Regulation establishing Global Europe
Opinion factsheet
On this page
- External relations, Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy
- EU international partnership
- Economy and Finance
- Multiannual financial framework
Opinion number:
CDR-0386-2026
Status:
Adopted
Objective
The EC should publish a new Communication recognising the role of local and regional authorities as partners in the EU's external action;
Multi-level governance and localisation should become guiding principles of the Regulation, territorial and multi-level governance screenings should be carried out by the EU delegations and performance-based plans with enlargement countries should include a legally-binding "subsidiarity clause";
Achieve deeper inter-institutional dialogue and stronger involvement of the CoR in policy development and implementation, namely through its enlargement and neighbourhood-dedicated fora, eg. ARLEM, and by involving the CoR in the Enlargement Forum;
Ensure ringfencing of geographic pillars in the budget, as well as adequate and tailored financial resources and capacity building initiatives for LRAs;
Ensure coherence between the Regulation and EU Interreg programmes, including the integration of a "localisation marker" into the existing impact assessment tools of the EU's external action.
Multi-level governance and localisation should become guiding principles of the Regulation, territorial and multi-level governance screenings should be carried out by the EU delegations and performance-based plans with enlargement countries should include a legally-binding "subsidiarity clause";
Achieve deeper inter-institutional dialogue and stronger involvement of the CoR in policy development and implementation, namely through its enlargement and neighbourhood-dedicated fora, eg. ARLEM, and by involving the CoR in the Enlargement Forum;
Ensure ringfencing of geographic pillars in the budget, as well as adequate and tailored financial resources and capacity building initiatives for LRAs;
Ensure coherence between the Regulation and EU Interreg programmes, including the integration of a "localisation marker" into the existing impact assessment tools of the EU's external action.
Impact
The European Commission:
Regarding point 5 of the opinion, reaffirms LRAs’ important role in development policy, in line with the Communication ‘Empowering Local Authorities in partner countries for enhanced governance and more effective development outcomes' (2023), which it considers sufficiently comprehensive as a policy framework, in line with the current focus on simplification and racionalisation of EU legislation;
Addressing points 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 18 and 21 of the opinion, underlines that the Instrument aims to strengthen institutional and operational capacities of European and partner countries’ LRAs, their networks and alliances, given that LRAs are key partners for the delivery of Global Gateway investments;
Recalls that the proposal for the next MFF includes a territorial dimension through the National and Regional Partnership Plans, and that support to enlargement countries will strengthen multi-level governance, ensuring effective involvement of LRAs in the design and implementation of reforms and investments under performance-based plans. These plans allow for the identification of implementation gaps and include assistance to strengthened administrative capacity at all levels. Regarding a possible legally-binding subsidiarity clause, recalls that common rules for performance-based plans will be defined in the implementing rules (points 3 and 19 of the opinion);
On points 2 and 28 of the opinion, stressed that the Instrument will seek to harness the potential of mutually beneficial partnerships, contributing to preserving peace and promoting a rules-based and value-based global order, with multilateralism as a key principle;
Commits to continuing the good collaboration with the CoR, as evident from the cooperation on the 2026 Enlargement Forum (point 10 of the opinion);
Underlines that the Instrument ensures coherence with Interreg programmes and explicitly provides for the possibility to assist partner countries and regions to strengthen their cooperation with the outermost regions. It may also contribute to actions co-financed by and implemented under the future regulation establishing (inter alia) the European Fund for Regional Development including for European Territorial Cooperation (Interreg) (points 11 and 12 of the opinion). The Instrument will also ensure coherence and synergies with other relevant EU internal policies and programmes during implementation (points 15 and 16);
On point 14, points out that minimum or ringfenced amounts would not lead to effective and efficient implementation of the Instrument, including when supporting LRAs institutions on the ground;
Recognises the importance of providing practical support to LRAs, including technical assistance, capacity building initiatives, and fostering peer-to-peer cooperation, and of facilitating implementation and to reducing the administrative burden on beneficiaries by promoting the use of simplified forms of funding (points 17, 23, 24, 25 and 26);
Regarding support to Ukraine, assures that implementation of a dedicated Ukraine Reserve through Global Europe will ensure continuity of the funding provided to Ukraine (point 20);
Recalls that it has consistently and will continue to engage with LRAs, including in the framework of the 2025 Pact for the Mediterranean, and through different configurations such as ARLEM (point 22);
Addressing point 27, considers that the existing impact assessment and monitoring tools for EU external action are already comprehensive and that the Inequalities Marker supports inclusive investments, and reminds that the proposal for the next MFF includes a new horizontal Performance regulation for the whole EU budget, rendering the introduction of a localisation marker as a duplication/complexification of tools.
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The draft report of the European Parliament on Regulation Establishing Global Europe, which will serve as a negotiation basis for the trilogue, includes numerous amendments strengthening the role of local authorities in the EU international partnerships. The amendments adopted by the AFET and DEVE committees include explicit reference to direct funding to local authorities of at least 500m Euros, the need to support capacity building of local authorities, to include them in Global Gateway. The Parliament amendments also explicitely recognise the need to capitalise on decentralised cooperation intiatives and to include them in Team Europe approach alongside other stakeholders.
