During the Committee of the Regions' debate on the future EU Budget with Siegfried Mureșan MEP, the European Parliament’s co-rapporteur for the next Multiannual Financial Framework, our President Nanette Maupertuis stressed that the direction chosen for the MFF is ultimately a political choice that will determine Europe’s cohesion and credibility for years to come.
Representing vocally Europe’s islands and peripheral regions, President Maupertuis stressed that Cohesion Policy remains the EU’s most effective instrument to ensure balanced development and territorial fairness. She underlined that any erosion of this policy would inevitably weaken the Union itself.
She drew particular attention to the uncertainty surrounding post-2027 support for islands, which continue to face permanent geographical and demographic challenges. Without tailored cohesion measures, she warned, these regions risk being left behind despite their clear structural handicaps and this must recognised in the next MFF.
Ms Maupertuis also cautioned against the push to recentralise Cohesion Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy, noting that such a shift would fundamentally break the link between the EU and its territories.
“Recentralising cohesion and the CAP would represent a historic rupture between the Union and its regions. It would erode political legitimacy and weaken citizens’ trust,” she warned.