<\/p>\n
“Those who stay silent are left behind. Those who are present where the rules are written can bring the money home.”<\/p>\n
What Is This Article About?
\nThis article answers a very concrete question: how can EU funding for culture, media, civil society and fundamental rights actually reach less-developed regions across Europe \u2013 funding that has too often passed them by?
\nOver the past year \u2013 from September 2025 to 7 May 2026 \u2013 serious work was carried out to change this. Not campaign rhetoric. But negotiations, research, amendments, bilateral consultations, thousands of kilometres travelled \u2013 and ultimately a CoR Opinion that serves as a compass for the European Commission, the European Parliament and the EU Council in shaping the AgoraEU programme for 2028\u20132034.<\/p>\n
What Is AgoraEU? \u2013 The Simple Explanation
\nFrom 1 January 2028, the European Union will launch a completely new programme called AgoraEU. This is the cultural, media, fundamental rights and democratic participation pillar of the EU’s next seven-year budget \u2013 the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028\u20132034.
\nTotal budget: \u20ac8.6 billion. Over seven years. Plus two years of payments \u2013 meaning until 2036.
\nAgoraEU merges the two major EU programmes that came before:
\n\u2022 Creative Europe \u2013 culture, film, music, heritage, traditional crafts, town twinning
\n\u2022 CERV \u2013 citizens, equality, fundamental rights, civil society, democracy, rule of law
\nAnyone who has previously applied to these programmes \u2013 cultural associations, local media, civil society organisations, heritage initiatives, youth programmes, minority NGOs \u2013 will have a single common framework from 2028 onwards.
\nThe word “Agora” is no accident: the ancient Greek agora was the public space where citizens met, debated and decided. The EU is signalling: democracy, culture and values do not live in capitals \u2013 they live in communities.<\/p>\n
Why Do These Funds Bypass Less-Developed Regions? \u2013 The Structural Gap
\nRegions across Central and Eastern Europe, and more broadly across rural and peripheral Europe, systematically underperform in accessing EU cultural and civic funding. Not because their projects are less valuable. But because:
\n\u2022 The application system is complex. Small organisations lack the administrative capacity to manage burdensome procedures.
\n\u2022 Capital cities absorb a disproportionate share. Well-connected urban institutions navigate the EU system faster and more effectively.
\n\u2022 Rural culture and living heritage are not named in the rules. If a domain \u2013 traditional crafts, local minority media, cross-border cultural cooperation \u2013 is not explicitly mentioned in the regulation, evaluators exclude it from funding.
\n\u2022 Evaluators lack familiarity with peripheral regions. If a project is assessed by someone who has never visited a small rural community, how can they award points fairly?
\nThis is not fair. But it can be changed \u2013 if we are present where the rules are written.<\/p>\n
The Mandate: September 2025
\nIn September 2025, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) appointed me as Rapporteur of the AgoraEU Opinion in the SEDEC Commission (Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research and Culture). Concretely, this means: I am the one who drafts the CoR Opinion that the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council take into account when writing the regulation.
\nThis is a rare opportunity. A representative of a less-developed region shapes the text on which a \u20ac8.6 billion European programme will be built. If done well, the interests of peripheral, rural and minority regions are embedded in European law.
\nMy Small Team \u2013 Those Who Were There Throughout
\nThis work is never a solo achievement. My small cabinet team \u2013 Cs\u00e1k L\u00e1szl\u00f3 and Imets Hanna \u2013 were by my side throughout, handling the daily work in Brussels, preparing consultations, processing documents and managing communications. Without them, this year could not have been completed.<\/p>\n
Brick by Brick \u2013 The Chronology
\nSeptember 2025: Appointment and initial orientation. Processing the European Commission’s COM(2025) 550 final \u2013 a regulatory proposal of over 180 pages \u2013 began immediately.
\nOctober\u2013November 2025: First bilateral meetings with shadow rapporteurs of the EP’s CULT committee \u2013 including Zolt\u00e1n Tarr (HU, EPP), Catherine Griset (PfE), Ivaylo Valchev (ECR), Birgitte van den Berg (Renew) and Diana Riba i Giner (Greens\/EFA) \u2013 and with the heritage organisation Europa Nostra. Parallel consultations in Bucharest with UDMR colleagues and Romania’s Ministry of Culture.
\n17 December 2025: The H\u00c9TFA Consultation. One of the most important working sessions. The H\u00c9TFA Research Institute \u2013 one of Hungary’s leading EU policy research institutes \u2013 conducted the detailed analysis on which the proposals were based:
\n\u2022 Small grants and a two-stage system for new entrants and small organisations
\n\u2022 Evaluators from peripheral regions included in evaluation panels
\n\u2022 Annual territorial performance monitoring
\n\u2022 Separation of news media and audiovisual support
\n\u2022 Sustainability of project results after final payments
\n\u2022 Support for generational renewal of civil society organisations
\nJanuary 2026: The Rapporteur’s Working Document is finalised \u2013 the discussion paper sent to the CoR Secretariat and SEDEC members. It explicitly names: micro-grants of \u20ac5\u201325,000, local creative incubator houses as contact points, minority cultures as a standalone priority, territorial participation indicators.
\nJanuary 2026: The AgoraEU process and CoR rapporteur methodology were also presented as part of a course at the National University of Public Service (NKE) \u2013 demonstrating the academic relevance of this Brussels-level work.
