Brussels – The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is calling on the European Union to recognise cities and regions as strategic partners in its foreign policy, granting local and regional authorities a formal role in development cooperation, enlargement policy, and situations of institutional fragility. This position emerged from two opinions adopted on 1 July during the CoR’s plenary session.
The first opinion, drafted by rapporteur Joško Klisović (Croatia/PES), a member of the Zagreb City Assembly, concerns the “Global Europe” Regulation, the EU’s future financial instrument for external action for the period 2028–2034. The document emphasises that 65 per cent of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals could not be achieved without the active involvement of cities and regions, which account for 70 per cent of climate mitigation measures and up to 90 per cent of adaptation measures. Local authorities also play a decisive role in EU enlargement: 70 per cent of EU legislation is implemented at local and regional level. Klisović stressed the need to protect the new budget from cuts, so that the EU can remain a credible international partner.
The second opinion, requested by the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the EU and drafted by Magali Altounian (France/Renew Europe), a member of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Regional Council, concerns decentralised cooperation and city diplomacy in fragile contexts. The text points out that local and regional authorities are often the only level of government that continues to function during conflict or crisis, maintaining communication channels even when national diplomatic relations are severed. As an example, the CoR cites its own Nicosia Initiative to support Libyan municipalities.
“Europe’s influence will be measured not only by the scale of its investment, but by its ability to forge lasting partnerships and achieve tangible progress on the ground,” said Klisović. Altounian added: “Leaving these countries behind means abandoning nearly two billion extremely vulnerable people.”
Article written with the assistance of AI.
