The CoR COTER Commission today held a joint meeting with its European Parliament counterpart, the Committee for Regional Development (REGI), which saw also the participation of the European Commission Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms, Raffaele Fitto.

ECR Vice-President Juraj Droba commended EVP Fitto's commitment to defend the role of European regions in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), and for the close dialogue with the regions during the preparation of the MFF proposal, published on 16 July. "Thanks to the hard work of Mr Fitto, funding is earmarked for less-developed regions. But there is no guarantee of funding for transition and more-developed regions. These three categories are mentioned in the proposal, but funding should also be earmarked for them and their unique challenges", Droba said.

While our Group welcomes the efforts to make the EU budget simpler and more flexible, we also stress the importance of regions in shaping the new budget and making cohesion policy investments effective. "We are closest to the people, and we know best the needs of our areas. That is why we must have a strong role in cohesion policy", Droba added.