\n2 February 2026: At the 7th SEDEC meeting, all political groups \u2013 EPP, PES, ECR, GREEN+PRO \u2013 voted in favour of the draft opinion, with 12 rapporteur’s amendments and 36 policy recommendations.
\nFebruary\u2013March 2026: The EP’s CULT and LIBE committees work in parallel on their own AgoraEU report. Stakeholder hearings take place (CERV, audiovisual, news media, culture topics) and on 24 March a shadow rapporteurs’ meeting is held.
\nFebruary\u2013April 2026: Plenary amendments arrive from the political groups. All 15 rapporteur’s compromise amendments are carefully examined \u2013 integrating elements that strengthen the opinion, and rejecting those that would shift focus away from rural, small and minority actors.
\n5 May 2026: Bilateral consultation with the Council Presidency \u2013 Dr. Elena Theodoulou Charalambous, Chair of the Council’s Committee for Cultural Affairs. Confirmed: the key elements of the CoR Opinion \u2013 territorial monitoring, simplification, living heritage \u2013 can expect a positive reception not only in the EP but also in Council negotiations.
\n7 May 2026: The 171st CoR Plenary adopts the AgoraEU Opinion. This is today.<\/p>\n
How Many Kilometres Did This Work Cover?
\nBrussels\u2013Bucharest\u2013Budapest\u2013Miercurea Ciuc, back and forth, multiple times. SEDEC meetings, EP visits, bilateral negotiations, expert consultations \u2013 adding up all flights, trains and car journeys, the total comes to thousands of kilometres. Every trip represented a negotiation, an amendment, a relationship-building step.
\nThis is not tourism. It is work. Daily presence in the system where decisions are made.<\/p>\n
What Was Achieved? \u2013 The 8 Concrete Results
\nThe adopted Opinion includes the following key elements \u2013 all directly serving the interests of less-developed and peripheral regions across Europe:
\n1. Small grants and simplified applications \u2013 two-stage system, micro-grants of \u20ac5\u201325,000 for small organisations and rural creative groups
\n2. Local contact points \u2013 information available in minority and regional languages, no need to travel to Brussels
\n3. Living heritage and traditional crafts \u2013 standalone funding category in the regulation, with capacity-building support
\n4. Local and regional media \u2013 dedicated funding for independent press in small towns and rural areas
\n5. Territorial monitoring indicators \u2013 annual data on how much funding reaches rural and less-developed regions
\n6. Generational renewal of civil society \u2013 young people can also lead projects and organisations
\n7. Town and county twinning \u2013 multi-annual cooperation funding
\n8. Minority cultural dimension \u2013 protection of ethnic, national and linguistic minorities embedded in the core text of the regulation<\/p>\n
Where Does the CoR Opinion Matter? \u2013 The Logic of EU Decision-Making
\nThe EU legislative process, simplified:
\nCommission proposes \u2192 Parliament + Council negotiate \u2192 Trilogue = agreement \u2192 Regulation enters into force
\nThe CoR Opinion sends a signal to both the EP and the Council. When the CoR and the EP pull in the same direction \u2013 as now, where Zolt\u00e1n Tarr as EPP shadow rapporteur in the EP and the CoR Rapporteur both champion the same territorial balance principles \u2013 the argument becomes powerful in the trilogue.
\nEvent Date
\nCoR Plenary \u2013 Opinion adopted 6 May 2026
\nEP CULT\/LIBE committee \u2013 draft report presentation 3\u20134 June 2026
\nDeadline for EP amendments 11 June 2026
\nEP committee vote 19 October 2026
\nEP plenary vote October\u2013November 2026
\nStart of trilogue negotiations November\u2013December 2026
\nFirst reading agreement End of March 2027
\nAgoraEU enters into force 1 January 2028
\nFirst calls for applications 2028
\nProgramme closes 2036<\/p>\n
The window is narrowing. Those who do not lay the groundwork now will again find in 2028 that the funding has passed them by.<\/p>\n
The Political Message \u2013 Hundreds of Millions Can Be Brought to Regions
\n\u20ac8.6 billion. From this, the share available to Romania’s regions \u2013 if we use the opportunity \u2013 can be hundreds of millions of euros in the 2028\u20132036 period, for culture, media, civil society, fundamental rights, youth programmes, twinning and heritage protection.
\nBut this will not come automatically. Romania must do its homework:
\n\u2022 With real, locally grounded plans \u2013 not copy-pasted ministerial templates
\n\u2022 With a place-based approach \u2013 projects tailored to the actual needs of the territory
\n\u2022 With genuine involvement of the local and regional level \u2013 because central government alone cannot find all the answers
\nWe see too many Romanian programmes fail \u2013 not for lack of money, but because planning was not grounded in reality, capacity was missing, cooperation was not built in time. The AgoraEU Opinion is precisely the antidote to this.<\/p>\n
Those who stay silent receive little. Those who are present receive much. That is democracy.<\/p>\n
Csaba Borboly | Member of the European Committee of the Regions | Vice-President of Harghita County Council
\nRapporteur, CoR Opinion on AgoraEU (SEDEC-VIII\/009) | COR-2025-03541<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“Those who stay silent are left behind. Those who are present where the rules are written can bring the money home.” What Is This Article About? This article answers a very concrete question: how can EU funding for culture, media, civil society and fundamental rights actually reach less-developed regions across Europe \u2013 funding that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1824,"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-1823","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\/1823","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=1823"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1823\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1825,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1823\/revisions\/1825"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}