Members of the EPP Group in the European Committee of the Regions (EPP-CoR), together with local and regional leaders from across Europe, adopted the Rhodes Declaration today during the EPP-CoR External Group Meeting in Rhodes. The declaration sets the views of the Group on the next European Union Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028–2034 and calls for a stronger role for regions and cities in shaping Europe’s future in the light of ongoing negotiations.
Adopted under the theme “Delivering Europe Together: Placing Regions at the Heart of the Next MFF”, the declaration stresses that Europe must be equipped with sufficient financial means to address both its traditional priorities and new strategic challenges. It underlines that strengthening Europe's competitiveness, security and resilience must go hand in hand with safeguarding cohesion policy, which remains the EU’s main long-term investment tool.
The declaration supports the introduction of new genuine EU own resources to enable an ambitious long-term budget It also calls for a simpler and more effective EU budget, ensuring that simplification primarily benefits citizens, municipalities, regions and other beneficiaries by making access to EU funding easier and reducing unnecessary administrative burdens.
Participants further stressed that EU spending must remain place-based and territorially sensitive. The declaration highlights the need for EU policies and funding instruments to reflect the diversity of Europe’s territories, including islands, rural areas, outermost regions and structurally disadvantaged areas, ensuring that no region is left behind.
A central element of the declaration is the call for stronger involvement of local and regional authorities in the future National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs). The EPP-CoR Group advocates strong and binding legislative safeguards to guarantee the meaningful participation of subnational authorities in the design, programming and implementation of these plans. The declaration also supports mandatory territorial chapters and stronger subsidiarity safeguards to ensure that decisions are taken as closely as possible to citizens.
Finally, the Rhodes Declaration calls on the Council and national governments to ensure the early and meaningful involvement of regions and cities in shaping the next EU budget. It also urges the European institutions to conclude negotiations on the next MFF by the end of 2026 in order to avoid delays at the beginning of the next programming period and provide certainty for local and regional investment across Europe.
The Rhodes Declaration reflects the EPP-CoR Group’s commitment to a strong, ambitious and territorially balanced European Union that empowers regions and cities to deliver tangible results for citizens.
Read the Declaration here - https://www.eppcor.eu/ourwork/papers