Have the article read by OpenAI (Beta). Please note that AI translations may take some time to process.The European Commission’s proposed long-term budget has come under fire from Kata Tüttő, President of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), who accused it of sidelining cities and regions in favour of “a big stream of centralisation”.
In an interview with the European Newsroom (enr) and other outlets in Brussels on Thursday, Tüttő warned that the plan “cracks the backbone of cohesion policy” and called it “the monster that swallowed cohesion”.
She accused European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of creating a “Hunger Games” situation that leaves regions and cities competing for their share out of a “sealed container” of funds and “decide among each other who will get what”.
The CoR is an EU advisory body that represents local and regional authorities across the bloc. It is composed of 329 members and 329 alternates who have been elected at local or regional level.
“We are not the United States. We are not a centralised machine. Europe is based on its regions – its diversity is its strength,” she said.
On Wednesday, the European Commission proposed a nearly 2-trillion-Euro long-term budget known as the European Union’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the period 2028-2034.
While more money is to be spent on security and defence in light of Russia’s expansionist ambitions, member states are faced with high levels of national debt. Farmers, major beneficiaries of the current EU budget, have been up in arms over possible cuts.
Pick your battles
The Commission is however also looking to regroup funds and structure resources based on national investment and reform plans submitted by EU member states.
Critics say the move puts funds from major policies like the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for farmers at risk of being incorporated into a broader fund that can be used for other purposes.
“What happened is that everything Ursula von der Leyen is not interested in is put in one bag,” Tüttő said, citing youth unemployment, child care, border control and farming as examples of areas lacking clear direction in the Commission’s proposal.
According to the Hungarian politician, von der Leyen will “deal with the big shiny things, investing in gigafactories, investing in digital, space, defence industry – everything new, everything shiny, everything that is about excellence” but leave national governments in charge of “everything that keeps Europe together” and to “deal with the mess”.
German MEP and Vice-Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgets, Monika Hohlmeier (EPP), also told the enr on Thursday there is a “shift in the balance of the [EU] institutions” as the Commission seeks to “ring fence” parts of the budget. According to her, such a change risks eliminating any room for “democratic scrutiny and democratic co-decision by the European Parliament”.
When asked how regions and cities can make sure they are not left out in the negotiations, Hohlmeier said she would fight for their rights “to talk for themselves, to decide for themselves, and not only to be an appendix of Berlin, Paris, or Helsinki”, adding that regions are “self-decisive”.
Lengthy and arduous negotiations
The budget proposal is to be debated and amended by the European Parliament and EU member states. Negotiations are expected to be lengthy and contentious but need to conclude by the end of 2027.
Moving forward, Tüttő strongly advocated for cohesion policy to remain a “standalone policy, not part of a package that is up for Hunger Games in the member states”.
According to her, cohesion policy is “designed to be a stabilising tool, a long-term glue and a mainstreaming force and energy flow of all the different European policies”. She called to “invest more in the base and not build the Tower of Babel”.
Tüttő once again warned that merging cohesion policy into a large package would strip it of its main role, reducing it to a charity fund for poorer regions.
“This is not a charity fund, it never was a charity fund” the Hungarian socialist stressed.
This article is published twice a week. The content is based on news by agencies participating in the enr.
