Economic, social, territorial cohesion needs cooperation among EU, national and regional actors.
Cohesion
Economic, social, and territorial Cohesion is a fundamental objective of the European Union (EU), aiming to reduce disparities between regions and ensure balanced development across all territories. Achieving this goal requires the active involvement of local and regional authorities, who are best positioned to respond to the specific needs of their communities.
In this context, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) emphasises the importance of designing the post-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework in close partnership with local and regional authorities. Overall, the principle of partnership must be strengthened, cautioning against centralising tendencies that could weaken local governance.
The CoR advocate for strong financial instruments, greater fiscal autonomy at the regional level, and new sources of EU revenue to address future challenges while staying aligned with long-term EU priorities. In addition, it is crucial to deepen the capital markets union, foster a more supportive investment environment, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as improve regulatory frameworks by reducing administrative burdens.
Our key priority of cohesion includes matters on:
- Competitiveness
- EU budget
- Just transition
- Sustainable and affordable housing
Resilience
Resilience in a broad sense is the ability to react to natural and human-made disasters, security threats and economic and political instability within the EU and in the wider world. Achieving resilience depends on close cooperation across all levels of governance and must include strengthening the EU’s and local and regional authorities’ ability to react to different forms of crises through appropriate instruments and financial means.
The CoR calls for improved coordination and funding to help regions manage major transitions and crisis impacts and empowering local and regional authorities in areas such as climate action, energy security and water management.
Our key priority of Resilience includes matters on:
- Cross-border cooperation
- Climate change
- Water resilience
- Clean, secure and affordable energy
- Health
- Agriculture
- Security
The CoR’s unwavering support to Ukraine’s cities and regions, which is expressed through the Alliance for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, is also an investment in the resilience of the EU’s cities and regions as it provides the opportunity to learn from the experience of the Ukrainian partners.
Proximity
Proximity is about bringing the EU closer to its citizens by empowering local and regional governments to respond effectively to their communities' needs. The CoR emphasises that trust in the EU is built at the local level, where institutions are most connected to people’s daily lives. Strengthening local governance helps address key challenges such as demographic change, social inclusion and public service delivery. The CoR stresses the importance of citizen engagement especially among young people and reaffirm their commitment to initiatives that promote participation, gender equality and democratic renewal across Europe’s regions.
Our key priority of Proximity includes matters on:
- Demographic change
- Local democracy
- Gender Equality
- Youth
