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To Brussels.

Welcome to the European Parliament, to the heart of the action to the Hemicycle,

and welcome to the 24th edition of the EU Regions Week 2026.

My name is Méabh McMahon and I'm thrilled to be with you today at this gathering co-organized,

of course, by the Committee of the Regions alongside the Director.

General for regional and urban policy for the European Commission.

A huge thanks of course as well to the European Parliament for hosting us all today here in the Hemicycle.

A warm welcome to our distinguished guests from the institutions.

Lovely to have you with us here today,

and also all the members of the Committee of the Regions in the room who come of course from near and some from very far.

A big hello to all the European Commission representatives here with us today, as well as members of the European Parliament,

participants from the Young Elected Politicians Programme, and of course the EU Local Councillors Network.

And all those tuning in live to us from all across Europe and beyond, a very warm welcome to you. Get involved in the debate.

You can use the hashtag EU Regions Week.

I'm also thrilled to announce that we have simultaneous interpretation in the room in all EU languages, except for Maltese.

We also have Ukrainian, and just a heads up for any Swedish speakers, we only have passive interpretation.

And as you can see, as you've seen as you come in here today,

the motto for the 2026 edition is strong regions and Strong Europe.

So expect a hive of activity for the next 3 days.

Debates, workshops, interactive sessions, not just here in Brussels and in the EU institutions,

but actually all across the continents. Some 100. Events will be taking place. 5000 participants will be joining.

From demography to the climate to the right to stay to geopolitical instability,

all topics will be important.

And of course this edition of EU Regions Week comes at a very timely moment here in the Brussels calendar,

just two days after the The Irish Presidency presented the so-called negotiation box on the next long term budget and just a couple of days before President Costa sits down with all the heads of state and government in the very EU Council itself.

So we couldn't have picked a better moment.

But now to start things off, I would like you to join me in taking a listen to the President of the European Parliament herself, Roberta Metsola.

Dear President Costa, dear President, dear Executive Vice President Fitto, dear Minister Chambers,

dear, dear colleagues and friends, welcome to the European Parliament.

The strength of our regions and cities is on full display here in this chamber, not just today but every day.

Thank you to Olof you for the work that you do to make Europe feel even closer to home.

We live in a world of increased geopolitical turmoil and volatility.

Many point to the return of great powers and the challenges facing our international order,

from security to the industrial transition to artificial intelligence. No country can tackle these alone.

But what is often missing from this narrative is where these fundamental transformations actually happen in our regions,

in our cities, in our neighborhoods.

It is the regional authority that decides on permitting decisions to accelerate the renewable energy transition,

the local organizations that protect our critical infrastructure,

the municipality that opens an AI regulatory sandbox to encourage responsible innovation.

This is exactly why this week's motto is so fitting Strong regions, strong Europe.

In the European Parliament, we have long understood this.

We negotiate funding and work on legislation to improve access to affordable housing, connectivity, and modernized infrastructure.

Our members of the European Parliament have consistently supported the cohesion policy model.

Not just because it is enshrined in our treaties,

but because it is a powerful tool for reducing disparities between and within countries.

As you know, we are in a crucial moment in the negotiations of the EU's next long term budget.

The European Parliament's position is clear we need to step up on defense,

competitiveness and investment in long-term strategic sectors, but this cannot come at the expense of regional development.

This is why we have asked for cohesion to stay as a distinct policy ring fenced with its own dedicated and robust budget,

and why we are pushing for strong involvement from regional and local governments in the planning and implementation of these programs.

I hope that this week's discussions allow you to learn from one another,

to share experiences and to build partnerships across sectors and borders.

Now is the time for us to work together and deliver.

You can count on the European Parliament as a reliable and steadfast partner in this mission. Thank you.

And thank you so much, President Metsola for those opening words.

And next up is, of course, the President of the European Council, António Costa, a familiar face, of course,

among those here in the Committee of the Regions as he was Mayor of Lisbon back in 2010 to 2015 and an active member of the Committee of the Regions. You're very welcome, sir. Thank you very much. Dear President Kata Tüttö, dear Vice President Raffaele Fitto.

Ladies and gentlemen, former colleagues,

it's always a pleasure to be with you here in this year's European Week of Regions and Cities.

Europe was built on a rich network of cities and regions that shaped our nations and over time our independent states,

making the European Union a unique project enriched by its diversity.

In our Union, every level of governance has a vital role to play.

As President of the European Council, I have made it my objective to strengthen our unity,

working closely with all European institutions, partners and stakeholders.

Cities and regions are essential to territorial and social cohesion.

They are closest to citizens and businesses, and often the first to respond to their needs.

They are also on the front line of our major challenges, protecting our prosperity and social model,

responding to demographic change, advancing the climate and energy transition,

and strengthen our resilience and strategic autonomy.

These challenges require common priorities and determined action at every level.

Let me highlight three areas where this matters most. First, affordability.

Europe must be a place where people can afford their homes, energy and mobility,

where business can grow and where everyone can plan their future with greater predictability.

Energy prices are of course central to this equation.

The current crisis in the Middle East and its impact on global energy supplies reinforce the need for decarbonisation and greater energy independence based on our homegrown renewable and nuclear energy sources.

We can already see the benefits in Member States and regions with a higher share of renewables,

which enjoy significantly lower electricity prices than those heavily dependent on fossil fuels.

Accelerating the energy transition is therefore our best long-term strategy for er to ensure our autonomy and lower prices.

But in the short term, however,

targets and temporary measures are needed to protect households and businesses from price spikes.

The European Commission has already made some proposals to provide immediate relief while preserving incentives to save energy and accelerate the clean transition.

But the energy transition is not just about generating renewable energy.

It, it's also about transforming mobility and improving energy efficiency.

We must accelerate public transport, transport electrification with more residential chargers,

charging equipment, parking space, and electrical buses.

This will lower commuting costs and reduce urban pollution. Energy efficiency is equally important.

