Right to stay: the EU launches its strategy to tackle depopulation

Brussels – “Mobility within the European Union must be a choice, not a necessity.” So said Makis Keravnos, the Finance Minister of Cyprus—the country currently holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU—speaking at the launch event for the Right to Stay. The plan aims to ensure that all European citizens can “stay in the place they call home,” rather than being forced to move due to a lack of opportunities and essential services. “We are witnessing demographic decline, the exodus of young people and economic decline: these are all factors putting pressure on communities,” said the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Reforms and Cohesion, Raffaele Fitto. To stem the depopulation of certain areas, a single measure is not enough, “but a well-defined common strategy.” 

The “right to stay” was introduced by Enrico Letta, former Italian Prime Minister, in the report “Much more than a market“ published in April 2024. “The single market without a Cohesion Policy becomes a problem for Europe,” said Letta at the presentation meeting. “We must choose the priority sectors on which to act: transport, healthcare, education, and housing,” he added. “This is stated in Article 174 of the Treaty: the Union must promote harmonious and local development,” Keravnos clarified. This is also because “about 135 million Europeans live in places that have gradually fallen behind,” and this “is a sign of structural divergence and inequality.” The risk, according to the Cypriot minister, is that a new “geography of discontent” will emerge, with dissatisfied citizens and a weakened European project. 

The weaker regions, those where GDP is below average, need support. What is needed is “investment in local economies, to make the right to remain a concrete reality,” explained Keravnos. Today, the challenges facing communities are many and varied: digital transition, green transition, climate change. For this reason, “we need guidance to prevent local disparities from widening further, and we need targeted policies.” 

Tommaso Foti, Minister for European Affairs, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) and Cohesion Policy, spoke, highlighting the situation in Italy, where “around 2,000 municipalities are facing severe difficulties in terms of infrastructure, healthcare, and education.” The minister pointed out that this figure is closely linked to the country’s demographic crisis, and that NRRP investments have been concentrated “on schools, primary healthcare centres, and rural pharmacies, in the belief that guaranteeing services is equivalent to guaranteeing the right to remain.” 

Fitto announced the launch, effective today, of a call for evidence, through which the Commission is asking citizens, regions, and economic operators to help shape the future strategy. “We are particularly interested in two questions,” said the Executive Vice-President, “namely: what does a person actually need to choose to stay in their region, and how can we work together to provide it?” 

Fitto also announced the forthcoming publication of the results of a special Eurobarometer survey of 50,000 Europeans, designed to explore the reasons behind these movements. The strategy on the “right to stay” will also feature in the new Multiannual Financial Framework, where this objective is explicitly recognised. “In the coming months,” concluded Fitto, “the dialogue will continue with the European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions, and local and national representatives, alongside direct visits to the regions most affected by depopulation, which have already been underway for the past year and a half.”