Europe’s next long-term budget must match its ambitions and give regions and cities a meaningful role in shaping investment, EPP local and regional leaders stressed in Bucharest. Meeting with MEPs from the EPP Group on 1–2 October, EPP-CoR members called for a strong Cohesion Policy that supports competitiveness and existing priorities, strengthens communities and responds to needs on the ground.
Sari Rautio (FI/EPP), President of the EPP Group in the European Committee of the Regions, called for regional checks to ensure that the next Multiannual Financial Framework reflects territorial needs and involves local and regional authorities. She highlighted the CoR’s role in assessing this territorial dimension and stressed the need for new own resources: Europe cannot meet growing expectations by asking its communities to do more with less. “The future of Europe stands with the budget,” Rautio said, emphasising that strong cohesion and investment underpin Europe’s competitiveness and security.
Daniela Cîmpean (RO/EPP), President of Sibiu County Council, emphasised that competitiveness, security and cohesion reinforce one another. European investment must reflect different territorial realities, with regions and local communities involved in setting priorities. Referring to Sibiu’s hospital buildings dating back to 1857, she illustrated the continuing need for investment in essential public services. “Cohesion Policy is not a policy of the past, nor is it merely an instrument for reducing disparities. It is an investment in Europe’s strength,” Cîmpean said.
Ciprian Ciucu (RO/EPP), Mayor of Bucharest, highlighted the role of capital cities as economic drivers and the need to combine infrastructure investment with structural reforms. Drawing on Bucharest’s ageing district-heating network, he stressed that access to European funding remains a priority and must go hand in hand with the capacity to deliver complex projects and use resources efficiently.
Emil Boc (RO/EPP), Mayor of Cluj-Napoca, described cohesion as the glue that keeps Europe together, underlining that the budget debate concerns Europe’s future as much as individual investments. “Our budget is our future. This is about what future we want for Europe,” he said. Boc also stressed that environmental ambitions must be matched by adequate financial resources so that cities and regions can deliver the green transition.
Kostas Bakoyannis (EL/EPP), Chair of the CoR’s ENVE Commission called for investment and reform to advance together, supported by sufficient resources. Cohesion helps people build their future in rural areas and smaller cities, reducing pressure to move to capitals. He stressed that simplification must not become centralisation and that cities and regions bring essential knowledge of local needs to decisions on climate resilience, competitiveness and security.
Adrian Teban (RO/EPP), Mayor of Cugir, called for coordination between European, national and local authorities and balanced territorial development. He stressed the need to maintain balance between territories and levels of administration.
Csaba Borboly (RO/EPP), EPP-CoR member, focused on transport poverty in rural and mountain communities, where access to work, education, healthcare and basic services depends on reliable transport. He asked how the new Partnership Plans and the Social Climate Fund could work together to support local public transport, with counties, cities and villages directly involved. “Each Member State should build its national strategy from local and regional needs,” Borboly said. “Local communities should not be asked to adjust later to a plan made only in the capital.”
The exchange also underlined the partnership between the European Parliament and local and regional leaders of the EPP. Siegfried Mureșan, Vice-Chair of the EPP Group for Budget and Structural Policies, highlighted Cohesion Policy as the EU’s main investment instrument, pointing to the Cluj-Napoca metro as an example of cooperation between local, national and European authorities. In the opening session, Daniel Buda, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament’s Agriculture and Rural Development Committee, stressed that Cohesion Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy work together to support a Europe of regions and citizens. Iuliu Winkler Head of the Romanian delegation in the EPP Group (RMDSZ) emphasised that people encounter Europe through their mayors and local representatives, including in national-minority and linguistic communities, highlighting the close connection between the work of the European Parliament and the Committee of the Regions.