Brussels, April 22, 2026. At today\u2019s meeting of the European Committee of the Regions\u2019 (CoR) Commission for the Environment, Climate Change and Energy (ENVE), members discussed an opinion that will shape the EU\u2019s global climate and environmental policy in the coming years. Borboly Csaba, Vice President of Harghita County Council and CoR member, submitted proposals directly affecting mountainous and rural regions, including Harghita County.<\/p>\n
\n
What is the EU discussing and why does it matter to us?<\/p>\n
The European Commission and the EU\u2019s High Representative outlined in a joint document how Europe will represent its environmental and climate goals in major global negotiations, such as UN climate summits and biodiversity agreements. This is where it is decided what obligations member states will take on and what financial resources will be available to implement them.<\/p>\n
These decisions have a direct impact on farmers, shepherds, and local administrations, even in the smallest communities. If regulations do not reflect the realities of life in mountainous areas, the goals may look good on paper, but the burden will fall on local communities without support.<\/p>\n
What did Borboly Csaba propose and what was accepted?<\/p>\n
Three proposals were submitted and will be included in the ENVE opinion:<\/p>\n
First: More funding and simpler procedures for local governments in mountainous and disadvantaged areas. Currently, less than 10% of EU environmental and climate funds reach the local level. The proposal highlights the need for targeted, directly accessible funding for prevention, compensation, and local management capacity, especially in regions affected by wildlife.<\/p>\n
Second: Local authorities should not be mere observers in international negotiations but real decision-makers. They must have the capacity and authority to manage local challenges, including conflicts with wildlife and public safety issues.<\/p>\n
Third: Farmers must be mandatorily included in regional platforms responsible for implementing biodiversity policies. National strategies should be developed through cooperation between authorities, farmers, scientists, and civil society.<\/p>\n
What could change and when?<\/p>\n
These proposals will become part of the official CoR opinion. While not legally binding, it carries significant political weight and influences future EU legislation.<\/p>\n
The real impact could be seen in negotiations on the EU budget after 2028. If these ideas are adopted, future agricultural and regional development funds will have to take into account regions where maintaining biodiversity places an extra burden on communities.<\/p>\n
\n
What can Romania do and what is the role of UDMR?<\/p>\n
Romania is directly affected, as it has one of the largest populations of large carnivores in Europe. Issues related to bears and wolves already impact daily life in several counties.<\/p>\n
The Romanian government can use the CoR opinion to request greater EU support for the costs of environmental protection, including prevention measures and compensation for farmers.<\/p>\n
As part of the government, UDMR can promote concrete measures based on this: higher support rates for affected areas and a simplified compensation system. These steps can be implemented at national level if there is political will.<\/p>\n
For Harghita County, this means that stronger European-level arguments can support more justified claims in national budget negotiations.<\/p>\n
Why does it take years to secure a single sentence in Brussels?<\/p>\n
EU decision-making is slow but long-lasting. A sentence included today can influence legislation for the next decade.<\/p>\n
The timeline is clear: 2026\u20132027 define the framework, 2027 begins negotiations for the post-2028 EU budget, and from 2028 the new financial framework takes effect. Decisions made today will shape funding for the 2028\u20132034 period.<\/p>\n
That is why it matters to be present now. Those who are not at the table today will have their interests decided by others.<\/p>\n
\n
Borboly Csaba<\/p>\n
Vice President of Harghita County Council<\/p>\n
Member of the European Committee of the Regions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Brussels, April 22, 2026. At today\u2019s meeting of the European Committee of the Regions\u2019 (CoR) Commission for the Environment, Climate Change and Energy (ENVE), members discussed an opinion that will shape the EU\u2019s global climate and environmental policy in the coming years. Borboly Csaba, Vice President of Harghita County Council and CoR member, submitted proposals […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1774,"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-1773","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\/1773","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=1773"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1773\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1775,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1773\/revisions\/1775"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}