CIVEX members warn against recentralisation in MFF debate and demand a stronger role for regions and cities
At CIVEX Commission meeting , EPP-CoR members sent a united message to the European Commission and Member States: the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) must strengthen – not sideline – regions and cities.
Speaking in CIVEX as COTER rapporteur on the MFF, Sari Rautio, President of the EPP-CoR, underlined that the budget debate goes to the heart of European democracy:
“For CIVEX, the next EU budget is not just about figures, it is about democracy, security and trust. The MFF must be ambitious and flexible enough to respond to crises, but it cannot do so by centralising power in Brussels or weakening cohesion. Local and regional authorities have to be real partners in decisions on migration, internal security and our external action – because only when they are at the table will every euro spent truly deliver for citizens on the ground.”
Borboly Csaba, Vice-President of Harghita County Council, stressed that regions and cities must play a meaningful role in EU decision-making, not just be informed after the fact. He questioned how the EU can guarantee that key instruments are negotiated and implemented with regions and cities genuinely at the table. Pointing to the success of many international partnerships led by local and regional actors, he called for explicit recognition of regions and cities as full implementation partners in the future framework.
“We can no longer accept a model where we are simply notified once decisions are taken. If local and regional authorities deliver on the ground, they must also be present when the rules are written.”