11.5 Cohesion, Agriculture, Social Europe & the Digital Rulebook
Key Takeaways
- Cohesion policy (Articles 174–178 TFEU) aims to reduce regional disparities and has about €392 billion for 2021–2027 through the ERDF, Cohesion Fund, ESF+ and Just Transition Fund.
- The Cohesion Fund is reserved for Member States whose gross national income per head is below 90% of the EU average.
- The 2023–2027 CAP (about €387 billion) runs through national CAP Strategic Plans, with at least 25% of direct payments reserved for eco-schemes.
- The European Pillar of Social Rights (2017) has 20 principles; its Porto targets for 2030 are 78% employment, 60% adult training and 15 million fewer people at risk of poverty.
- The Digital Services Act imposes stricter duties on platforms with at least 45 million monthly EU users, backed by fines of up to 6% of worldwide turnover.
11.5 Cohesion, Agriculture, Social Europe & the Digital Rulebook
Why this matters: Cohesion policy and the Common Agricultural Policy together account for roughly two-thirds of the 2021–2027 MFF. Social and digital legislation make up a large share of recent law-making. These "main policies" regularly appear in EU knowledge questions about objectives, funds, thresholds and legal bases.
Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion (Articles 174–178 TFEU)
Objective (Article 174 TFEU): strengthen economic, social and territorial cohesion, in particular by reducing disparities between the levels of development of the various regions. It pays particular attention to rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition, and regions with severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps.
| Fund | Main purpose | Who is eligible |
|---|---|---|
| European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) | Innovation, SMEs, digital, green and connectivity investment | All regions, at different intensity |
| Cohesion Fund | Transport (TEN-T) and environment infrastructure | Member States with gross national income per head below 90% of the EU average |
| European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) | Employment, skills, social inclusion | All Member States |
| Just Transition Fund | Regions most affected by the move away from fossil fuels | Territories in approved transition plans |
Region categories (2021–2027), based on GDP per head compared with the EU average: less developed (below 75%), transition (75–100%) and more developed (above 100%). EU co-financing rates are highest for less developed regions (up to 85%).
Delivery: each Member State signs a Partnership Agreement with the Commission and runs operational programmes under shared management. National and regional authorities select projects, and the Commission and the Court of Auditors audit them. Unused commitments are "decommitted" after a set period (the n+3 rule for most of 2021–2027). Cohesion policy has about €392 billion for 2021–2027 and five policy objectives: a smarter, greener, more connected and more social Europe, and a Europe closer to citizens. The 2025 mid-term review let Member States reprogramme funds towards new priorities such as competitiveness, defence, housing, water and the energy transition.
The Common Agricultural Policy (Articles 38–44 TFEU)
Treaty objectives (Article 39 TFEU): increase agricultural productivity, ensure a fair standard of living for farmers, stabilise markets, assure the availability of supplies, and ensure reasonable prices for consumers. CAP law is adopted by the ordinary legislative procedure (Article 43(2) TFEU). Some price and quota measures are adopted by the Council alone (Article 43(3)).
| Pillar | Fund | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Pillar 1 | European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) | Direct payments (income support) and market measures, fully EU-financed |
| Pillar 2 | European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) | Rural development programmes, co-financed by Member States |
The 2023–2027 CAP (about €387 billion in the 2021–2027 MFF) introduced national CAP Strategic Plans built around ten specific objectives. It also brought "enhanced conditionality" (baseline environmental and animal-welfare rules for receiving payments) and eco-schemes, which must take at least 25% of direct-payment budgets. After farmer protests in 2024, some environmental conditions were simplified. The Common Fisheries Policy sits alongside the CAP, and the conservation of marine biological resources is an exclusive EU competence (Article 3(1)(d) TFEU). The Commission's 2028–2034 proposal would fold CAP and cohesion funding into single National and Regional Partnership Plans (Section 9.3).
Social Europe
Competence limits: in social policy the EU mainly supports and complements national action (Article 153 TFEU). Pay, the right of association, the right to strike and the right to impose lock-outs are excluded from EU harmonisation (Article 153(5)). Social security for workers needs Council unanimity. The social partners can negotiate agreements that become directives (Articles 154–155 TFEU).
- European Pillar of Social Rights: proclaimed in Gothenburg on 17 November 2017, with 20 principles in three chapters: equal opportunities and access to the labour market, fair working conditions, and social protection and inclusion. The Porto targets for 2030 are at least 78% employment (ages 20–64), at least 60% of adults in training every year, and 15 million fewer people at risk of poverty or social exclusion.
- Recent legislation: the Adequate Minimum Wages Directive (EU) 2022/2041, the Pay Transparency Directive (EU) 2023/970 (transposition deadline 7 June 2026) and the Platform Work Directive (EU) 2024/2831 (transposition by December 2026).
The Digital Rulebook at a Glance
| Act | Core idea | Key figure |
|---|---|---|
| GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) | Personal data protection (Section 14.2) | Fines up to 4% of worldwide turnover |
| Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065) | Duties for online intermediaries, with stricter rules for very large platforms and search engines | "Very large" means 45 million or more monthly EU users; fines up to 6% of worldwide turnover |
| Digital Markets Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/1925) | Ex-ante obligations for gatekeepers (Section 10.2) | Fines up to 10% (20% for repeat infringements) |
| AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) | Risk-based AI rules (Section 14.3) | Prohibited practices banned since 2 February 2025 |
| Data Act (Regulation (EU) 2023/2854) | Access to and sharing of data from connected products | Applies from 12 September 2025 |
| NIS2 Directive (EU) 2022/2555 | Cybersecurity obligations for essential and important entities | Transposition deadline 17 October 2024 |
The Digital Decade policy programme sets 2030 targets, including at least 80% of adults with basic digital skills and 20 million ICT specialists. That goal links directly to the DigComp framework tested in the digital skills test (Chapters 12–14).
Exam tip: for each policy, be able to state (1) the Treaty objective or legal basis, (2) the main fund or instrument, (3) one headline threshold or number, and (4) how it is delivered (shared or direct management, regulation or directive).
Which Member States are eligible for support from the Cohesion Fund?
Under Article 153(5) TFEU, which subjects are excluded from EU social-policy harmonisation?
Under the Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065), what makes an online platform or search engine "very large" and subject to the strictest obligations?