Regarding point 5 of the opinion, reaffirms LRAs’ important role in development policy, in line with the Communication ‘Empowering Local Authorities in partner countries for enhanced governance and more effective development outcomes' (2023), which it considers sufficiently comprehensive as a policy framework, in line with the current focus on simplification and racionalisation of EU legislation;
Addressing points 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 18 and 21 of the opinion, underlines that the Instrument aims to strengthen institutional and operational capacities of European and partner countries’ LRAs, their networks and alliances, given that LRAs are key partners for the delivery of Global Gateway investments;
Recalls that the proposal for the next MFF includes a territorial dimension through the National and Regional Partnership Plans, and that support to enlargement countries will strengthen multi-level governance, ensuring effective involvement of LRAs in the design and implementation of reforms and investments under performance-based plans. These plans allow for the identification of implementation gaps and include assistance to strengthened administrative capacity at all levels. Regarding a possible legally-binding subsidiarity clause, recalls that common rules for performance-based plans will be defined in the implementing rules (points 3 and 19 of the opinion);
On points 2 and 28 of the opinion, stressed that the Instrument will seek to harness the potential of mutually beneficial partnerships, contributing to preserving peace and promoting a rules-based and value-based global order, with multilateralism as a key principle;
Commits to continuing the good collaboration with the CoR, as evident from the cooperation on the 2026 Enlargement Forum (point 10 of the opinion);
Underlines that the Instrument ensures coherence with Interreg programmes and explicitly provides for the possibility to assist partner countries and regions to strengthen their cooperation with the outermost regions. It may also contribute to actions co-financed by and implemented under the future regulation establishing (inter alia) the European Fund for Regional Development including for European Territorial Cooperation (Interreg) (points 11 and 12 of the opinion). The Instrument will also ensure coherence and synergies with other relevant EU internal policies and programmes during implementation (points 15 and 16);
On point 14, points out that minimum or ringfenced amounts would not lead to effective and efficient implementation of the Instrument, including when supporting LRAs institutions on the ground;
Recognises the importance of providing practical support to LRAs, including technical assistance, capacity building initiatives, and fostering peer-to-peer cooperation, and of facilitating implementation and to reducing the administrative burden on beneficiaries by promoting the use of simplified forms of funding (points 17, 23, 24, 25 and 26);
Regarding support to Ukraine, assures that implementation of a dedicated Ukraine Reserve through Global Europe will ensure continuity of the funding provided to Ukraine (point 20);
Recalls that it has consistently and will continue to engage with LRAs, including in the framework of the 2025 Pact for the Mediterranean, and through different configurations such as ARLEM (point 22);
Addressing point 27, considers that the existing impact assessment and monitoring tools for EU external action are already comprehensive and that the Inequalities Marker supports inclusive investments, and reminds that the proposal for the next MFF includes a new horizontal Performance regulation for the whole EU budget, rendering the introduction of a localisation marker as a duplication/complexification of tools.
**
The draft report of the European Parliament on Regulation Establishing Global Europe, which will serve as a negotiation basis for the trilogue, includes numerous amendments strengthening the role of local authorities in the EU international partnerships. The amendments adopted by the AFET and DEVE committees include explicit reference to direct funding to local authorities of at least 500m Euros, the need to support capacity building of local authorities, to include them in Global Gateway. The Parliament amendments also explicitely recognise the need to capitalise on decentralised cooperation intiatives and to include them in Team Europe approach alongside other stakeholders.
Essential points
THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS (CoR)
- Supports the proposed budget of EUR200.3 billion that is necessary to strengthen the EU's role across the globe; proposes to ringfence parts of the geographic pillars so that all countries and regions can rely on minimum allocations.
- Calls on the Commission, given the current volatile geopolitical environment, to develop a new Communication that should recognise the role of local and regional authorities (LRAs) as partners in the EU's external action, including as part of Team Europe.
- Calls for multi-level governance and localisation to become the guiding principles of the Regulation for stronger coherence between internal (EU Cohesion) and external policies.
- Highlights the importance of the CoR's stronger involvement in policy development and implementation, mobilising CoR-led engagement frameworks with the EU candidate, Mediterranean and Eastern Partnership countries.
- Calls for deeper inter-institutional dialogue on the local and regional dimension of EU 's external action and the role of city diplomacy, including by involving the CoR in the Enlargement Forum and in outreach to the EU Delegations.
- Calls for territorial and multi-level governance screenings to be conducted by EU Delegations and for performance-based plans with enlargement countries to include legally binding 'subsidiarity clause'.
- Calls for systematic involvement of LRAs throughout the programming cycle.
- Calls for adequate financial resources for LRAs, including tailored and streamlined funding mechanisms under Global Gateway and dedicated initiatives to foster political and technical exchanges between cities and regions, notably between the EU and candidate countries.
- Calls for reinforced capacity building and effective technical assistance targeting LRAs' ability to access and manage EU funding, develop and implement reforms, improve investment climate, deliver on SDGs and respond to emergencies.
- Calls for full coherence between the Regulation and EU Interreg programmmes and draws attention to the unique and strategic role of the outermost regions and their neighbours.
- Calls for improved monitoring by integrating a 'localisation marker' into the existing impact assessment tools.