At a high-level debate on Regions & the New Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) held at the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) as part of the EPP Political Assembly, political leaders from the European, national, regional and local levels stressed that the next long-term EU budget must reinforce cohesion, competitiveness and agriculture, while giving regions a stronger and legally binding role in planning and implementation. The session was chaired by Siegfried Mureșan MEP, EPP Vice-President, and brought together key voices shaping the future MFF.
Opening the debate, Sari Rautio, President of the EPP-CoR and CoR rapporteur on the next MFF, welcomed the Commission’s efforts to adapt the budget to new geopolitical and economic realities, while warning against weakening Europe’s governance model. “There are so many good things in the proposal, because it responds to new challenges and seeks to make Europe more resilient and provide more flexibility. But at the same time, we cannot lose the things that make Europe and the European Union special, and that is the multilevel governance where everyone has a role. If we want Europe to be competitive, the single market to be stronger, have a safer Europe, boost security and defense, we definitely need the local and regional level to be on board.”
Rautio described the Commission’s proposal for regional checks as a positive first step but insisted that stronger legal guarantees are needed to ensure meaningful involvement of regions and cities throughout the budget cycle. “The regional checks proposed by the Commission is a good start, but we need binding regulations for that, so that the regions are engaged when planning, when implementing, and also afterwards when looking what has been happening. Not because we want the power, but because we want Europe to be more competitiveness and secure. This is a question of democracy. If we don't listen to people, if we don't make use of European money for things that are relevant for people, if we don't understand the problems that people are facing in the transition areas, we are going to lose trust.”
Emil Boc, Mayor of Cluj-Napoca and CoR Co-rapporteur on the NRPP Fund Regulation, strongly defended cohesion policy and agriculture as core pillars of the European project. He cautioned against creating competition between key policies and called for equal access to cohesion funding for all regions. “The farmers must not compete with regions for the same amount of money. Agriculture and cohesion policy are two most important pillars of our Europe." He also proposed a cohesion policy which caters for all regions. "Cohesion policy is not a charity. Cohesion policy was a long-term investment of our Europe, and all regions of all countries must be eligible to have access to cohesion policy.” Boc also advocated for the introduction of a subsidiarity clause linked to regional checks and proposed that all Member States include at least one territorial chapter in their national plans: “All Member States should include at least one territorial chapter. That would be something to avoid the centralisation and at the same time to have a say for local and regional authorities.”
Speaking at the debate, Vincent Van Peteghem, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Budget of Belgium, emphasised the importance of empowering regions in the next MFF:
“For the next MFF, we should therefore give more responsibility to regions—legally and financially. They are closest to citizens and businesses, and they are best placed to deploy support in a targeted, effective way.”
Pehr Granfalk, Member of the Municipal Council of Solna and Rapporteur on the European Competitiveness Fund, focused on ensuring that the new Competitiveness Fund delivers real long-term impact. He highlighted the importance of maintaining a strong local dimension and warned that excessive short-term flexibility could undermine strategic investment.
The debate concluded with a clear message from EPP representatives at European, national and regional level: the next Multiannual Financial Framework must reflect Europe’s political priorities, safeguard cohesion and agriculture, strengthen competitiveness, and embed a binding and meaningful role for regions and cities in shaping and delivering EU policies.