Fourteen EU member states have urged the European Commission to preserve cohesion funds as a distinct tool for regional development support. This request is linked to the upcoming proposal for the EU budget after 2027, which is anticipated to be revealed in mid-July.
According to a document reviewed by PAP, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Greece, Croatia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia are against the merging of cohesion policy funds with other financial resources. They argue that these funds should remain separate and focused on addressing regional disparities within the EU.
The appeal has been sent to both the European Commission and the EU Council.
This stance reflects a wider resistance to a potential reform of cohesion policy, which aims to significantly revise the regulations governing the allocation and distribution of these funds. Similar apprehensions were previously expressed by EU regions in an open letter to the European Commission.
“When 14 national governments, 149 regions, and numerous local leaders and stakeholders voice serious concerns regarding the proposed EU budget, it signals the need for a substantial discussion,” stated Kata Tuettoe, chair of the EU Committee of the Regions, as reported by the Euractiv portal.
The European Commission is expected to introduce a draft of the new EU budget after 2027 in mid-July.
The states that signed the appeal, primarily beneficiaries of cohesion policy, contend that the future EU budget should be structured to reflect the development levels of individual regions rather than entire nations. Meanwhile, the Commission is looking into increasing the role of central authorities in managing EU funds and moving away from a model based on regional GDP, a shift that critics argue would undermine the objective of territorial cohesion.
Euractiv highlighted that notable absentees among the signatories include France and Germany, the two largest net contributors to the EU budget.













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