European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
The European Union (EU) uses the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to correct economic imbalances between European regions.
There are national ERDF programmes and international programmes (Interreg). In the Netherlands the national programmes are subdivided into regional programmes.
The ERDF in the Netherlands
The Netherlands will receive €506 million from the EU budget for the period 2021-2027 to carry out its ERDF programmes. This money will be divided among the 4 regional ERDF programmes:
- Northern Netherlands
- Eastern Netherlands (in Dutch)
- Southern Netherlands (in Dutch)
- Western Netherlands (in Dutch)
All ERDF programmes focus on making Europe smarter and greener. ERDF money can be used to fund economic activities aimed at innovation (smarter) and the transition to a low-carbon economy (greener). It is intended mainly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
You can find examples of projects on Europaomdehoek.nl (in Dutch).