Future EU budget must be ambitious and set clear rules to empower regions to address structural and emerging challenges, local leaders say in Brest

 Regional and local leaders put forward their key demands few weeks ahead of long-term EU budget proposal by the European Commission.

A post-2027 EU budget strengthening cohesion and based on genuine cooperation among EU, national and regional actors (multilevel governance) is the key request put forward by local and regional leaders gathered in Brest (France) on 26 June. Future National and Regional Partnership Plans must formally guarantee the role of local and regional authorities at all stages and a ‘European Partnership Pact’ should be adopted to better streamline investments and meet territorial needs.

The requests were presented during a meeting of the Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget (COTER), which was followed, on 27 June, by a conference focused on the importance of transport connectivity to promote cohesion and competitiveness across the EU. 

Meeting less than three weeks before the presentation of the European Commission’s first batch of proposals for the EU long-term budget post-2027, the 'Multiannual Financial Framework' (MFF), members of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) reiterated their key demand: to shape a future EU budget together, with local and regional authorities being treated as strategic and trustworthy partners in delivering the EU’s priorities. 

Local leaders urged the European Commission to propose an ambitious budget backed by new sources of financing. They also asked for a budget that provides sufficient flexibility and is agile enough to respond to territorial needs and unforeseen shocks, with an enlarged emergency fund to enable adequate responses. 

COTER members not only opposed any possible centralisation of Cohesion Policy after 2027, but also called for the active and full involvement of local and regional authorities in managing decisions on investment prioritisation – including in new instruments such as the Competitiveness fund. Therefore, Cohesion Policy's core principles - such as place-based approach, partnership principle and multilevel governance – should be translated into strong legally enforceable terms as part of the new EU budget architecture, including within EU policies under centralised management.

The CoR requests for the next EU long-term budget were debated in Brest together with Jan Olbrycht, special adviser to European Commissioner for the EU Budget Piotr Serafin, and with Alejandro Blanco Fernandez, Member of the European Court of Auditors. 

In anticipation of the publication of the European Commission’s proposal on the MFF post-2027, scheduled for 16 July, COTER members pre-appointed Sari Rautio (FI/EPP), member of the Hämeenlinna City Council, as rapporteur on the topic.

European territorial cooperation at risk

During the meeting CoR members also expressed concerns about the future of cross-border, translational and interregional cooperation programmes after 2027. The European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) exemplifies the added value of the EU in tackling problems that transcend national borders and in promoting integration and solidarity. However, local and regional leaders warned that European territorial cooperation could be jeopardised if the new EU long-term budget includes significant cuts to Cohesion Policy resources, particularly resources earmarked for territorial cooperation.

Enhance territorial and social cohesion through improved connectivity

On 27 June, local and regional leaders attended the conference on ‘Accessibility and sustainable mobility across the EU’, hosted – like the COTER meeting – by Brest Métropole and the Brittany Region. The event focused on the critical nature of transport connectivity for economic, territorial and social cohesion, with a special focus on the challenges and opportunities for peripheral and maritime regions. Participants assessed the experience of EU instruments such as the revised EU guidelines for the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), together with Cohesion Policy investments in local and regional transport connections, which are crucial to better connect less densely populated regions to the EU mobility network and the Single Market. With 'transport poverty' increasing across all types of territory, members called for strategic investments to be prioritised under the Social Climate Fund, and for more resources to be dedicated to regional mobility services in the next EU long-term budget, including through Cohesion Policy. 

‘Transport poverty’ will be at the heart of an upcoming opinion. COTER members appointed Patrik Schwarcz-Kiefer (EPP/HU), member of the County Council of Baranya Vármegye, to serve as rapporteur for the dossier.

Quotes

Vasco Alves Cordeiro (PT/PES), COTER Chair and member of the Regional Assembly of the Azores: “Gathered here in Brest, the regions and cities plead for a robust budget resonates with unparalleled urgency. Here, as all across Europe, we witness the transformative power of the EU in a land far from Brussels. The steadfast support of the Bretons for the European Union underscores this truth. Make no mistake – by re-centralising and re-nationalising the governance of the EU's long-term budget, we risk shaking the very foundations of the European project. The EU needs its regions and cities just as much as cities and regions rely on its EU policies. Together, we stand at a crossroads, where unity and support will determine our collective future.”

Nathalie Sarrabezolles (FR/PES), departmental councillor of Finistère (Brittany): “Visiting Brest offers a tangible glimpse into how the future long-term budget of the European Union can profoundly shape the destiny of a region. Without Cohesion Policy and an ambitious EU transport policy, Finistère and Brittany would risk remaining on the periphery. With the support of the upcoming EU long-term budget, our ambition is to transform Brest and its department into the very heart of Europe.”

More information

• Video and photos of the event.
• COTER members also appointed Kristoffer Tamsons (SE/EPP), member of the County Council of the Stockholm Region, as rapporteur on ‘The role of the private sector in Cohesion Policy post-2027'.
• Background document on the CoR key requests for the next Multiannual Financial framework.
• On 14 and 15 May, the CoR plenary voted on two urgent resolutions on the next long-term budget of the European Union and the Mid-term review of Cohesion Policy programmes 2021-27. CoR members also adopted an opinion focusing on Cohesion Policy as an engine to achieve EU goals and reforms.

Contacts

Hélène Dressen
Tel: +32 471502795
Helene.dressen@cor.europa.eu

Matteo Miglietta
Tel. +32 470895382 
Matteo.Miglietta@cor.europa.eu