Better insulation, heat pumps,

and smart meters reduce consumption and protect households from price volatility.

The annual energy cost difference between a poor insulated and a well insulated home can reach €5000.

Multiplied across millions of households, the potential savings are enormous.

We must also expand and modernize electricity grids to connect renewables and meet growing demand.

This requires investment, resilience, infrastructure, and faster permitting.

Cities and regional and regions are essential to delivering these challenges. But affordability also means housing.

From Copenhagen to Lisbon, from Dublin to Athens,

access to affordable housing has become one of our citizens' most urgent concerns.

This is a crisis affecting the homeless, low income households,

but also the middle class and especially younger generations.

The lack of affordable housing also fuels disillusionment with democratic institutions.

Housing is primarily a responsibility of national, regional and local authorities,

but the European Union can complement their efforts,

can help their efforts and make a concrete difference.

That is why I placed the housing crisis on the European Council's agenda for the first time last October.

That is why the Commission has since presented an affordable housing plan and an affordable housing Act.

That is why I have been in close contact with the Coalition of Mayors for Housing, exploring how the European Union can support their efforts through better regulation,

increasing innovation and energy efficiency in the construction industry,

and ensuring that affordable housing remains a priority in the post 2027 MFF and cohesion policy.

We need a multi-level response to this multi-level crisis, to strengthen social cohesion,

accommodate demographic pressures, reinforce our democratic systems, and boost our economies. Second, Competitiveness.

In March, European leaders adopted an ambitious one Europe,

one market agenda with clear priorities and timelines.

Let me focus on one dimension critical for cities and regions simplification.

We must make it easier for people and businesses to operate across Europe, enabling companies,

especially SMEs, to scale up, realize their full potential and create quality jobs. We must continue simplifying our rules.

The Brussels effect must become synonymous with reducing red tape.

Member States must also address gold plating and domestic barriers.

One of the most effective ways to simplify is through better European rules,

fewer directives and more regulations to ensure greater consistency and reduce fragmentation across the single market.

Finally, we must simplify and accelerate planning and permitting procedures.

Lengthy lengthy approvals and the excessive administrative requirements delay investment,

increased costs and hold back projects.

We need faster, simpler and more predictable procedures to help businesses invest, innovate and grow. Finally, my third remark. The next multiannual financial framework.

Negotiations on the next MFF are entering a decisive stage.

The European Union needs a long term budget that responds to the challenges of this historic moment. This is not just about numbers.

It is a political choice about our future and the Europe we want to build together.

The next long term budget must put competitiveness, industrial transformation,

defense, security and strategic resilience at its heart.

At the same time, it must continue to support cohesion and agricultural policies,

pillars of regional development and shared prosperity.

Both dimensions are important for our Union and our single market,

which benefits us all.

Regional and local authorities must be closely involved in preparing,

implementing and evaluating the new plans under the next MFF because the European budget is an investment framework that must ultimately deliver tangible results for our communities,

cities and regions.

We must respect the principle of multi-level governance.

The recent midterm review led by Vice President Fito has shown that active engagement with stakeholders at all levels delivers results.

I will continue to encourage everyone involved to negotiate with an open mind and a spirit of collective responsibility,

with the aim of reaching an agreement by the end of this year. That is crucial.

To ensure that the next budget is operational from the very first beginning of 2028.

Any delay would impact the lives of our farmers, businesses, students,

researchers, and innovators, and of course cities and regions.

In these turbulent geopolitical times, Europe must be a source of predictability and stability.

It must have the means to act, the capacity to deliver,

and the unity to face the challenges ahead.

That is what citizens expect from the European Union.

A strong Europe is built from the ground up.

Through empowered communities, strong cities, and strong regions,

I count on Olof you to continue building it together. Thank you very much.

Thank you so much President Costa for being here on such a busy and as you say, historic week.

And now it is time to hear from the executive Vice President of the European Commission, Raffaele Fitto, responsible of course for cohesion and reforms. The floor is yours.

Ladies and gentlemen, President Costa, President Tuto, Mr. Katainen, strong regions, strong Europe. This is more than just a motto.

It is a reminder that Europe's strength is built in its regions.

And that strong regions are the foundation of a stronger Europe.

And you as governors of regions, mayors, local representatives are shaping Europe every day.

In our largest city and our smallest village, in our outermost regions and our eastern border regions,

in our islands along our coasts and our mountain regions,

in sparsely populated, remote and rural areas.

You are where European policies meet the realities of people's lives.

It is a pleasure to welcome you all to the to the 24th European Week of Regions and Cities.

You play a vital role in turning our common European ambitions into reality. Together we have achieved a lot.

Since the beginning of my mandate and almost 2 years ago, I have made it a priority to work closely with Olof you, because Europe is not powered by a single engine,

it is powered by many, and the success of our policies ultimately depends on how well they respond to the real needs of our citizens,

our businesses and our territories.

This is where cohesion policy has a unique role to play.

It is a powerful tool that can turn European priorities into concrete results on the ground.

Cohesion policy has helped the regions build on their strengths, respond to change and unlock their potential.

But we cannot simply rest on what we have achieved.

We need to build on it and we need to keep adapting, because the world around us is changing.

Europe is facing economic pressures, growing geopolitical uncertainty and security challenges.

We are experiencing demographic change and a technological transformation, and we are completing.

In a global economy in which competitive matters more than ever.

I have therefore made the modernization of the cohesion policy one of my key priorities.

A first important step in this direction was the midterm review of cohesion policy.

We gave Member States and regions the possibility, on a voluntary basis,

to reallocate resources to where they made the most sense for them housing,

competitive, defense, energy, water.

Our collaboration laid the foundation for significant results and territories reallocated €35 billion.

Of these, the territories have mobilized more than €15 billion for competitiveness,

and more competitive regions strengthen our Union as a whole.

This is also true when it comes to security.

The midterm review also contributed to defense, security and a safer Europe,

mobilizing investment of almost €12 billion.

So we have demonstrated that in challenging times, cohesion policy can adapt.

