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The European Union's Cohesion Policy 2021-2027 is the main support for the development strategies of regions and territories as it aims to reduce
existing economic, social and territorial disparities between EU regions.

The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the main instruments of this policy action, providing funding to public and private bodies in all EU regions to reduce disparities and correct imbalances.

In the period 2021-2027, the Fund focuses its resources on 5 Strategic Policy Objectives (SFO) that will make Europe and its regions:

1. more competitive and smarter, through innovation and support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), digitisation and digital connectivity
2. more environmentally friendly, low-carbon and resilient
3. more connected through enhanced mobility
4. more social, by supporting employment, education, skills, social inclusion and equal access to healthcare, as well as strengthening the role of culture and sustainable tourism
5. closer to citizens, fostering local development and sustainable urban development across the EU.

ERDF activities are implemented under shared management, i.e. with shared responsibility between the European Commission and the national and regional authorities of the different EU countries. The Fund supports investments through dedicated national or regional programmes and is governed by the EU Common Provisions Regulation.

The financial resources made available to the European Regional Development Fund are distributed among all the regions of the 27 EU countries according to their level of development, in order to ensure the greatest possible cohesion between the different territories and to even out economic and social disparities. 
Each region consequently undertakes to manage these funds directly by indicating its own needs and objectives for intervention.

In Friuli Venezia Giulia, it is the regional administration (Friuli Venezia Giulia Region) that invites projects adapted to the specific needs of the territory and selects which projects to finance.