During a debate on Making the EU Budget Work for Climate, Energy and the Environment, EPP-CoR members stressed the essential role of cities and regions in achieving the Union’s climate and environmental objectives.
Rafał TRZASKOWSKI, rapporteur on Mainstreaming climate, energy and environmental priorities across the Multiannual Financial Framework, underlined the indispensable role of local and regional authorities: “Because the work we do on adaptation and mitigation is usually not controversial. In cities and regions, most of the solutions are win–win. We are not focused on restrictive measures; we focus on actions that improve people’s lives. That is exactly why these Union priorities are actually being implemented. But if you take us out of the equation, then cities will lose interest in promoting the EU agenda. Regions will be sidelined and weakened. And everything will be left in the hands of the Member States. And, as we all know, some Member States genuinely want to implement these priorities — and others simply do not.”
TRZASKOWSKI, who serves as Mayor of Warsaw also stressed the need for cohesion policy to benefit all regions: “I have absolutely nothing against helping the most disadvantaged regions — that is exactly what the EU should do. But that is not the only thing the EU must do. Cohesion policy exists to help all the others who are in distress — even relatively wealthy regions or cities that may be doing well overall but face specific challenges.” On the allocation of sustainable investment, he added: “How will that money be spent wisely if it is not spent in cities and regions — the very places responsible for most emissions and where the real solutions for global warming are actually implemented?”
Sari RAUTIO, rapporteur on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) including the Own Resources package, highlighted the importance of long-term investments anchored in local realities: “We can't achieve anything unless we start from where people actually are. And we need this idea of long-term investment, not only quick reactions to what happens in the world.” She emphasised the importance of maintaining strong climate and biodiversity objectives, while warning against financing conflicts within the MFF: “These must absolutely remain — but at the same time, the way they are achieved happens locally, and that is crucial. When cohesion policy and COP objectives are financed from the same pot, what will happen? I know that nothing good will happen if the impact does not reach the local and regional levels. This is something we must examine very carefully.”
Miriam Sterk, Regional Minister of the Province of Utrecht expressed concern over how ring-fencing is being implemented by the European Commission with regard to the NRPPs: “Ring-fencing runs counter to the place-based approach of the underlying funds. We are particularly worried that the resources for ERDF as well as for the sustainability transition may be jeopardized, resulting in insufficient funds remaining available for the Dutch provinces, and a better balance is therefore necessary.” She added: “The provinces consider adequate funding for the CAP, especially for the current Pillar 2 resources, to be important. They therefore advocate for a policy-based interpretation of the term ‘rural’, to which a 10% ring-fencing is currently linked.”
Csaba Borboly, Vice-President of Harghita County Council. stressed the need for tangible resources, not abstract targets: “In the new MFF, we do not just need abstract targets – we need real, dedicated resources on the ground, especially for mountain water security and biodiversity preservation.” He criticised the current envelope system: “Today’s enveloped system often hides territorial disparities and leaves too much discretion to national governments. In many cases, the real challenges of regions and counties are simply not visible, and therefore not addressed.” Borboly called for more direct access to funding for regions: “Water resilience, the energy transition and nature conservation in our mountain regions cannot depend solely on the goodwill of decisions taken in the capital. They must be recognised as European priorities, directly linked to the Union’s resilience and to the preservation of our common natural assets.”
Markku Markkula from Espoo city council highlighted that many cities, together with their industries and local stakeholders, are on track to reach climate neutrality by 2030. Referring to the importance of innovation, he emphasised the role of people working on the ground: “It is the thousands and millions of people working at the local level who will make a difference. If they commit to sustainable solutions that address climate change, social well-being, and – together with businesses – create the new innovations we absolutely need, then we will succeed.” He warned that high-level guidelines alone are insufficient: “These are the real solutions. They will not be achieved by Commissioners alone, no matter how good the political guidelines are, unless the financial instruments are truly in the hands of the local level.”