El programa AgoraEU

 believes that the AgoraEU Programme represents a major legislative opportunity to ensure that local and regional authorities are recognised as implementing partners in upholding EU values, promoting cultural diversity and strengthening democratic engagement and equal opportunities;

 calls for the European Commission, taking into account the structural and territorial inequalities observed under previous programmes, to engage in targeted consultations with Europe’s regional and local authorities and civil society organisations. This is essential to ensure that the programme effectively contributes to the achievement of its objectives in all regions;

 underlines that this programme represents the very soul of the next multiannual financial framework and embodies the shared European value base and spirit, so it recommends that access to its sources be ensured for applicants from all Member States without undue restrictions;

 emphasises that AgoraEU is evidence-driven and consistent with its policy vision: ensuring that European values and cultural vitality are sustained through strong local participation, accessible funding and multilevel cooperation. By referencing these findings, the CoR reinforces its call for greater involvement of LRAs in programme governance, monitoring and implementation, ensuring that the benefits of AgoraEU are fully realised across all regions and communities of the Union;

 holds the opinion that the AgoraEU proposal to fully align with active subsidiarity and multilevel governance, the CoR recommends amending the draft Regulation to recognise the role of LRAs in the programme’s governance; introduce territorial participation indicators; and link evaluation criteria to territorial cohesion and citizen engagement;

 stresses the need for clear governance, management and control arrangements within the Programme, including explicit provisions on accountability, transparency and traceability of expenditure, with the appropriate involvement and meaningful participation of local and regional authorities.