This week the EPP Group in the EPP Group in the European Committee of the Regions will continue to play a pivotal role for the future of Europe’s regions and cities.
From high-level political exchanges to key legislative debates, the EPP-CoR Group is actively contributing to discussions that will influence cohesion policy, rural development, youth engagement, and the EU’s long-term budget.
📅 Highlights from the agenda:
🔹 Tuesday (5 May)
• Markku Markkula meets with DG RTD (Joint Action Plan discussion)
• EPP-CoR members discuss security and defence with MEP Nicolás Pascual de la Parte during the EPP-CoR Bureau
• EPP-CoR members participate in the CoR Bureau
• Sari Rautio participates in the Conference of Presidents
• Sari Rautio meets Vice-Presidents of the EPP-CoR Group Nikolaos Chardalias
🔹 Wednesday (6 May)
• Exchange of views with European People's Party Secretary General Dolors Montserrat during the EPP-CoR Group meeting
• Lorenzo Vigo will share his experience as a member of the Young Elected Politicians Programme
• EPP-CoR members participate in the plenary session
• Presentation and vote on the opinion “Future of Rural Development 2028+” (Rapporteur: Radim Sršeň)
• Debate on the NRPP Fund, programmes & Performance Framework Regulation, with statements by Karlo Ressler and Andrey Novakov
• Adoption of opinions:
– NRPP Fund Regulation (Co-rapporteur: Emil Boc)
– European Fund for Regional Development incl. Interreg & Cohesion Fund (Rapporteur: María Guardiola Martín)
➡️ High-level debate (18:00–19:00): Exchange with Commissioner Glenn Micallef (Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport)
Tanya Hristova, Mayor of Gabrovo, Friso Douwstra (EPP-CoR SEDEC Coordinator), Bridget Anne, EPP-CoR YEP will speak on behalf of the EPP-CoR Group.
• Members will also discuss and adopt:
– Erasmus+ 2028–2034 (Rapporteur: Roberto Pella)
– AgoraEU (Rapporteur: Csaba Borboly)
• Sari Rautio engages with the German Bundestag on regional involvement in national recovery plans
🔹 Thursday (7 May)
• Debate with Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto on the Midterm Review of the MFF 2021–2027: Georgios Chatzimarkos, President of the South Aegean Region (Greece) will speak on behalf of the Group.
• Adoption of the opinion:
– Digital simplification and the Data Union Strategy (Rapporteur: Pehr Granfalk)
• Launch of nominations for the Mayor Paweł Adamowicz Award, recognising courage and leadership at local level
Across all sessions, one message is clear: regions and cities must remain at the heart of Europe’s policy-making — from cohesion and rural development to youth, innovation, and digital transformation.