Regions and cities need more resources to deliver the EU's environmental objectives

Local and regional leaders have recalled that the persisting gap between the necessary ambitions and real-world implementation of the EU's environmental legislation can only be closed if cities and regions get more targeted financial and administrative support. The recommendations are part of an opinion prepared by the President of the Umbria Region Stefania Proietti (IT/PES) and adopted by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) on 14 October.

According to the fourth Environmental Implementation Review presented by the European Commission in 2025, the annual cost of failing to implement environmental rules is estimated at approximately €180 billion at EU level, due to healthcare costs, premature deaths, the need for urgent measures, and the loss of ecosystem services.

The CoR opinion underlines that compliance with environmental legislation is not a burden but a cost-effective economic strategy to avert higher costs in the future: the implementation gap could be bridged with annual investment of €122 billion. However, members of the CoR's ENVE commission and the European Parliament warned earlier this week that the proposed cuts to the next long-term EU budget risk undermining local and regional authorities' capacity to act.

Local and regional leaders welcomed efforts aiming at administrative simplification but stressed that they must never lead to hidden deregulation or lowered standards of protection. As local and regional authorities implement a large part of the EU's environmental legislation, the European Commission should tap more into their experience on the practical efficiency and possible implementation difficulties they may face on the ground.

The CoR is also calling to make the assessment of social and territorial impacts a pillar of future Environmental Implementation Reviews, so as to measure the costs and benefits for the population, in particular groups in risk of energy, water or mobility poverty. 

At the moment, there are more than 300 active EU infringement procedures on environmental legislation, of which 45% are linked to pollution, showing the difficulties in ensuring EU-wide implementation. The CoR is asking to complement monitoring and infringement procedures with stronger ‘proactive implementation assistance’ for local and regional authorities, providing effective operational tools, access to information, targeted technical support and accessible financial resources. They also recommend developing innovative mechanisms so that proceeds from environmental penalties and pollution taxation systems can help implementation needs on the ground, in particular in affected regions.

The CoR also focuses on the circular economy as the strategic lever for the competitiveness, resilience and strategic autonomy of Europe and its regions and calls on the EU to support the secondary raw materials market, making them economically competitive with primary virgin resources and ensuring fair prices that reward well-performing territories.

Furthermore, the opinion underlines the importance of applying the ‘do no significant harm’ principle horizontally in a proportionate way across EU policies and investments, discouraging investment in technologies that hinder and slow down decarbonisation and the achievement of environmental targets.

Quote

Rappourteur Stefania Proietti (IT/PES), President of Umbria Region: "EU environmental policy only works if it can be implemented in every city and region, and in a fair and just manner. The Environmental Implementation Review is a key moment of truth: what works, what does not, what is the social and territorial impact of EU legislation and where support is needed. The transition will not succeed, if it rests only on the shoulders of the weakest in society. Cities and regions need stable rules, adequate funding and technical expertise. Simplification must make implementation easier, especially for smaller local and regional authorities and vulnerable groups in society, not weaken environmental protection.”

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