Rapporteur Borboly Csaba is calling for the proposed AgoraEU programme to be firmly anchored in the needs of Europe’s regions, cities and local communities. During a first exchange of views in SEDEC commission today, Borboly Csaba (EPP/RO), Vice-President of Harghita County Council, presented his working document on the European Commission proposal for the new AgoraEU programme for 2028–2034.
“AgoraEU is a good starting point, but the Commission’s proposal needs to be strengthened in several areas if we truly want to reach local communities,” Borboly underlined. “My working document provides concrete directions for this.”
By merging Creative Europe and CERV into a single programme, AgoraEU creates a unified framework for culture, media, democracy, equality, rights and values. While welcoming the Commission’s ambition to simplify procedures and improve accessibility, EPP-CoR members stressed that local and regional authorities must be at the heart of the programme’s governance and design, and that smaller and rural communities must not be left behind.
Six concrete tools to make AgoraEU work on the ground
In his intervention, Borboly Csaba highlighted six key gaps in the Commission proposal and put forward practical tools to close them:
1. Youth cross-programme participation – “Youth Sync”
“The programme completely lacks youth cross-programme mobility and participation,” he warned.
The proposed Youth Sync tool would connect AgoraEU with Erasmus+, the European Solidarity Corps and other development programmes, making it easier for young people and youth organisations to move between schemes and take part in local projects supported by EU funds.
2. Territorial participation – “RegioConnect”
“There is no territorial participation mechanism. RegioConnect would fill this gap by supporting local dialogues, regional communication and democratic engagement,” Mr Borboly said.
RegioConnect would promote structured local debates, regional communication campaigns and citizens’ participation, ensuring that communities in all territories – not only capitals – can shape Europe’s cultural, media and democracy agenda.
3. Digital creativity and media literacy – “MediaSpark”
Noting that “the space for digital creativity has been left empty”, the Rapporteur proposed MediaSpark as a new tool to:
o support young content creators,
o fund social media and digital storytelling workshops, and
o boost media literacy at local level.
“MediaSpark would open new doors for young content creators, social media workshops and the development of media literacy,” he said.
4. Support for small local projects – “Territorial Impact MicroGrants”
Mr Borboly criticised the fact that the Commission has “completely dropped the scheme for small local grants”.
The Territorial Impact MicroGrants tool would restore and modernise this approach, allowing small organisations, community groups and rural areas to implement modest but high-impact initiatives, without being crowded out by large-scale consortia.
5. Full eligibility of church and faith-based institutions
The working document also flags a legal uncertainty: “The legal text does not clarify that church and faith-based institutions are fully eligible beneficiaries. This must be explicitly enshrined,” Mr Borboly pointed out.
For the EPP-CoR, this clarification is essential so that all relevant local actors, including church and faith-based institutions active in social, cultural and community work, can participate on an equal footing.
6. Concrete local green projects – “Green Citizenship Tool”
Finally, the Rapporteur criticised the fact that sustainability appears only as a general objective in the draft regulation.
The proposed Green Citizenship Tool would enable tangible, community-based green projects – such as local climate actions, biodiversity initiatives or circular economy schemes – with simple entry criteria accessible to small municipalities and local partners.
“If we incorporate these elements, AgoraEU will not only be a new framework programme, but a genuine instrument to ensure that European regions – especially those that have so far been underfunded – gain meaningful access to direct EU funding,” Mr Borboly concluded.
