Cities and metropolitan areas are at the heart of Europe’s innovation and public investment, with EU cohesion policy, an impactful local development source, playing a pivotal role in driving it forward through a significantly grown urban dimension. The ESPON URDICO targeted analysis helps better understand how EU funds support cities to deliver on local and European goals and how EU investments are used on the ground, where critical gaps remain. Main findings and practical recommendations will be discussed with a focus on how to align funding with long-term urban development needs, boost local administrative and fiscal capacity and ensure cities are equipped to tackle future challenges.
- Cohesion | Governance and Public administration | Urban
- Code: 14PD252448
- Van Maerlant, VMA23
Moderator
Practical information
- When
-
Tue 14/10/2025, 11:30 - 13:00 CET
- Where
- Van Maerlant, VMA23
- Type of partnership
- Regional partnership
- Format
- Political/policy debate
- Theme
-
Cohesion and Growth for the Future
- Language
- English
Partners
Municipality of Budapest
Municipality of Florence
City of Ghent
City of Prague
City of Rotterdam
Valencia City Council
City of Warsaw
Documents
eurocities-report_outlook-on-the-urban-dimension-of-cohesion-policy_100724-(resized
espon-urdico-flyer-2503-(resized
eurocities-cohesion-policy-statement_july-2025_final_0
ivan-tosics_presentation-part-1
ivan-tosics_presentation-part-2
Reporting
Session summary
The policy debate brought together representatives from EU institutions and urban decision-makers to reflect on how EU funds empower cities, while also addressing the challenges and concerns raised in light of the new MFF proposal.
Kata Tüttő, President of the European Committee of the Regions, opened the discussion by highlighting the importance of working together with cities to think in new ways about issues we all encounter daily.
Iván Tosics, Director of the Metropolitan Research Institute, explained how the principles of partnership and subsidiarity make cities active and reliable partners in Cohesion Policy, achieving results that cannot be reached through national action alone.
Mathias De Clercq, President of Eurocities and Mayor of Ghent, expressed strong concerns about the new MFF, warning that despite being presented as simplification, it risks leading to recentralisation. He called for a mandatory urban chapter, a 15% urban earmarking, and a dedicated EU budget line to ensure that cities can work effectively alongside national and regional authorities.
Hugo Sobral, Deputy Director-General of DG REGIO, provided insight into the Commission’s perspective, explaining that the proposal aims to build on existing support for cities: “We will certainly use as a baseline what currently is out there, the type of support that goes to regions and cities. That will be a benchmark against which we will assess whatever member states will be proposing in the future.” He emphasized that “the Commission proposal is the starting point, not the arrival,” and welcomed that regions and cities are mobilizing to ensure their priorities are properly reflected in the future MFF.
Finally, Benedek Jávor, Head of Budapest City Representation to the EU, referred to findings from the ESPON URDICO study showing that:
“There is no evidence that a centralised system can work more effectively than a decentralised one.” He reiterated the importance of embedding the principle of non-discrimination and proposed that decommitted EU funds, which currently return to the general EU budget, should instead remain available for local-level use.
The letter of support by Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski was also read out during the session. The Mayor of Warsaw writes that in the new round of EU funds, it is necessary to include cities and metropolises as full stakeholders in shaping the terms of support and to enable them to decide on the allocation of funding. This particularly applies to the allocation of funds intended to co-finance urban and metropolitan development strategies – including Integrated Territorial Investments (ITI) strategies.
Quotes
-
The cohesion policy is about keeping the European Union strong, while still understanding that there are a lot of challenges that threaten the European Union from the outside.
To achieve results, there are conditions: you need a supportive multi-level governance framework, dedicated EU funding, and also access to technical assistance resources.
I am and a lot of cities and mayors are deeply worried about the proposal for the next EU budget. It is presented as simplification, but in reality it risks recentralisation.
When it comes to the MFF, this is the start of the discussion. We will certainly be attentive to the reactions and to the positions both from the Council and the European Parliament.
Additional links
https://www.espon.eu/projects/urdico-urban-dimension-cohesion-policy-and-other-eu-programmes
