On 11 December, the European Committee of the Regions adopted its opinion on the EU's Simplification Agenda. The opinion was drafted by rapporteur-general Magdalena Czarzyńska-Jachim, the mayor of Sopot. Drafted at the request of the Danish Presidency of the Council, the opinion reflects a strong message from Europe's local and regional leaders: simplification can never lead to centralisation, must not equate to deregulation, and cannot weaken existing EU standards.

Rapporteur-general Czarzyńska-Jachim highlighted that local and regional authorities implement 70% of EU legislation: "As local and regional authorities, we feel the impact of overly complex regulations on a daily basis. We have to deal with complex regulatory frameworks and therefore have first-hand knowledge, experience and expertise when it comes to simplification. It is now up to the EU to use it."

Concretely, the opinion stresses that simplification is necessary, but it cannot become a shortcut to recentralisation. Especially concerning the current proposals on the next Multiannual Financial Framework, the opinion underlines that attempts to merge EU funds would dismantle decades of partnership, undermine subsidiarity and distance the Union from its citizens.

Further, the opinion articulates a political vision of simplification rooted in EU values such as transparency, democratic legitimacy, territorial diversity and upholding high standards. It rejects any approach that equates simplification with deregulation or with lowering protections in public services, environmental policy or social rights. Instead, it calls for rules based on principles rather than excessive detail, a shift that would make EU law more flexible and better adapted to local realities.

Czarzyńska-Jachim's text sets out concrete reforms: a single rulebook for EU funds to reduce fragmentation, robust subsidiarity checks, a legally guaranteed role for the Committee in trilogues, and effective simplification tools such as results-based funding, reduced gold-plating and stronger technical assistance for smaller beneficiaries. The opinion also calls for a fundamental revision of public procurement, which too often puts smaller municipalities and SMEs at a disadvantage.

This opinion marks a turning point. It reclaims the simplification agenda from purely technocratic discussions and anchors it in the defence of local democracy, partnership and place-based policymaking.​

The adoption of this opinion confirms the EA's leadership in shaping an EU that is simpler, fairer, more democratic  and firmly rooted in its different regions.

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