At a press conference held at the European Parliament ahead of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) plenary debate on the opinion on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), European, national and regional representatives stressed the importance of maintaining a strong cohesion policy in the next EU long-term budget.
Speakers highlighted that cohesion policy remains one of the EU’s key investment tools to support regions facing major transitions, including demographic change, climate transition, digital transformation and new geopolitical challenges. They also underlined the need to preserve multi-level governance, ensuring that regions and cities remain central partners in delivering EU priorities.
Cohesion policy delivering results
Jacek Karnowski, Poland’s Deputy Minister for Development Funds and Regional Policy, stressed that cohesion policy continues to deliver concrete results across Europe. “During a very difficult time, we have faced demographic challenges, climate transition, digital transformation, and several geopolitical tensions, all together or at once, but the good news is that cohesion policy works.”
He noted that regions have already contracted around 70% of funds in the current programming period and have shown flexibility by reallocating part of their programmes to new priorities such as security, water resilience and demographic challenges, mobilising around €3.2 billion.
Regions as key investors
Olgierd Geblewicz, President of the Association of Polish Regions, highlighted the key role regions play in implementing EU funds, noting that Polish regions manage a significant share of cohesion funding. “We are not distributing European money. In fact, we are investing European money in economy, in skills, in prosperity.”
He stressed that regional authorities have both the experience and the responsibility to defend cohesion policy and called for protecting the institutional role of regions in future EU funding structures.
MFF about Europe’s future
Sari Rautio, CoR rapporteur on the Multiannual Financial Framework, underlined that the negotiations on the next EU budget go beyond financial allocations. “The MFF is not only about money. Of course, it is about money. But it’s about unity, it’s about democracy, and it’s about the European added value.”
She stressed that achieving Europe’s objectives on competitiveness, security and resilience will require strong involvement from regions and cities through multi-level governance. "Europe needs all its engines." she concluded.
Cohesion policy as a pillar of the EU
Kata Tüttő, President of the European Committee of the Regions, emphasised that cohesion policy is a fundamental pillar of the European economic model. “Cohesion policy is the most important stabilizing tool of the European Union, and it is part of the single market mechanism.”
She stressed that cohesion policy ensures that the benefits of the single market are reinvested across territories, strengthening competitiveness, growth and economic cohesion across Europe.