It is in this spirit that we are preparing the next Multiannual Financial Framework.

I know that many of you have questions and concerns about the next funding period,

but let me clarify some crucial points.

First, with a proposal, we aim to make cohesion policy simpler and more effective.

We propose a multiannual financial framework that can respond to new challenges.

Offer greater flexibility and maximize the impact of every euro invested.

The national and regional partnership plans introduce simplification.

They bring together interventions currently covered by 14 different funds and over 500 different programs.

We will now have 27 national and regional partnership plans.

An integrated approach, creating synergies among these policies, not competition among them.

A performance-based approach, including the combination of investment with reforms.

Second, cohesion policy will remain a long term investment policy.

Water management, competitive, housing, energy are all long term investments.

Third, support will continue to focus on the regions.

We keep the three categories of the regions less diverted regions, transition, and more developed regions.

We also preserve the fundamental principle of principles of cohesion policy through shared management,

multi-level governance and clear partnership. You play an important role.

You help us understand what works and how our policies can better respond to the changing realities.

I count on you to continue bringing this valuable perspective to our work.

To prepare us all for the future national and regional participants,

we have been putting important building blocks in place.

We have done this through a series of territorial strategies.

In December last year, we adopted for the first time the EU agenda for cities.

Followed this year by the strategy for the EU's eastern border regions.

The strategy for islands, also this for the first time, and the strategy on the outermost regions.

All these initiatives respond to different and unique situations.

Underpinning all these strategies is the right to stay.

The freedom of every European to thrive and prosper in the place they call home.

Today, many of our regions and territories are facing acute challenges,

including the population decline and economic stagnation.

I have been traveling across Europe, meeting the people in these communities,

seeing the firsthand the challenges they face and discussing how Europe can best support them.

People should have real opportunities where they live, job opportunities, adequate infrastructure and quality public services.

Our regions should give people reasons to stay and offer a good quality of life for all generations.

This is why we are preparing the strategy for the right to stay.

As in all my work, cooperation and consultation are fundamental.

I have made sure to include you and the many other stakeholders at every step in the process.

In May, I hosted a high level event to launch the preparation for the strategy here in the European Parliament,

together with the Ricoleta and the Cypriot Council Presidency.

We launched a call for evidence and received more than 700 contributions from stakeholders and civil society in every Member State.

I held an implementation dialogue with some of you just 2 weeks ago,

and I have had many bilateral meetings and institutional exchanges on these topics.

I will continue to seek your views in the weeks ahead,

including through our dedicated high level session on the right to stay tomorrow.

Olof this will inform the strategy which will be adopted at the beginning of the next year.

In time to support you in the preparation of the national and regional partnership plans.

Ladies and gentlemen, in the weeks and the months to come, you will play a crucial role.

And I have said before, partnership is a key principle and requirement at every step.

The Commission proposal on the next MFF gives regional and local authorities a key role at every stage when designing the plans,

when managing the plans, when implementing the plans, chapter by chapter. Europe's regions possess immense resources and potential. Strong region.

Regions mean a stronger economy, greater strategic autonomy and, above all, quality of life for every European.

Stronger regions, a stronger Europe should therefore not only guide us during this week,

but also in the coming months and the years ahead.

I look forward to our discussion this week and beyond.

My door is, as you know, always open.

I wish you all a successful European Week of Regions and Cities. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Executive Vice President Fitto.

Then we do look forward to a week, as I said, of debates, workshops and interactive discussions on many of the topics you mentioned.

But now, the moment has come for the president of the Committee of the Regions, Kata Tüttö,

to deliver her annual speech on of course the state of the regions and cities.

It comes, of course, and coincides with the publication of your report. So the floor is yours. A round of applause. Thank you.

Dear President António Costa, thank you very much for your presence,

not just now, but you've been with us since the beginning. Thank you for your understanding. Of the local perspective.

I always say once a local politician, always a local politician,

we understand the universal from the local and this imprinting, it stays with you. Thank you very much.

Dear Executive Vice President Raffaele Fitto,

I really sincerely thank you for your partnership for the past 1.5 years.

We've been working together in defending cohesion policy,

and thank you very much for bringing in the right to stay.

Which is nothing else but complementing the single market's freedom, the single market's freedom to move.

It should be completed with the possibility, the freedom to stay. Thank you very much.

Dear President Costa, housing, putting housing on the top of the council's priorities.

This has been a call that Olof us in this room has been calling for. Thank you very much for that.

And dear members, dear guests, dear Elsi Katainen, dear members of the Committee of the Regions,

local leaders, everybody's following in presence and online.

Welcome to our week of cities and regions, We heard a lot about what is happening in the outside,

and most of the attention of the European leaders has been drawn to the borders of the European Union and beyond.

But what our role is being local leaders and the Committee of the Regions is to keep our attention inside.

So this is what this week is about understanding what is happening in our cities and regions and bringing our realities to the European.

In decision making this week, this week connects local leaders with decision makers. It connects researchers.

It connects funds, with all the innovation and ambition capabilities,

and we have this annual report of cities and regions with Olof our local stories.

So I hope most of you will have a chance to take a look at it, a lot of work behind it.

So what our role here is today to complete the European narrative, to complete the European story.

This is why it's important that we have the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the national level, through the European Council,

and what we do, we bring in our perspective, the territorial perspective of the story, strong regions, strong Europe. What does it mean for us?

We agree that The European Union has to be strong in the outside world in the competition,

but it can only sustain its strength if it stays strong and connected inside. So I have short time.

This is why I can't tell you Olof our local stories. It's in the annual report.

I had to choose my battle and I will tell you our side,

the local and regional perspective side of the competitiveness story, because that is the main story now in the European narrative.

Or the question is around the competitiveness story, is, will it be a shared competitiveness?

Will Olof our regions be part of this competitiveness or just a few?

And we will we be local leaders able to shape these investments and make decisions and have agency over what is happening,

not just responsibility. What is very clear now.

