Local and regional leaders call for dedicated funding and a stronger role for regions and cities in implementing the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum
The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) has adopted an opinion on Union Support for Asylum, Migration and Integration Management 2028–2034, led by rapporteur Arnoldas Abramavičius (LT/EPP), Councillor of Zarasai. The opinion sets out the European Committee of the Regions' priorities for the next EU long-term budget, calling for dedicated funding, stronger multilevel governance and a central role for local and regional authorities in implementing the Pact on Migration and Asylum.
As negotiations on the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) intensify, the CoR warns that the success of the Pact will depend not only on legislation, but on whether regions and cities receive the resources, flexibility and capacity needed to deliver reception, integration and essential public services on the ground.
Arnoldas Abramavičius said: "With the Pact on Migration and Asylum, the EU, Member States, regions and cities have made a shared commitment to manage migration effectively. Delivering on that commitment requires predictable, long-term funding under the next Multiannual Financial Framework. National and Regional Partnership Plans must include dedicated support for asylum, migration and integration, designed and implemented in partnership with regional and local authorities. Only through genuine multilevel governance can we ensure that reception, integration and capacity-building measures respond to local realities and deliver lasting results."
The adopted opinion stresses that local and regional authorities are at the forefront of managing migration. They organise reception, support integration, provide access to housing, education, healthcare and employment, and are often the first to respond when migration pressures increase. The CoR therefore calls for dedicated provisions for asylum, migration and integration within the National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs), ensuring that local and regional authorities are fully involved in their planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
The opinion also highlights the need to align EU funding with the objectives of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, ensuring adequate resources for all levels of government. It calls for stronger safeguards so that local and regional authorities can effectively access EU funding and help shape national priorities, while maintaining a balance between the flexibility needed to respond to sudden crises and predictable, long-term investment in integration policies.
In addition, the CoR expresses concerns that performance-based funding models could disadvantage regions facing structural challenges or with more limited administrative capacity. To strengthen implementation across Europe, the opinion calls for increased investment in capacity-building, technical assistance and training for local and regional authorities.
Recognising migration as both a policy challenge and an opportunity, the opinion also supports stronger investment in labour market integration, skills development and talent attraction to help address labour shortages and support Europe's competitiveness. Finally, it calls for better coordination between migration, security and other EU policies, particularly in response to hybrid threats such as the weaponisation of migration.
