Today in Rome, the fourth Monitoring Committee of the National Programme “Capacity for Cohesion” (NP CapCoe) 2021–2027 took place.
The meeting focused on the progress of the Operations of Strategic Importance (OIS), the initiatives launched under Priorities 2 and 3, and the discussion of the methodological approach underlying the forthcoming reprogramming proposal, necessary to align the Programme with the regulatory changes introduced by the Mid-Term Review.
Opening the meeting, Michele Palma, Head of the Department for Cohesion Policy and for the South, recalled the operational challenges faced by CapCoe, in particular the strong commitment to the extraordinary recruitment plan, which has now entered its final stage. This initiative is enabling support for over 1,000 local authorities and for the Department itself, with resources dedicated to cohesion policy, ensuring a more effective and rapid implementation (“messa a terra”) of investments.
Following this, Riccardo Monaco, Director of the Office for the Strengthening of Administrative Capacity for Cohesion Policies, highlighted the structural nature of the CapCoe-supported recruitment plan — aimed at bridging the gap in specific skills — and the consultative approach adopted in its design, which made it possible to tailor the call for applications to the actual capacity-building needs of local administrations.
The Managing Authority, Alessandra Augusto, opened the technical session by presenting the reprogramming proposal of the NP CapCoe following the participation of many Regional Programmes, supported by CapCoe, in the Mid-Term Review. This review introduced new intervention priorities and adjusted spending targets.
While maintaining CapCoe’s original strategy, the reprogramming proposal will introduce specific adjustments to continue effectively supporting the co-financed programmes of the seven Less Developed Regions.
The Monitoring Committee approved the methodological approach for the reprogramming, which will be formally adopted through a written procedure in early 2026.
Regarding implementation, the Committee positively assessed the financial progress of the Programme: to date, over EUR 1.032 billion have been approved for funding, against a total budget of EUR 1.267 billion.
With reference to the Operations of Strategic Importance, updated data were presented on the number of recruitments and the entry into service of the new officials — a growing trend that suggests the plan will soon be completed, with the exception of certain technical profiles for which a new recruitment procedure will be launched next year.
Particular attention was also given to the second Operation of Strategic Importance of the Programme, the Territorial Services Centre (CST), now fully operational through the AppCOE platform.
The service currently supports around 700 local authorities with specialised technical assistance, particularly in the project design phase. The CST was also featured in the presentation on the information and communication activitiescarried out in 2025 across all Programme communication channels: digital, events, videos and video-infographics.
Among the new initiatives presented were two projects aimed at strengthening the implementation of specific ERDF policy areas:
- the CapRischio 2021–2027 project, led by the Department of Civil Protection, designed to improve governance in the management of natural risks in the Less Developed Regions;
- and the project entrusted to ISPRA for the development of environmental statistics supporting the monitoring of cohesion policy.
The Notice for the allocation of resources to support the Administrative Regeneration Plans (PRigA) of the Central-Northern Regions and Central Administrations was also presented.
Finally, ANCI shared with the Committee the latest developments of the Cap4City project, including the launch of pilot actions to test inter-municipal cooperation models for the management of co-financed projects and the enhancement of human resources.
“When Europe speaks of administrative capacity, it looks to CapCoe — a benchmark programme in Europe,”
said Nicola De Michelis, Director at DG REGIO, European Commission, emphasising the importance of accelerating the implementation of the Programme to achieve its strategic objectives: “to build administrative capacity in support of this and future cohesion policy programming periods.”