On May 25th, 2023, the Committee of the Regions (CoR) adopted an opinion, presented by German provincial President Thomas Haberman on the mid-term review of the multiannual financial framework (MFF). The statement primarily presents the perspective of local authorities and the interaction between the EU budget and local and regional authorities. The CoR draws attention to the tense financial situation in many municipalities and regions and calls for the MFF to be adjusted in view of the current crises, such as the COVID pandemic and the war in Ukraine and the resulting inflation and increase in electricity prices. At the same time, it must be ensured that the administrative levels responsible for implementing the requirements are also provided with sufficient funds. Habermann: “We must ensure that the levels responsible for implementing EU rules have the necessary financial resources at their disposal. Strengthening the European Union budget alone without simultaneously supporting subnational budgets cannot and will not suffice.”
In a debate with Co-Rapporteur of the European Parliament, Margarida Marques (PT/S&D) pointed out “Since the very beginning of the current MFF we have been re-prioritising spending expenses. Cohesion is not an emergency Fund. No amount of re-prioritisation is going to cover the needs or remedy the MFF’s shortcomings”. Jan Olbrycht (PL/EPP), also EP Co-Rapporteur added: “Now, less than two years after its adoption, the EU budget is already stretched to its limits. There are no margins left in many headings which significantly restricts what the EU can do to tackle unpredictable crises. Therefore, a simple review is not a solution for the current challenges – we urgently need a solid revision of the MFF.”
In parallel, Vasco Alves Cordeiro (PT/PES), President of the European Committee of the Regions and the Chair of the CoR Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget (COTER) and mayor of Cluj-Napoca, Emil Boc (RO/EPP) are setting up a CoR statement on future cohesion policy, to which CEPLI will contribute.