That the future of the competitiveness story is uncertain, but the competition. Is the age of competition.

And it is unfolding within our European budget too.

What we clearly see now is that there will be a competition between priorities in the national budgets and envelopes.

Competing priorities, food security will compete with social and territorial and economic cohesion,

climate adaptation with mitigation, energy security with energy affordability,

competing with migration, border control, and unemployment.

It's also clear that regions and cities will be competing with each other for private investments and also for public investments. Tomorrow we'll be competing with today.

Emergency reactions and emergency investments will be competing with the investments of tomorrow.

4th,

there are also competing narratives about what the next European budget should stand for.

With the average presidency negotiating box on the table,

this narrative competition is getting very sharp, and there is a false dichotomy staged. The so-called traditionalists versus the modernizers.

And those defending cohesion policy, us, we are portrayed as slowing down Europe,

as if economic, social and territorial cohesion were ballast holding the European competitiveness back. And we reject this narrative here.

We also reject the suggestion that Europe's competitiveness stands or falls on around €50 billion a year centrally managed territorially blind competitiveness fund. My implication is that this budget proposal.

I Shifting resources from a decentralized investment policy which sees places to centrally managed excellence-based investments from many places to few places.

And what we local leaders say is that Europe's competitiveness depends on the investments,

the skills, and the productive capacity of the entire union, of Olof the regions.

I also reject the labeling of cohesion policy as policy of the past, being an outdated charity fund for poorer regions,

this emerging narrative, because cohesion policy is part of Europe's competitiveness investment architecture.

It sees the places, it invests in the places and builds their capacities.

It helps regions navigate the industrial climate, energy, digital and demographic transitions,

and it connects them to the European economy.

It accompanies the transition of Olof our regions with Olof our different realities from the islands to the mountain areas,

from metropolitan cities to the border regions.

So this is why cohesion policy should not be separated from the single market because it is part of the political and economic mechanism that actually makes the single market function and work.

So the role of cohesion policy is to reinvest part of the gains of the single market in the capabilities that make integration work and shared prosperity possible.

The Commission's own figures make this point that around today 58% of the cohesion funding today's budget is allocated to the objectives of the competitiveness compass.

Innovation, decarbonisation, resilience are already central to this policy.

Alongside with conditions, businesses need infrastructure, affordable energy,

water security, skilled workers, and homes they can afford.

Europe's economy is a network of different but complementary capabilities,

and its strength really depends on the connection between them.

Cohesion policy therefore is a competitiveness policy that sees places,

and a policy that sees places actually need those leaders who actually lead and know those places.

This territorial intelligence is crucial for this policy to work.

This is why the architecture of the next budget concerns us deeply. We risk moving towards competitiveness blind.

To geography, concentrating resources in already strong places while making regions compete harder for what remains.

Through a centrally managed competitiveness fund, excellence-based public investment,

it risks making the strong regions get stronger while places needing investment and compete to lose ground.

It is true that Europe needs breakthroughs, but it's also true that businesses,

workers and communities across the regions should be able to connect and benefit from these breakthroughs from the champions.

And if there is an outdated narrative, it is that it will trickle down narrative.

Growth that is generated somewhere will not automatically reach everywhere. There has to be a deliberate.

Investment mechanism that actually connects these places and do no harm to cohesion means very little if the budget deepens these territorial divides.

Europe regions need investment, not reassurance, meaningful partnership, not a tick box exercise,

and we cannot carry growing responsibilities without the power to act.

Shared prosperity is a European promise, and we will not accept a budget that breaks it.

Our time is short, but we have the power, as local leaders,

because we hold democratic mandates from the people who actually come from those places. And we did quite a lot.

We have been part of the mobilizing of the 17 member states, Friends of cohesion.

We have 20+1 European capital cities on board.

We have European regions, the German regions, Austrian regions,

Spanish regions, Italian regions, all different regional realities on board.

We work very closely together with the European Parliament.

And mobilizing the cohesion alliance, and we must keep pushing to turn that support into influence.

So I'm asking you today, bring this narrative into your own councils, into your own parliaments,

mobilize businesses, universities, workers and civil society,

show what is at stake, insist on a strong.

European cohesion policy and the real power for local and regional governments. Thank you very much.

Thank you so much, President Kata Tüttö there and also of course to the Executive Vice President of the European Commission and also to President Costa.

Thank you so much for being with us today.

A round of applause for our distinguished guests.

And now in just a minute,

we'll be kicking off the second part of our official ceremony that commences the EU Regions Week 2026.

The plan here is now that we've heard from the heads of the EU institutions, we'll be bringing in some new fresh perspectives. We'll be joined on stage by Jyrki Katainen.

European Commission special advisor for the EU Arctic relations,

but known to a lot of us here in Brussels and across the continent as the former European commissioner who was responsible for jobs,

growth, investment and competitiveness.

We'll also be joined on stage by Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla.

He's of course the first vice president of the Committee of the Regions and the President of the Regional Government of Andalusia.

We'll also then be hearing from the 6 presidents of the political groups in the Committee of the Regions.

I can see they're all there in almost the front row.

They'll be here on stage giving us their perspectives, their input, because this week, of course, is all about you.

And then for concluding marks, we'll have Juan Morante.

So now without further ado, help me in giving a very, very warm welcome to Mr. Katainen. Welcome. Thank you very much, Thank you.

Thank you very much for your kind invitation.

Executive Vice President, Vittoria Brambilla, thank you very much for the kind invitation to participate in this excellent event.

Ladies and gentlemen, as we know, globalization as we knew it is over.

This very nice and smooth era was characterized by a common set of rules. Common interests and trust.

These characteristics have been replaced by great power politics. Selfish interests and nationalism.

Globalization is also based on global market economy and division of labor.

Now, this will be replaced by regional strategic economy.

This shift is a major change with many repercussions to the EU as a whole,

its member states and regions.

Competitiveness and resilience are key elements for our strategic autonomy and prosperity.

