CoR - Committee of the Regions

05/12/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/13/2025 03:02

Funding, research and housing – the perspective of EU regions and cities

The European Union's long-term budget and the regional dimension of the European Research Area will be in the spotlight when the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) meets on 14-15 May for its plenary session.

The EU's assembly for cities and regions will present its vision for the EU's next, post-2027 long-term budget in a resolution on Thursday, 15 May - one week after the European Parliament adopted its position. In its draft form, the resolution calls for the EU to be allowed to have additional sources of funding, for a strong and reformed Cohesion Policy, and a specific fund to deal with emergencies are among the main requests. The CoR's members will also provide their perspective on implementation of Cohesion Policy at mid-term.

In their debate on the European Research Area with European Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva, CoR members are likely to emphasise that the EU's support for research and innovation needs to be better tailored to the needs of less developed regions.

Among major EU-wide challenges that will be addressed in opinions scheduled for adoption are the shortage of affordable housing across the Union - the rapporteur is the mayor of Barcelona - and the shortage and difficulties of health-care workers.

The role of cities and regions in the EU's external relations will also feature prominently, with debates during the plenary session on relations with the United Kingdom and Moldova and - immediately after the plenary - a political-level meeting of the European Alliance of Cities and Regions for the Reconstruction of Ukraine. The meeting of the Alliance will be accompanied by a day-long forum on 15 May to promote partnerships between Ukrainian and EU local and regional authorities. The CoR is a co-founder of the Alliance and serves as its secretariat.

The agenda reflects the priorities of the European Committee of the Regions for 2025-2030, which will be set out in a resolution under the headings 'cohesion', 'resilience' and 'proximity'.

Follow a webstream of the plenary by going to the CoR website and, on social media, by using the hash-tag #CoRplenary.

KEY DEBATES

14 May, 3.05 p.m.: Debate on the European Research Area, with Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Start-ups, Research and Innovation. The debate will be followed by the adoption of an opinion on the European Research Area, in which CoR members are likely to call for adjustments to ensure that the EU's research and innovation policies more effectively reduce regional development gaps.

14 May, 6.25 p.m.: EU local matters, with statements by CoR members on protection of critical energy infrastructure and civic preparedness, on LGBTQI+ Pride parades, and on the status of mountain regions.

15 May, 9.35 a.m.: Debate on the EU-UK relationship and the perspectives for regional and local cooperation, with MEP Sandro Gozi (FR/Renew Europe), co-chair of European Union-United Kingdom Parliamentary Partnership Assembly. The CoR and the UK's sub-national governments may currently participate in the Assembly only when invited, as observers.

15 May, 9.35 a.m.: Debate on the future of the EU budget, with MEP Carla Tavares (PT/S&D), the European Parliament's co-rapporteur on the post-2027 long-term EU budget. Following the debate, CoR members will adopt a resolution on the Mid-Term Review of Cohesion Policy 2021-2027 and on the next Multiannual Financial Framework.

15 May, 12.00: Debate on Moldova's accession process to the European Union, with Cristina Gherasimov, Moldova's Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration. Moldova formally started accession negotiations with the EU in June 2024. The CoR's Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) with Moldova will meet for the first time on 27 May. The objective of the JCC is to support Moldovan sub-national authorities as they prepare for EU membership.

15 May, 9.30am-4:30pm: Networking and Matchmaking Forum on Strengthening Municipal Partnerships between EU and Ukraine. The forum will include examples of municipal partnerships in action, a discussion of capacity-building needs, and a preliminary presentation of a study on capacity-building under the EU's Ukraine Facility.

15 May, 12.00-1:00pm: Political-level meeting of the European Alliance of Cities and Regions for the Reconstruction of Ukraine. The meeting will adopt a statement on the local and regional dimension of reconstruction as part of the Alliance's contribution to preparations for the Ukraine Recovery Conference, to be held in Rome on 10-11 July.

15 May, 2.30pm: Meeting of the CoR-UK Contact Group, with discussion about the state of play in the EU-UK relations and the challenges to and opportunities in cross-border cooperation. The meeting between CoR members and representatives from the UK's sub-national authorities comes four days before an EU-UK summit.

RESOLUTIONS FOR ADOPTION

· Draft resolution on the CoR's institutional priorities for the new term of office 2025-2030.

· Draft resolution on the Mid-Term Review of Cohesion Policy 2021-2027.

· Draft resolution in view of the next Multiannual Financial Framework.

OPINIONS FOR ADOPTION

· 'Building the European Research Area: A Local and Regional Perspective.' Rapporteur: Melanie Kühnemann-Grunow (DE/PES), member of the Berlin House of Representatives.

· 'The role of cities and regions in the EU Affordable Housing Plan.' Rapporteur: Jaume Collboni Cuadrado (ES/PES), mayor of Barcelona.

· 'Health-care workforce: regional challenges and solutions.' Rapporteur: Birgitta Sacrédeus (SE/EPP), member of Dalarna Regional Council.

· 'Cohesion policy as a key engine in achieving EU goals and reforms: how to further build on its performance-based approach while respecting decentralisation, partnership and multilevel governance.' Rapporteur: Isabelle Boudineau(FR/PES), member of the Regional Council of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

· 'Metropolitan regions and functional urban areas as socio-economic drivers of sustainable investment in the 2021-2027 Cohesion policy framework.' Rapporteur: Carmine Pacente (IT/Renew Europe), member of Milan municipal council.

· 'Strengthening farmers' position in the agri-food supply chain.' Rapporteur: Loredana Capone (IT/PES), member of Puglia Regional Council.

Practical information:

Location: Paul Henri Spaak building - Hemicycle, European Parliament, Brussels
Date: Wednesday, 14 May - Thursday, 15 May 2025.
Background material: The plenary agenda and opinions and amendments.
Webstreaming: On the website of the CoR.

Contact:

PresseCdr@cor.europa.eu

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