At today’s COTER debate on the next Multiannual Financial Framework, EPP-CoR members called for a stronger, properly funded EU budget, a genuine place-based cohesion policy, and direct support for frontline regions facing geopolitical pressure.
EPP-CoR today warned that the next Multiannual Financial Framework must give Europe the resources it needs to strengthen security, competitiveness, cohesion and resilience. Speaking during a debate in the COTER commission, EPP-CoR members underlined that simplification must not become a pretext for centralisation, and that regions and cities must remain at the heart of EU investment policy.
Sari Rautio, President of the EPP-CoR Group and Rapporteur on the MFF, stressed that Europe cannot meet growing expectations without adequate resources.
“We cannot expect Europe to do more with less. If we want a stronger, more competitive and more independent European Union, we need the resources to deliver. Security starts at regional and local level, and cohesion policy is therefore part of Europe’s security, competitiveness and resilience. New own resources are essential, because Member States do not have extra money available. Through cohesion policy, we can support dual use, the Green Deal and Europe’s strategic strength. We should improve what needs improving, but we must not break what is already working,” said Rautio.
Rautio welcomed the alignment with the European Parliament and recalled that the Parliament will have to approve the final MFF agreement. She also called on members of the European Committee of the Regions to engage directly with their national representatives in the Council, stressing that cohesion policy can help deliver Europe’s objectives on dual use, competitiveness and the Green Deal.
Nikola Dobroslavić, Member of Dubrovnik-Neretva County, warned that the Commission’s proposal does not provide the long-term vision Europe needs.
“The proposal is not the result of a true vision for the future of Europe, but rather a pre-cooked compromise designed to be easily accepted by Member States. Instead of operationalising the Letta and Draghi reports and supporting place-based innovation and competitiveness in all regions, the Commission has created a framework giving Member States unprecedented flexibility, while generating competition between key areas such as agriculture, fisheries and security,” said Dobroslavić.
He also warned that the Council’s partial general approach on the National and Regional Partnership Plans does not sufficiently reflect the concerns of regions and cities.
“Member States are not listening to our concerns. Cohesion policy must remain a standalone policy covering all categories of regions. We need more than symbolic references to regions in the regulation. We need meaningful legal guarantees, a rigorous multilevel governance assessment and a subsidiarity clause to safeguard the role of local and regional authorities at every stage of the programming process,” he added.
Marjon de Hoon-Veelenturf, Mayor of Baarle-Nassau, raised concerns about the Dutch Government’s focus on reducing the EU budget.
“The Dutch national government was very quick to state that the EU budget is too large and should be reduced. But a strong focus on national contributions risks diverting the debate away from the more fundamental question: how can the European family best respond to today’s challenges?” said de Hoon-Veelenturf.
She underlined that local and regional authorities, together with their national associations, must remain effectively involved in discussions on EU budgetary priorities, both in the European Committee of the Regions and in national debates.
Rastislav Trnka, Chairman of the Košice Self-Governing Region, warned against the assumption that centralisation automatically leads to better results.
“Centralisation does not guarantee efficiency. We have seen systematic delays of up to 17 years and cost increases of 82%. At the same time, frontline regions are being left with blind spots in the new CPR proposal, including the exclusion of Ukrainian border regions from special Eastern border support. Simplification is necessary, but it must not come at the expense of partnership. Frontline regions need direct access to grants, not loans, to respond effectively to geopolitical crises,” said Trnka.
Pablo Hurtado Pardo, Director General for External Action of the Regional Government of Extremadura, underlined the importance of protecting cohesion policy and strengthening territorial cooperation. “We need to ensure that cohesion policy maintains its own identity and adequate budget allocation, and to strengthen the role and effectiveness of Interreg as an essential instrument for European territorial integration,” said Hurtado Pardo.
Wojciech Saługa, President of the Śląskie Region, warned that weakening support for transition regions would risk fuelling Euroscepticism. “In Silesia, we are still dealing with the phase-out of coal mining. Eliminating this fund — and, in fact, abandoning the whole narrative of transition — only fuels Euroscepticism. We must support those who are carrying out the transition, while ensuring that we do not provide ammunition to those opposing the Green Deal and Europe’s climate objectives,” said Saługa.
EPP-CoR members concluded that the next EU budget must be ambitious, realistic, and rooted in partnership. They called for stronger own resources, meaningful involvement of regions and cities, and a cohesion policy capable of delivering competitiveness, security, solidarity, and a just transition across all European territories.