EPP members in the European Committee of the Regions push for a people-centred MFF, defending food security, rural communities and coastal regions
EPP-CoR members called for major changes to the European Commission’s proposals for the EU’s long-term budget for 2028–2034, insisting that cohesion, agriculture and fisheries remain core European investment priorities with a strong regional and local dimension.
At a meeting of the CoR Commission for Natural Resources (NAT), EPP-CoR representatives underlined that the future Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) must guarantee predictable funding for cities and regions, safeguard shared management and ensure that local and regional authorities (LRAs) are genuine partners in shaping EU policies. Across the CoR, local and regional leaders are preparing a series of opinions to strengthen the package and anchor the do no harm to cohesion principle in all key EU programmes.
Cohesion Policy as the backbone of the EU budget
Sari Rautio (FI/EPP), rapporteur for the opinion on the “Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) post 2027, including own resources package”, stressed that the next MFF will determine whether the EU can still deliver on its Treaty promise of economic, social and territorial cohesion.
She warned against the growing use of crisis instruments and centrally managed funds that risk eroding the shared-management model and democratic accountability, and called for a strong, ring-fenced cohesion budget, a stable framework for 2028–2034, and full respect for partnership and multilevel governance.
Sari Rautio said: “Cohesion Policy must remain the backbone of the EU budget – not an adjustment variable – because it is the clearest expression of European solidarity and the only way to ensure that every region can contribute to and benefit from Europe’s green, digital and competitive future.”
Rautio underlined that the CoR will work closely with the European Parliament, Council Presidencies and the European Commission to ensure that all new instruments, including the planned NRPP Fund, reinforce and do not replace cohesion.
Food security, small farms and rural areas under pressure
As rapporteur for the opinion on “Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the period 2028–2034” and Chair of the NAT Commission, Piotr Całbecki (PL/EPP) placed food security and the future of small farms at the centre of the debate on the next CAP and MFF.
He warned that the proposed post-2028 CAP risks weakening its regional dimension, reducing funding predictability and limiting the ability of LRAs to tailor measures to territorial needs. He also expressed concern about the insufficient funding planned for rural development and the risk of diluting CAP and Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) by merging them with cohesion instruments.
Piotr Całbecki stated: “We need no more wars or bullets – our citizens’ existential safety depends on food security, vibrant rural areas and fair support for small farms, and this must remain a top priority in the next MFF and CAP.”
Całbecki called for stronger involvement of LRAs, clear governance rules and safeguards to guarantee fair farmer support, environmental ambition and coherence across all Member States.
Safeguarding fisheries and coastal communities
Thibaut Guignard (FR/EPP), rapporteur for the opinion on “Common Fisheries Policy, the European Ocean Pact and the Union’s maritime and aquaculture policy”, warned that integrating fisheries, the Ocean Pact and aquaculture into a single National and Regional Partnership Fund risks weakening EU maritime policy and sidelining local actors.
NAT members stressed the need to protect coastal communities, small-scale fisheries and marine ecosystems through adequate resources and empowered regional and local authorities.
Thibaut Guignard underlined: “Fisheries policy cannot be reduced to a footnote in a larger fund – coastal communities need a strong, visible and well-financed Common Fisheries Policy that recognises their role in food security, jobs and the protection of our seas.”
Background
In the context of the long-term EU budget proposals for 2028–2034, the CoR is preparing several key opinions, including:
• “Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) post 2027, including own resources package” – rapporteur: Sari Rautio (FI/EPP)
• “Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the period from 2028 to 2034” – rapporteur: Piotr Całbecki (PL/EPP)
• “Common Fisheries Policy, the European Ocean Pact and the Union’s maritime and aquaculture policy” – rapporteur: Thibaut Guignard (FR/EPP)
These opinions will feed into the broader CoR work on the MFF and National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs), ensuring that the EPP-CoR’s priorities – strong cohesion, a territorially sensitive CAP and CFP, and empowered local and regional authorities – are reflected in the final negotiations.
