in the EU. They aim to correct imbalances between countries and regions and deliver on the EU’s political priorities, especially the green and digital transition. Budget programming and implementation Budget programming (million EUR) 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 Total Financial programming 255.2 43 569.3 44 863.4 46 096.3 47 324.5 40 206.6 41 563.3 263 878.5 NextGenerationEU 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Decommitments made available again (*) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Contributions from other countries and entities 0.0 0.0 234.7 120.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 354.9 Total 255.2 43 569.3 45 098.1 46 216.5 47 324.5 40 206.6 41 563.3 264 233.4 Financial Programming REACT-EU: 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 Total Financial programming 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 NextGenerationEU 24 038.5 5 904.7 38.4 3.0 22.0 0.0 0.0 30 006.6 Decommitments made available again (*) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Contributions from other countries and entities 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Total 24 038.5 5 904.7 38.4 3.0 22.0 0.0 0.0 30 006.6 Cumulative budget implementation at the end of 2024 (million EUR) Implementation Budget Implementation rate Commitments 132 368.6 264 233.4 50.1% Payments 20 003.1 7.6% Financial Implementation REACT-EU: Implementation Budget Implementation rate Commitments 29 984.5 30 006.6 99.9% Payments 28 052.4 0.0 93.5% Implementation and performance Key performance indicators The indicators below represent a selection of the core performance indicators from the programme. Enterprises supported to innovate 0 Actual results: 7.6%, Selected operations: 34.4% 150 000 in 2029 11 395 enterprises (Selected operations: 51 377enterprises) compared to a target of 149 454 enterprises On track Small and medium-sized enterprises supported to enhance growth and competitiveness 0 Actual results: 9.9%, Selected operations: 46.8% 446 000 in 2029 44 000 small and medium-sized enterprises (Selected operations: 208 568 small and medium-sized enterprises) compared to a target of 446 100 small and medium-sized enterprises On track Additional dwellings and enterprises with broadband access of very high capacity 0 Actual results: 0%, Selected operations: 50.2% for dwellings and 62.8% for enterprises 3.1 million dwellings in 2029 and 360 000 enterprises 573 dwellings (Selected operations: 1 573 678 dwellings), compared to a target of 3 132 734 and 46 enterprises (selected operations: 223 874 enterprises), compared to a target of 356 552 enterprises On track Savings in annual primary energy consumption 0 Actual results: 0.6%, Selected operations: 4.8% 272 million MWh/year in 2029 1 729 805MWh/year (Selected operations: 13 037 481MWh/year), compared to a target of 272 159 326 MWh/year Moderate progress Additional production capacity for renewable energy 0 Actual results: 4.9%, Selected operations: 34.6% 9 400 MW in 2029 465 MW (Selected operations: 3 262MW) compared to a target of 9 427 MW On track New, upgraded, reconstructed or modernised railways (TEN-T) 0 Actual results: 2.5%, Selected operations: 28.8% 4 100 km in 2029 102 km (Selected operations: 1 186km) compared to a target of 4 110 km On track New or modernised capacity for health care facilities 0 Actual results: 3.3%, Selected operations: 33.7% 59 million persons/year in 2029 1 939 322 persons/year (Selected operations: 19 983 659 persons/year) compared to a target of 58 812 363 persons/year On track Population covered by strategies for integrated territorial development 0 Actual results: 9.0%, Selected operations: 43.2% 147  million people in 2029 13 milion people (Selected operations: 64 million people) compared to a target of 147 milion people On track The 2021-2027 programme implementation picked up significant speed in 2024. The project selection rate has quadrupled since the end of 2023. As of the end of 2024, Member States have selected operations amounting to 37.3% of their ERDF/CF allocation (including Interreg Europe), EUR 113 billion under ERDF and EUR 26 billion under CF (including national co-financing). As of mid-March 2025, total net payments (including pre-financing) of EUR 18.3 billion were paid out (7% of the ERDF and CF allocations). These payments include the backlog of unpaid claims at the end of 2024, amounting to almost EUR 4 billion. The payment rates for ERDF and CF are still lagging behind in comparison with 2014-2020. However, similarly to the selection rate, if the 7-month delay is taken into account, the payment rate would be slightly higher than that of 2014-2020. The payments are expected to pick up pace in 2025. In the 2024 budget, the allocation for ERDF and CF together was EUR 46 billion for mainstream programmes (EUR 39.2 billion for ERDF, EUR 6.8 billion for CF) in commitment appropriations. Out of this amount, EUR 43.7 billion has been committed, representing 97.8% of the total allocation. The remaining amount corresponds to the decommitments made on the Health Union programmes (EUR 1 billion). Contribution to green budgeting priorities (EUR million): Implementation Estimates   2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 Total % of the  total envelope Climate mainstreaming 39.1 13 728.9 13 790.8 14 788.7 17 006.2 14 440.0 14 932.8 88 726.5 33.6% Biodiversity mainstreaming 0.0 2 644.8 2 737.5 2 800.7 2 873.0 2 439.5 2 522.7 16 018.2 6.1% The legislation set up minimum thresholds for two of the tracking mechanisms: climate and biodiversity mainstreaming. For climate