Special report 24/2025: Financial instruments in Cohesion policy. A revolving use of funds materialised partially | OJ C/2025/6550, 5.12.2025

One of the advantages of financial instruments in cohesion policy over grants is that reflows can be used to support additional final recipients, leading to more efficient use of public financing. Our work concluded that only a limited reuse of reflows materialises during eligibility periods, partly due to acceptable reasons, such as the long‑term nature of investments. After the eligibility period, reflows are generally reused for cohesion policy purposes, but with limitations. We found the legal framework on the reuse obligation insufficiently clear and unambiguous and found a lack of effective oversight by the Commission, leading to varying practices among member states’ managing authorities. We recommend that the Commission and member states aim at maximising the use of reflows for a more efficient use of EU finances.