The EU is the only major economy which still wants to enhance rules-based free trade.

This is important because this is the way we can strengthen our strategic ties with third countries.

Open,

rules-based trade has always been a lifeline of welfare societies and the European way of life.

One clear change is a pivotal role of capital markets.

At the time of smooth global economy, it was OK.

If the country was innovative without well functioning and deep capital market.

You know, the companies could always get capital capital from somewhere,

and as we believed in common interests, capital didn't need to be domestic or European.

But now Being an innovative without capital is not OK anymore. You can easily get abused.

If 3rd countries capital by innovative companies, there's always a risk to being trapped to harmful dependency,

especially if the innovation happens to be in a strategic area of business.

This is why the EU's endeavor to strengthen savings and investment union is so important.

It is imperative to strengthen the EU's capital market and let European innovative companies, which always, by the way,

happens to be in some cities or regions, to grow in Europe in order to protect our sovereignty.

The Capital market has become the 2nd lifeline for strategic autonomy.

It is important to acknowledge that there is a relatively little what we can do in the European EU level,

but a lot can be done in national and local level.

Those of us who believe in innovation driven economies should pay attention to developing capital model.

Another major change is coming from reduction of harmful dependencies on critical raw materials.

During the globalization era, it was OK to outsource, for instance, rare earth element processing to China.

Now we have seen that this may become a major source of economic insecurity.

The reason why we have not processed our own minerals is that it has not been economically viable.

It will never be commercially viable because China manipulates the prices.

Therefore,

we need the EU to regulate the market so that companies can invest in processing facilities.

For instance,

price floor and offtake stockpiling regulation is needed in order to give certainty to the investors to invest in processing and refinery facilities.

This would at the same time increase the social acceptance of the mining industry when more value add will lead to the local level.

The 3rd major change in the world order is that the Arctic region is becoming a hotspot militarily and economically.

The whole of the EU is becoming increasingly dependent on Arctic.

There are 2 relevant parts in the Arctic to the EU.

First, Greenland, and second, Nordic countries and Barents Sea above.

Most of the security issues and economic opportunities are currently in Nordic countries and parent sea.

Arctic doesn't only mean sea and North Pole, but also land areas in Arctic countries.

Russia is investing significantly in new military capabilities in the Arctic,

and as we know, nobody develops new military capabilities without a reason and intention.

This forces us to strengthen our own capabilities and defend our own interests and infrastructure,

be it subsea cables or commercial maritime routes.

At the same time, in Arctic regions, we have lots of economic opportunities like rare earth elements and other critical raw materials,

and when we want to reduce harmful dependencies,

we should use our own resources and process them in Europe.

Ladies and gentlemen, the 4th major consequence of geopolitical,

geopolitics is that regions and businesses must take a bigger role in improving competitiveness and resilience.

Let me give you just one concrete example of this from north.

This year, in May,

largest companies of 5 Nordic countries established a new Nordic Industry Alliance,

Nordic Compass.

The name comes from the EU's competitiveness compass.

Nordic COMPASS is a regional Nordic implementation program of Competitiveness, COMPASS.

The largest Nordic companies has taken a greater responsibility for improvement of competitiveness and resilience. We don't do strategies or publish reports.

Instead, we concentrate on concrete initiatives which the companies can deliver by themselves.

Or then we ask governmental support if legislation changes are needed.

Currently, Nordic Compass concentrates on four policy areas, capital market. Defense industry, energy industry, and deep technologies.

As an example of our work in capital markets,

we have been thinking to establish a new Nordic growth and scale up fund,

which would do investments to Nordic growth companies.

There is plenty of capital around, but currently, it's unfortunately, very national, as you know, everywhere in Europe.

This initiative does not need any support from the Nordic government.

Another example is to benchmark the Swedish Investment and savings account, ISA, which has,

by the way, been appointed by the Commission as a role model.

As it seems to be, the, the Swedish model seems to function better than the other versions in the other Nordic countries.

So,

Nordic Compass will analyze the differences between other Nordic countries' models and benchmark the best practices in Sweden and encourage the governments to to copy the best parts of it for the good of citizens and innovative companies. The Tibet.

Why I have been talking about capital markets, Arctic, critical raw materials,

Nordic compass in the event which scatters regional and city decision makers. The reason is simple.

We are in the middle of geopolitical change, and it will have a big impact on the regions.

Some of the areas which have not necessarily benefited from globalization as much as the others may now become a hotspot of new reality.

New era of strategic economy means a lot of new investments in regions and cities.

That's why the EU budget should be supportive in this endeavor.

We need new ways to strengthen our strategic autonomy by processing our minerals, by generating more clean energy, by investing in military mobility,

by developing civil applications of the technologies used for defense purposes,

and letting our entrepreneurs to have proper access to European capital.

The future is always in some regions and cities.

Regions and cities are usually more agile than the countries react to the changing environment.

Ladies and gentlemen, European competitiveness and resilience is built in cities and regions. Thank you. Thank you so much, Mr.

Katainen for your impulse speech to trigger the debate that we're just now about to kick off. Juan María, you're the first vice president.

If you'd like to also join us up here on stage and take a seat,

you'll be in listening mode as we listen to the presidents, and then afterwards you'll be giving the concluding remarks.

So please join us up on stage and. Take a seat.

But now, of course, as promised, it's time to focus on the presidents of the various political groups from the Committee of the Regions.

First stop, poised and ready is Sario, a member of the High Malina City Council,

president of the Committee of the Regions European People's Party Group. Welcome. Thank you so much.

Dear friends, ladies and gentlemen, dear executive Vice President Fito, dear Mr. Kattan and dear Yuri.

Dear everyone, on behalf of the EPP Group,

it's a pleasure to welcome you all in the Committee of the Regions and to have this debate with you.

Let me begin by addressing the key issue before us.

When following the promise of Trump and Putin,

it is clear that Europe has no other solution but to make Europe stronger together.

