Post by European Committee of the Regions

On 6-7 May, the #CoRplenary sets out its DETAILED RESPONSES to many of the major items in the European Union's proposed long-term budget. ➡️We will be adopting opinions on reforms that will determine the EU's investment between 2028 and 2034 into regional development, research and innovation, infrastructure and other major areas of the economy. The CoR has already outlined its central objections to reforms proposed by the European Commission, in an opinion adopted in March in which it particularly opposed the idea of centralising and nationalising the budget. The Commission is proposing the creation of a single National and Regional Partnership Plan (NRPP) for each member state into which support for cohesion, agriculture, rural areas, fisheries, migration and security, and social policies would be pooled. At this plenary, EU's regions and cities will provide a thorough assessment of the NRPP regulation and—in separate opinions—on proposals related to regional development, rural development, research and innovation, the Connecting Europe Facility for investment into transport, energy and digital infrastructure, the Erasmus+ mobility programme for education, and the proposed AgoraEU programme for culture, media and democratic support. 🔺Concerns about the proposed reforms may surface in separate debates with: Marilena Raouna, Deputy Minister for European Affairs, who will discuss the work of the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the European Union; European Commissioner Glenn Micallef, who is responsible for intergenerational fairness, youth, culture and sport; and with Raffaele Fitto, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Cohesion and Reforms. Commissioner Fitto will be focusing on the outcome of the mid-term review of the Multi-Annual Financial Framework for 2021-2027. 🇺🇦 Ukraine's Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories, Oleksii Riabykin, will have an opportunity on 7 May to update the CoR on the needs of Ukrainian cities and regions as they try to maintain public services in the fourth year of Russia's full-scale invasion. The CoR is the co-founder of the European Alliance of Cities and Regions for the Reconstruction of Ukraine and will participate on behalf of the Alliance at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk, Poland on 25-26 June. The plenary will also see the launch for nominations for the Mayor Paweł Adamowicz Award. The current laureate is Ekrem İmamoğlu, Mayor of Istanbul, who is now in his second year of pre-trial detention. The award is open to leaders of local communities “for courage and excellence in the promotion of freedom, solidarity and equality”. All details on our website link below👇 @cy2026eu