CPMR voices concerns over EU’s long-term budget

The body representing Europe’s peripheral regions has voiced some concerns at draft plans for the EU’s long term budget.

The Irish Presidency’s revised negotiating box for the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework proposes a total budget of € 1.622 trillion.

This, says the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR), is around 8% below the Commission’s original proposal.

The Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions says it welcomes the fact that core shared-management allocations have been largely protected.

“But the overall direction is wrong,” it also warns.

CPMR President and Regional Councillor at Region Gotland, Filip Reinhag told this site, “Speed must not replace substance.

“What Europe and its regions need in the next negotiating box is guaranteed regional involvement and a genuine bottom-up approach to shared management.

“We need a budget that matches Europe’s ambitions. The coming weeks will decide whether this MFF is a real investment in territorial cohesion and competitiveness, or a managed retreat from it.”

A CPMR statement said, “An 8% cut compared to the Commission’s original proposal is no answer to Europe’s challenges.

“Under the NRPPs, core Cohesion Policy and Common Fisheries Policy funding continue to be forced into competition with each other by eliminating dedicated envelopes.

“The promised synergies must not come at the cost of territorial cohesion, maritime communities or shared management and the role of regions.”

The CPMR, based in Rennes, adds, “Competitiveness starts in Europe’s regions.

“For maritime, peripheral, island and outermost regions, connectivity is not optional. It is what allows them to contribute to Europe’s resilience, prosperity and strategic autonomy.

“That is why cuts to the Connecting Europe Facility, Horizon Europe, the Competitiveness Fund and external cooperation are so concerning. These instruments support transport links, energy networks, research, industrial clusters and value chains across Europe and beyond. They must include all regions, not leave them behind.”

The CPMR goes on, “The revised negotiating box does contain positive elements. It strengthens language on partnership, multi-level governance and the role of regions. But words are not enough.”

The statement adds, “There is a well-known Brussels saying that a good compromise leaves everyone equally unhappy.

“CPMR members expect better. Europe’s next budget must be more than a lowest-common-denominator deal. Regional involvement must be enforceable. Shared management must remain genuinely shared with regions. Simplification must not become centralisation.

“Time is also running out. The Council wants an agreement by the end of the year. The CPMR shares that urgency. If the December window is missed, the consequences will fall directly on regions. Sectoral legislation will be delayed in 2027. Managing authorities will struggle to set up governance structures. NRPP chapters will be harder to programme. Beneficiaries, including farmers, fishers, SMEs and local authorities, could face a funding cliff edge at the start of 2028.”

The CPMR has now called on EU leaders to do three things.

“First, restore adequate funding and dedicated envelopes for cohesion, fisheries, maritime policy, transport, climate and energy, at least at the level of the current programming period.

“Second, enshrine enforceable partnership rights for regions in the final MFF and NRPP regulations. Third, reach a deal in December that gives regions certainty and gives Europe the investment capacity it needs.”

 A spokesman for the Irish Presidency responded by telling this site, “The objective of our revision was to present a modern, flexible budget that invests in new and emerging priorities and protects treaty-based policies, while at the same time reflecting the fiscal realities that all Member States face.

“It seeks to reconcile the competing and diverging views that exist between Member States, while also accelerating the process towards a conclusion by resolving some issues and revealing where the most stubborn differences remain.

“There are many key and significant elements on health in the 2028-2034 MFF, including through the ‘Health, Biotech, Agriculture and Bioeconomy’ window of the European Competitiveness Fund and through the ‘Health Preparedness and Response’ strand in the UCPM+ programme. The revised Negotiating Box has ensured that these funds receive a very significant increase from the current MFF. For the UCPM+ programme, the Irish presidency has proposed an allocation of €6.1 billion. This represents an increase of 188% on current levels of spending, or 225% when accounting for inflation.”

“While savings have been made on the Commission proposal, both elements receive some of the largest percentage increases from the current MFF, representing the Union’s commitment to addressing future health needs.”