Europe must seize this moment to modernize and simplify its long term budget so that it can effectively deliver on security and resilience,

strengthen competitiveness, and drive innovation across our economies.

At the same time,

it must continue to protect core Treaty based policies such as cohesion and agriculture.

However, we must be clear, we cannot do more with less.

A credible and ambitious MFF requires new sustainable sources of funding and a stronger system of own resources.

We believe that the Irish presidency's proposal for the MFF negotiation box is a positive step towards securing political agreement by the end of 26 and ensuring the timely roll out of funding.

It seeks to move beyond the false contradiction between traditional and modern policies.

Cohesion and competitiveness are the two sides of the same coin. Cohesion is a driver for competitiveness.

Europe's strength lies in its territorial diversity,

and innovation often emerges from the unique characteristics of its regions. As we already heard from Mr. Katainen, the new geopolitics is regional.

We welcome the possibility in the NRPPs for regional managing authorities to engage directly with the Commission and the intention to safeguard the role of the regions. However, further process is needed.

We call for the mandatory involvement of competent subnational authorities,

a multi-level governance assessment and safeguards against unjustified centralization.

The spirit of multilevel governance and partnership must also be reflected consistently across EU decision making. Mr. Katainen. Thank you for your valuable insights.

I fully agree that the changing geopolitical landscape presents both challenges and opportunities for Europe's regions and cities.

Strengthening our strategic autonomy requires investment in critical raw materials,

clean energy, defense and European capital markets.

Regions and cities have a crucial role to play in translating these priorities into concrete action.

By working together across borders, we can strengthen Europe, Europe's cohesion, competitiveness, resilience and security,

while creating sustainable growth and new opportunities for all our citizens,

not only for my grandchildren, but for all citizens. This is what the whole world needs. Thank you for your attention. Thank you so much, Councilor.

That was of course the view from the EPP and now it's time to hear from the Socialists.

We're thrilled to bring up on stage Luca Menesini,

provisional counselor from Lucca Province Council and the president of the Committee of the Regions's Party of the European Socialist Group. Welcome. Thank you. Vice President, Mr. Fitto, Mr.

Katainen, First Vice President Bonilla, dear guests, dear colleagues,

the report on cities and regions shares a truth that somebody would like to avoid in Brussels competitiveness,

innovation, quality of life.

This is made by regions and citizens together with the companies and regions, the,

there is always a successful regional policy and the characteristics of territories. This is the basis of the proposal.

And the mistake of the negotiation sandbox that was launched a few days ago.

We cannot treat competitiveness and cohesion as two competing chapters,

because they are two sides of the same coin.

Cohesion is an enabling factor of competitiveness infrastructures, transportation, training, without Without them,

even the best innovation action would be marginal in its impact.

Without cohesion, competitiveness does not become sustainable development for the whole of Europe.

Vice President Fitto, you talked about the right to stay, and we welcome it with great favor,

but let's be honest, a right without resources is just a slogan.

The right to stay means having a job, a house that can be accessible.

It means granting schools for one's children, clinics, public transportation that are effective.

If the right to stay must be real, we need funds where people live and through the local representatives,

3 quarter of our region would lose population by the.

2050, a right that is not funding is a right that is nonexistent.

Aside words, aside, the proposals of the Commission for the next MFF goes in the wrong direction, so centralization,

weakening partnership, governance, put it on the side,

approach based on the territory, and so this is not present.

It means a short sightedness for the expenditure,

but also for the type of governance that is going to stop the regional policies.

So if the Commission obtains from decision makers what it requires,

the Committee of the Regions is going to use all its tools to stop this process in order not to abandon European territories. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Luca, for that, for the view there from the Socialists, and now all the way from the south of Ireland,

it's time to invite up on stage Councilor Gillian Coughlan, Cork County Councilor,

and also a bureau member of the CEO or the CEO or Renew Europe Group. You're welcome. Thank you, Maeve. Thank you. Mr.

Katainen, President, Vice President, and President Fito,

it's an honor to be here as a councilor from County Cork to speak today at the Committee of the Regions and to be here with councilors from on the ground that are working together for their communities across Europe. So, I'm just in response to Mr.

Cash and I in there we in Ireland Maragra Eranuso ka and Henna mud,

maneuvers of Taarlo on route ort my own hosta ta la or in finner gobly free. Thank you for your remarks. They were very enlightening.

So in County Cork in Ireland where I serve as a councilor,

we see both the opportunities and the pressures facing Europe's regions and cities.

We have a growing economy, innovative businesses, universities and communities ready to contribute to Europe's future.

But we also have families struggling to find an affordable home.

Young people worried about their future and local authorities facing increasing demands on their budgets.

Of course, these challenges are not unique to Cork. They are shared across Europe.

As a teacher, I know how strongly young people feel about their future.

They deserve opportunity, security, hope for the future.

And when we see students taking to the streets in France, we should listen to their concerns.

Even if we may disagree on the solutions.

Young people need to know that our democratic institutions hear them and can deliver. Housing is another clear example.

From Ireland to Spain, too many people, including those in work, cannot find a house that they can afford.

We need genuine European, national and local action to increase supply,

mobilize investment and give our cities and regions the means to act.

And I thank the commissioner, the president, and indeed President Costa for emphasizing that earlier.

This brings me to the two major questions before us this year. Europe's competitiveness and its next long-term budget.

And allow me to place cohesion policy in context and remind everyone of Ireland's modernization since it joined the European Union.

We are now net contributors to the European budget.

We have the highest 3rd level attainment in the European Union. We have full employment.

But let me be very clear, this could never have happened.

This could never have been imagined without the infrastructure and investment and skills that came from the EU cohesion policy.

So, So to those who are talking about cohesion as old policy,

I say that European competitiveness depends on cohesion.

It is an essential tool for the union to remain competitive. It is a keystone policy.

Europe cannot become more competitive if its regions lack the financial strength to invest in housing,

infrastructure, skills, innovation, and of course the transition to clean energy.

