On Tuesday 2 December, the EU’s local and regional leaders adopted a draft opinion aimed at improving the European Commission’s proposal on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028-2034.
The members of the Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget (COTER) of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) have approved the draft opinion (https://aeur.eu/f/jt7 ) on the post-2027 MFF, prepared by Finnish MEP Sari Rautio (EPP).
Local and regional leaders welcomed the letter sent a few weeks ago by the President of the European Commission, which proposes amendments to the initial text and which they consider to be a step in the right direction (see EUROPE 13754/13). However, these assurances must now be translated into concrete legislative proposals to ensure that cohesion policy remains a central pillar of European solidarity, according to COTER members.
The aim of the CoR is to keep regions and cities at the heart of EU policies and to reverse the trend towards centralisation at European and national level. The Committee calls for the budget lines for cohesion policy and agricultural policy to be kept separate, and for cohesion support to be guaranteed for all regions.
Local and regional leaders are calling for the preservation of the place-based approach, shared management and partnership between all levels of governance. They also supported the proposal to introduce five new sources of revenue to strengthen the EU budget. The opinion is due to be adopted at the CoR’s plenary session on 4 and 5 March 2026.
COTER members also examined a series of opinions on the sector-specific regulations included in the 2028-2034 MFF:
- National and regional partnership plans: co-rapporteurs Vasco Alves Cordeiro (Portuguese, PES) and Emil Boc (Romanian, EPP);
- European Regional Development Fund (ERDF): rapporteur María Guardiola Martín (Spanish, EPP);
- Connecting Europe Facility 2028-2034: rapporteur Juraj Droba (Slovak, ECR);
- Performance Framework Regulation: rapporteur Luca Menesini (Italian, PES). These opinions will be put to the vote of the members of the COTER commission, and then to the vote of the CoR plenary session in the first half of 2026. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)