The EU’s seven-year budget shapes our continent in many ways: from developing social cohesion to renovating our housing stock and teaching new digital skills to people seeking employment. Despite representing just 1% of the EU’s GDP, it has been a lifeline for public investment and has helped to reduce disparities across our continent.
As mayors, we want the EU budget to empower cities to be frontrunners in the digital and green transitions, to invest in sustainable urban development, and effectively implement EU decisions.
To date, cities have been recognised as partners, particularly for the cohesion funds which represent one-third of the overall budget. But we need to be more closely involved: As mayors, we believe that including cities in discussions around budget allocation will be crucial to meet European citizens’ needs and to put the EU’s ambitions into practice.
Change is on the horizon: There are discussions to split the funds in 27 national envelopes for the 2028-2034 period. But it’s not clear to us that this will bring city leaders into the conversation.
Public trust
It’s important to remember that the EU is a union of people as well as nations. Opinion polls regularly indicate that the local level of government is the most trusted by people. As mayors of big European cities, we earn that trust every day by working closely with the people who live, work in and visit our cities.
While we understand the need to invest in security by bolstering defence budgets, we need also to think carefully about how our wealth is built. Local government plays a huge role in putting EU legislation into practice, in initiating societal transitions, and in promoting the growth of innovative and sustainable business opportunities.
We need to make sure that access to quality and affordable housing is a human right; that extreme weather events, often caused by climate change, do not undermine our economic and industrial activities nor cause casualties; and that European democratic values do not succumb to societal tensions or outside pressure.
Ultimately, this is about making politics more effective in responding to people’s hopes and fears. A more effective budget that considers cities as vital stakeholders and actors is the best way to achieve this.
For example, by coordinating our needs for clean bus fleets, we can shape market supply and encourage factories to come back to Europe — a subtler approach than that being taken in the US. Think also about the estimated €270 billion annual investment gap in our housing market, or the potential for scaling up successful small businesses.
On issues such as these, working directly with local leaders is often the best option for the European Commission as it tackles the most important societal challenges of the coming years.
A new approach to EU funding
This opportunity only comes around once every seven years. We can build a stronger Europe that allocates resources effectively, that works across levels of governance for the benefit of its people. In doing so, we must ensure that EU funding reaches cities, which are best positioned to implement meaningful change.
We have three ideas that could help to get us there.
First, cities must be closely involved in the design of the 27 national budget plans and in defining the reforms to be undertaken by each EU member state. In some cases, this is a legal necessity. For example, employment policies in Denmark and Finland have recently been decentralised. Any further reforms in this area must directly involve cities to avoid undermining the effectiveness and local ownership of implementation.
Second, funds should continue to be earmarked directly for the use of cities. As mayors, we have a plethora of tough decisions to make each day; we are landed with growing responsibilities and shrinking financial resources. Allocating EU funds specifically to be used in cities will enable us to invest sustainably in people’s most urgent needs, be it new metro lines or childcare services.
Third, the EU must reinforce its ambition to help city leaders promote innovation and allow their local innovation ecosystems to meet the challenges of tomorrow, as cities have a crucial pioneering role. This includes direct access to further funding sources, and including cities as key beneficiaries in the future EU Competitiveness Fund.
Empowering Europe's cities
The partnership principle — a cherished ideal of how EU funds are supposed to be managed — states that decisions should be taken in close cooperation with the local level, which best knows people’s needs. Let’s stick to our ideals and work in a way that benefits Europeans, because a better Europe starts in cities.
With the right resources and governance, cities can drive Europe's transformation towards a more sustainable, resilient and competitive future. The next seven-year EU budget must empower cities and consider them not just as implementers, but as strategic partners in shaping Europe’s future.
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