{"id":1749,"date":"2026-03-24T13:23:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T13:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/?p=1749"},"modified":"2026-03-24T13:23:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T13:23:10","slug":"global-europe-harghita-countys-voice-in-brussels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/global-europe-harghita-countys-voice-in-brussels\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Europe \u2013 Harghita County\u2019s Voice in Brussels"},"content":{"rendered":"

The European Union is now deciding the future of the\u00a0Global Europe<\/strong>\u00a0instrument, a framework worth around\u00a0\u20ac200 billion<\/strong>. This is the EU\u2019s main external action fund, used to support enlargement, neighbourhood policy, and development programmes around the world. The key question was how much of this funding will reach beyond capital cities to rural, mountainous, border, and minority regions \u2014 including Harghita County.<\/p>\n

All of the amendments I submitted in the CIVEX Commission were adopted. The rapporteur was a Socialist, yet both the European People\u2019s Party and the Conservatives supported my proposals. This shows that on the issue of local and regional governments, genuine cross-party agreement has emerged.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Local and regional authorities are strategic actors \u2013 regions like Harghita County are now explicitly recognised<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The first adopted amendment states that local and regional authorities are not merely implementers, but\u00a0strategic political actors<\/strong>\u00a0in the EU\u2019s external action. It specifically recognises their key role in:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • strengthening democratic governance,<\/li>\n
    • promoting territorial cohesion,<\/li>\n
    • building people-to-people connections,<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      especially in\u00a0rural, mountainous, border, and minority regions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

      This clearly reflects the reality of Harghita County: a mountainous region with a border role and strong local identity. From now on, such regions are no longer invisible in the EU\u2019s external policy, but are explicitly acknowledged as distinct categories.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Part of the funding must be made available to local and county-level authorities<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        The second successful amendment ensures that part of the Global Europe funding must be made structurally accessible to local and regional authorities. It is not enough for a country to receive the money \u2014 the local level must also benefit from it.<\/p>\n

        In practical terms, this means:<\/p>\n

          \n
        • there will be small-scale, simplified funding tools for small towns, communes, and for mountainous, border, and minority regions;<\/li>\n
        • local authorities will be able to participate directly in the implementation of external action programmes, not only through national ministries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          For Harghita County, this opens up new opportunities in areas such as:<\/p>\n

            \n
          • roads, bridges, water and wastewater infrastructure,<\/li>\n
          • mountain tourism, local products, and local business development,<\/li>\n
          • cross-border and interregional cooperation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            These can now be supported more easily not only through the traditional cohesion funds, but also through Global Europe.<\/p>\n

              \n
            1. Mandatory territorial and multilevel governance screening \u2013 before a decision is made, its impact on Harghita County must be assessed<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              The third adopted amendment introduces a\u00a0territorial and multilevel governance impact assessment<\/strong>\u00a0for multiannual external programmes. This means that:<\/p>\n

                \n
              • every major programme must be examined to determine its impact on rural, mountainous, border, and minority regions;<\/li>\n
              • it must also be verified whether local and county-level authorities were meaningfully involved in the planning process.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                This protects communities in Harghita County from decisions that may sound good on paper, but in practice:<\/p>\n

                  \n
                • weaken small farmers,<\/li>\n
                • reduce the opportunities of mountain villages,<\/li>\n
                • or ignore the specific needs of minority communities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                  From now on, an EU external programme or agreement should not move forward without asking what it means for the communities of Harghita County.<\/p>\n

                    \n
                  1. Why is this important for Harghita County?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    Three adopted amendments, one clear direction:<\/p>\n

                      \n
                    1. We made regions like Harghita County visible in the EU\u2019s external policy.<\/li>\n
                    2. We opened funding opportunities for local and county-level authorities, not only for capital-based institutions.<\/li>\n
                    3. We created a safeguard: before major international programmes are approved, their impact on rural, mountainous, border, and minority communities must be examined.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                      This package serves to ensure that:<\/p>\n

                        \n
                      • young people have a reason to stay and build businesses at home;<\/li>\n
                      • local farmers do not become losers of international agreements;<\/li>\n
                      • mountain villages are not left behind in infrastructure and public services;<\/li>\n
                      • the experience of Harghita County is taken into account when the EU negotiates with candidate countries and neighbouring states.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                          \n
                        1. Cross-party support \u2013 why is this message strong?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                          It is particularly important that I submitted these amendments to an opinion drafted by a Socialist rapporteur, and yet both the European People\u2019s Party and the Conservatives voted in support. This shows that:<\/p>\n

                            \n
                          • the issue of local governments and rural, mountainous, border, and minority regions is not a party-political matter,<\/li>\n
                          • but a shared European interest.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                            The debate on Global Europe is not only about high geopolitics. It is also about whether, in the coming years, this\u00a0\u20ac200 billion framework<\/strong>\u00a0will bring benefits to Harghita County:<\/p>\n

                              \n
                            • whether it will create jobs, roads, water infrastructure, and public services,<\/li>\n
                            • and whether the voice of local communities will count in Brussels.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                              With these amendments, we have ensured that Harghita County does not stand at the end of the line, but becomes part of the EU decision-making process as a region that helps build Europe\u2019s future through its local communities.<\/p>\n

                              Brussels, 24 March 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                              The European Union is now deciding the future of the\u00a0Global Europe\u00a0instrument, a framework worth around\u00a0\u20ac200 billion. This is the EU\u2019s main external action fund, used to support enlargement, neighbourhood policy, and development programmes around the world. The key question was how much of this funding will reach beyond capital cities to rural, mountainous, border, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1750,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[84],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1749"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1751,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1749\/revisions\/1751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}