A third general approach, which is a political agreement of the Council pending the adoption of a first-reading position by the European Parliament, was agreed by the Council on the cohesion policy legislative package. The approach is partial since some elements are excluded, in particular the sums to be devoted to cohesion policy and the eligibility of different regions.

The Council agreed in a third general approach for EU cohesion policy for 2014-2020 period. The partial general approach agreed complements the two partial general approaches agreed on 24 April and 26 June. The purpose of cohesion policy is to reduce disparities between the levels of development of the EU's various regions.

The partial general approach agreed by the Council covers seven thematic blocs: Information and communication, European territorial cooperation, Territorial development, Financial issues not covered in the negotiations on the MFF for 2014-2020, Country-specific recommendations, Management and control, and Indicators.

Most of the elements of the cohesion policy package are now covered by the Council. However, all three partial general approaches were agreed on the principle that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, meaning that they may be subject to change as a result of these other negotiations. The new cohesion policy rules are closely linked to the EU's multiannual financial framework (MFF) for 2014-2020 negotiations; they are only expected tobe adopted by the European Parliament and the Council once an agreement on the MFF has been reached.