Following the European Parliament's adoption of a report on the post-2027 long-term EU budget during its May plenary session, the 166th plenary session of the CoR hosted a debate on the future of the EU budget. President of the EA Group, Nanette Maupertuis, participated in the exchange by demanding greater involvement of local and regional authorities in the budgetary planning process and protection of cohesion funding.

Co-Rapporteurs of the report, Carla Tavares and Siegfried Muresan, opened the discussion by outlining key policy areas and geo-political challenges that the budget should address. They posited that the EP's and CoR's budgetary priorities are closely aligned and called for stronger institutional cooperation to defend their shared interests. In terms of the priorities mentioned, they stressed that the budget must not be reduced but rather increased to expand its capacities. Simplification and greater flexibility are therefore necessary to ensure more effective use of funding. Relatedly, new priorities for security, defence and competitiveness must be integrated in the budget without cutting back on traditional priorities, like cohesion policy. On this note, the speakers rejected plans leaked by the European Commission to merge the cohesion and common agricultural policies into single national plans, advocating instead for continued protection of regional and local programmes. Finally, the speakers underlined the need for closer cooperation with local and regional authorities to ensure the CoR's involvement in the design and implementation of the EU budget.

President of the European Alliance Group, Nanette Maupertuis, responded to Ms. Tavares and Mr. Muresan by reaffirming their emphasis on the importance of inter-institutional cooperation and dialogue. 'We must not be cast by the wayside' she stressed, warning that failure to actively involve local and regional authorities in the budgetary planning process will greatly undermine its legitimacy and effectiveness. To this end, she called for genuine multi-level governance and partnership within the budgetary planning project, stressing that local and regional authorities are already active and ready to contribute their expertise. She further reiterated that budgetary revision must not weaken cohesion policy and rejected any budgetary decrease that might undermine the 'do no harm principle' or deprive local authorities of crucial cohesion funding. In this sense, cohesion policy must be protected and recognised as a vital investment in Europe's prosperity and security. She therefore concluded by appealing for a 'respectful' EU that remains connected to its regions, stressing that local support for the EU must be reciprocal.​