This is why the next multiannual financial framework must be ambitious and preserve a strong cohesion policy with regions and cities genuinely involved in setting priorities and managing investments.

I recognize and appreciate the effort made by the Irish presidency in trying to broker a deal.

It's not an easy task and nobody will attain everything that they hoped for.

However,

we must introduce guarantees in the MFF for comprehensive territorial impact assessments in national and regional partnership plans.

We must insist on legally binding guarantees for national governments to design the plans with local and regional authorities. It must be bottom up.

If not, we will rue the day in the future when we see territorial disparities worsening and Europe's competitiveness suffering as a result.

And our responsibility does not stop at the EU's borders.

Citizens in our candidate countries share the same aspirations, good jobs,

affordable homes, quality education, and democratic institutions they can trust.

We must support their path towards sustainable democratic reforms and EU membership.

Speaking on behalf, proudly speaking on behalf of the Renew Europe group in the European Committee of the Regions, I want to underline one simple message.

A Europe that invests in its regions, trusts its local democracy, and measures its success not only by economic growth,

but by whether people can build a better future is the union that our citizens want to call home. Gov Magev Acorda. Mr Gillian. Thank you, Gillian Coughlan.

It was really nice to hear a few words of Irish in the hemicycle in Irish.

You can head to Italy for the perspective arm of Marco Marsilio.

That's the president of the Abruzzo region and president as well of the European and conservative and reformist group inside the European Committee of the Regions. Welcome. That's it. Mr. President.

Thank you, Vice President, Executive Vice President Vito, President Tutu, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,

cohesion policy is not only policy about budget,

but it is a fundamental choice.

It is a tool through which Europe creates more competitiveness in its territories,

keeps united its regions, and also underlies the right to stay.

For a year, every citizen can be free to live, to study and work,

but nobody should be obliged to leave its territory to find. Good jobs or education.

Living must be a choice, not a need. Staying is a right, not a privilege.

To guarantee this, we need infrastructures, services, and strong local communities.

I would like to thank Vice President Vito, which made the right to stay a central element in the political European agenda,

and this is the mission of the cohesion policy,

shortening distances, creating opportunities, and allowing people.

To build their own future in the place they call home.

Without cohesion, the right to stay would just be a motto.

With a strong cohesion, it becomes a real freedom.

In a few days,

the European leaders will talk about the next multiannual financial framework and fundamental. He is the proposals of Giorgia Meloni.

Which sent a letter signed by 17 friends of cohesion.

The message is clear, agriculture and cohesion must remain priorities of the next MFF. The new European priorities cannot be financed. By loosening.

And weakening the other policies which keep Europe together.

We must protect our territories, rural areas, and also The cities which are not big,

cohesion is the condition for Europe to be more competitive.

That is why the position of the European ECRs is very clear.

We want a Europe respecting nations, giving value to regions,

and giving back strength to local communities because Europe is not built by weakening territories,

as I said, but by strengthening them.

Leading territories create strong nations, and strong nations make a stronger Europe. Thank you.

Thank you so much President Marco Marsilio there for your intervention.

And now it's time to bring in the perspective from the councilor of, from Galway City. Mr.

Declan McDonnell is here with us and he's representing the Committee of Regions European Alliance Group. Welcome him. Dear President, dear colleagues, dear guests.

We welcome the Irish presidency presenting its negotiation box this weekend.

I think we can say one thing clearly. Nobody will get everything they want. That is the nature of a negotiation.

But this is a serious starting point to achieve agreement.

It is positive that the Presidency has protected the share management funding for cohesion and agriculture from further cuts. We should build on that.

These policies are investments in our communities,

our food security, our competitiveness, and European resilience.

But it is also clear that the overall budget remains too small for the ambitions we have set ourselves.

You cannot ask its regions, cities, rural communities,

islands and mountain regions to do more and more with less and less.

And this brings me to the crucial issue, the role of regions.

I welcome the fact that the new text says that the national regional partnership plans should safeguard the role of regions.

As a regional managing authorities can negotiate directly with the Commission. But this should not depend on goodwill.

If we call them national and regional partnership plans. The regional part must be real.

Local and regional authorities need a guaranteed role in designing, negotiating and implementing these plans.

Finally, we should start presenting cohesion and competitiveness as opposites. They reinforce each other.

Stronger regions mean a stronger single market and a stronger Europe.

So yes, This negotiation box is a basis for discussion.

But in the no no sigations a must preserve cohesion,

preserve agriculture, and make partnership real.

The motto of the Irish presidency of the Council of Europe is Nara la kla,

meaning there is no strength without unity.

This time is to, this is time to work together to achieve a better and a stronger European Union. Some people have referred to affordable housing.

Housing we have set up by the Commission this year. A new committee.

But that committee cannot survive and improve the housing issue in all across Europe without funding,

without availability of being able to get funding across the 27 countries. I just say let's work together. Let's bring a real partnership.

Let's bring a real negotiations and make the word of the COR heard. Gomila Markus. Thank you so much Declan McDonnell there.

And now last but not least, to get the voice from the Greens and the Progressives inside the Committee of the Regions,

we have a member of the Turko City Council near Naruti line and the floor is yours. President Tuto, Commissioner Tito. Mr.

Katainen dear Jurgian Vice President Manuel Moreno Bonilla, Dear Friends of the Committee of the Regions and Cities and Regions of Europe.

Exactly a week ago, I read a piece of news that I cannot seem to shake from my head.

It is of a place that carried no meaning for me up until now.

But carries a lots of meaning to so many peoples in Europe. It is a place called Tricklau.

Very meaningful for our Slovenian friends in this room. It is the Slovenia's highest peak.

This summer, the Trigla glacier shrank to only a few patches of ice.

Researchers expect the last of it to be be be begun before this winter.

A young person in Slovenia today will grow up without it existing.

We have similar experiences throughout Europe, in all the regions and all the cities, from left to right.

This is our reality today and of tomorrow, unless we do something more.

For the Greens and Progressives in the EU Committee of the Regions, this is what intergenerational fairness looks like.

