In a written answer on 16 July 2026, Innovation Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva told Renew MEP Sandro Gozi that the European Commission cannot yet provide consolidated figures on decommitted or unused EU funds for the outermost regions under the 2014-2020 programming period, as closure analysis is still ongoing for several funds. The answer, which covers Horizon 2020, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), the European Social Fund (ESF), and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), aims to reassure the MEP that data will become available once Member States submit final accounts and the Commission completes its assessments.
The question, submitted by Gozi (Renew Europe), sought clarity on amounts left unused in each outermost region after the closure of 2014-2020 programmes. For Horizon 2020, the Commission provided an annex with estimated decommitments per NUTS2 region, stressing the figures are approximations. For EAFRD and the European Union Recovery Instrument (EURI), the answer notes that rural development programmes were extended to 2022 under Regulation (EU) 2020/2220, with implementation ending on 31 December 2025. Member States must submit final closure documents by 30 June 2026, so the data in the annex is provisional. For EMFF, ESF, and ERDF, the closure deadline for Member States was extended to 15 February 2026, and the Commission's analysis is still ongoing, meaning no consolidated figures on decommitments or unused amounts are available yet.
the Commission is committed to transparency but will only release final numbers after verifying Member State submissions. This leaves outermost regions and MEPs in a waiting period, with concrete data expected later in 2026. The response does not set new policy directions or numerical targets, but it confirms that the Commission will eventually publish the requested breakdown, potentially informing future cohesion and research funding debates.