EPP local and regional leaders are gathering with Members of the European Parliament in Bucharest on 1–2 October to discuss the future of Cohesion Policy and the next EU long-term budget. The joint meeting of the EPP Groups in the European Parliament and the European Committee of the Regions comes at a critical moment in the debate on the 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework. Discussions will focus on how to modernise Cohesion Policy while maintaining a strong partnership with Europe’s cities and regions.
Sari Rautio, President of the EPP-CoR, will chair a preparatory discussion on the state of the next MFF before joining Ciprian Ciucu, Mayor of Bucharest, for the first panel on the future of EU Cohesion Policy.
The second panel will bring together Emil Boc, Mayor of Cluj-Napoca, and Kostas Bakoyannis, Chair of the CoR’s ENVE Commission, for a discussion on maintaining a strong partnership between the European Union and its regions.
Emil Boc said ahead of the meeting: “We are at a critical moment for the future of Cohesion Policy — and for the role of our cities and regions after 2027. In Bucharest, we will debate how to secure a strong future for Cohesion Policy and ensure that cities and regions have a real say from the very beginning of the process.”
The conference will be opened by Siegfried Mureşan, together with Daniel Buda MEP and Iuliu Winkler MEP.
Rautio will also address a joint press conference with Siegfried Mureşan MEP, Vice-Chair of the EPP Group for Budget and Structural Policies.