In practice, nobody voted to melt a glacier.

It went through thousands of small decisions, each of which may seemed reasonable at the time,

and the people who pay for them are the ones who were not in the room.

This is why we keep saying that fairness between generations is a question about how we spend money,

not only a matter of principle.

Europe cannot afford to keep paying the price of inaction.

The next EU budget must help us prepare for the next challenges, not simply pay for the last one.

It will decide whether young people inherit regions that can adapt to this with water,

with flood protection, with an economy that does not depend on snow.

It will also decide whether the mayors and regions who see the change first have a real say in how money is used or just carry out plans made somewhere else.

In the words of Jacques Delors,

Europe is built on three pillars competition, cooperation, and solidarity.

Between regions, between Member States, and between generations.

Remove any of these three and Europe cannot succeed.

So our message is simple keep cohesion strong and open to all regions,

because climate does not follow GDP maps.

Give regions and cities a real seat at the table and a real opportunity to shape the decisions that will affect future generations,

and ask every major investment what does it leave for those who come after us. We could not save the glacier Tiglau.

But we can choose what we live around it and what we say, beginning from today. Thank you so much.

Thank you so much and of course thank you to all the politicians, the local mayors, councilors and presidents who came up on stage here to share your perspective.

But now it is time to move on to the final and concluding part of this opening ceremony of EU Regions Week.

And the honors for this concluding, concluding speech go to the first vice president of the Committee of the Regions, Mr. Juan Morante. Give him a round of applause. Thank you. The Rafaelfito.

President of the European Committee of the Region, Kata Tüttö. Dear friends, Katainen, Mr. Katainen, congratulations.

Dear friends, Please allow me to continue in Spanish.

Mr They are colleagues Allowing me to say a few words congratulating my country because today is the National Day of Spain,

the day of Hispanic.

Today I'm here, er, but, er, well, despite not being able to be in Spain,

I'm very happy to meet amongst you.

I would like to conclude this session with a reflection that is, both, simple and key.

Europe's strength is not only built here in Europe, it is built daily and the cities,

villages, and the regions, which face many catastrophes.

They are, it is built in cities that modernize services and, in municipalities in which young people and families build something from the ground up and build up, a border that protects us all,

That is why, the this European week of the regions and, and cities is very,

is very much important as well as it's motive strong regions,

strong Europe and Europe must be stronger within.

We have put many hours and effort into working on this,

the annual report of regions and cities it showed that competitivity, resilience, and security happen.

In places that are very concrete and that affect very specific people.

The war on Ukraine and the migration,

migratory pressure are a key in all these matters.

I would like to recall, the city of Ceuta, which has undergone an invasion.

The citizens need to see that Europe is beside them, and protecting this is protecting Europe.

We are facing the big challenge of the global economy and having affordable housing.

There's a big debate and civil unrest in Spain linked to this. We are also facing droughts.

Which are increasingly stronger and hit our territories. These challenges are huge.

But there are also great opportunities for us.

The next budget must give a response to these realities and situations,

but adapting doesn't mean forgetting,

modernizing doesn't mean decentralizing, and simplifying doesn't mean.

Getting, aside the people who manage the problems,

in the places in the ground, we need guarantees.

The experience showed us that the biggest European objectives are only successful when they are applied at a local and regional level.

The Cohesion, policy, the common market, and the CAP had made of Europe,

a Europe that is more competitive and resilient.

There are policies that are not a thing of the past, they are something of the future as well,

and we've seen that in many, regions, and the,

Europe have mon denied several regions, including mine, Andalusia.

Without Europe, none of the regions, even the outermost regions, wouldn't have been able to thrive. Cohesion policy is not charity, it's investment. It's growth. It's innovation.

And competitiveness and it benefits all Europe,

even the economies that are the strongest ones.

There is no competitiveness without cohesion and with that we move forward, Europe moves forward.

One of when one of the regions is left behind, the whole Europe tracks down.

We need to take into account that the local and regional authorities because we are the ones which do something tangible.

We are the ones that maintain the trust of citizens in the European project in the next MFF and in the following one we are going to keep moving forward and we applaud the presidency for its biggest supporter that has made up until now.

We are talking about not only numbers, we're talking about ambitions.

But the question remains, at least partly unanswered.

The question is which is the Europe that we want to build and Europe in which decisions.

Are farther and farther away from citizens,

or do we want a Europe that trusts the territories and in which the regions and municipalities played an important role in the decisions that affect the citizenry.

When Europe loses presence in the ground,

the citizens lose track of the European projects in their daily lives.

And that is when they feel detached from Europe. And their frustration, polarization and extremism thrive.

That's why defending the role of cities and regionals is not an institutional matter.

It is, an utterly demotrocratic matter,

and we need a Europe that is closer to the citizens and present in all the regions.

I would like to conclude with something that summarizes everything that has been debated, this afternoon.

An ambitious Europe is a Europe that doesn't have to decide between priorities and traditional politics.

It is a Europe that is able to answer the new challenges without forgetting what we know.

It works if we want a Europe that is strong in the world, we must ensure that no city or region is left behind.

When our regions and cities move forward, Europe moves forward.

Thank you very much for your greatest effort and for your constant commit commitment with Europe and with the Committee of the Regions.

A Europe without you is, is not possible. Thank you very much.

Juan Morante and of course thank you so much also to and all the speakers who are up on the podium today. Thank you so much to them.

And this does bring our high level opening ceremony that kicks off the EU Regions Week 2026 to an end.

But now of course the real debates, the activities take place still here in the Hemicycle, and of course attention moving over to the committee. The regions.

A huge thank you to all those behind the scenes who helped make today a reality, all the technicians,

all the interpreters, all those from both the European Commission and of course the Committee of the Regions. Thank you to them.

And thank you to Olof you for your attention and of course those online.

Enjoy, make the most of your time here in Brussels at the EU at Regions Week and see you soon across Europe or online. Goodbye.