— Chaired by the President of the Xunta de Galicia, Alfonso Rueda, the delegation held an exceptional meeting in Santiago de Compostela to adopt the ‘Galicia’ Declaration

— This declaration summarizes the position of the autonomous communities, municipalities and provinces of Spain in the debate on the future budgetary framework 2028-34, following the proposal made by the European Commission in mid-July

Saniago de Compostela, October 21, 2025. The Spanish delegation of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), composed of 21 representatives from Spanish local and regional authorities, has issued a firm statement of rejection of the European Commission’s proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028-2034.

The delegation denounces that the creation of the National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPP) could lead to an excessive centralization of decisions, weaken the role of the regions in the definition of spending priorities and hamper the principle of territorial cohesion of the European Union.

It also regrets the proposal’s lack of budgetary ambition, which is below 2% of the EU’s Gross National Income, and calls for sufficient financial means to meet the current geopolitical challenges while continuing to finance the EU policies set out in the Treaties.

Among the main concerns expressed, the following stand out:

• The reduction of funds under shared management.

• The absence of mechanisms to ensure an effective participation of regional and local authorities in the governance of NRPP.

• A real decrease in funding for the Common Agricultural Policy and the Common Fisheries Policy.

In view of these concerns, the delegation demands a differentiated budget for cohesion policy, intended for all regions, as well as objective regional allocation criteria predefined at EU level. On the other hand, it insists that the EU should continue to financially support the economic viability of the primary sector, in view of its important contribution to the strategic autonomy of the EU and to population settlement in rural areas.

The Spanish delegation urges the Government of Spain to defend this position in the Council and proposes a new framework for territorial cooperation that recognizes the role of the autonomous communities as managing authorities, in close cooperation with local authorities, and that puts in place more effective coordination structures between the different levels of government.

Broad institutional representation

The inauguration was in charge of the President of the Galician Government, Alfonso Rueda, while the Regional Minister for Finance, Miguel Corgos, explained the 25 points of the Galicia Declaration, and the Regional Minister of Presidency, Justice and Sports, Diego Calvo, closed the event.

As guests from the European institutions, the Legal Service Director of the European Commission, Daniel Calleja, explained the European Commission’s proposal published on July 16, and the Spanish member of the European Court of Auditors (ECA), Alejandro Blanco, presented his recent report son the future of the cohesion policy.

Representatives of the 17 Spanish regions and the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) attended the meeting in Santiago such as the Vice-President of the Government of Aragon, María del Mar Vaquero, the Asturian Minister for European Affairs, Guillermo Peláez, and the Regional Minister for the Presidency of Cantabria, María Isabel Urrutia).

The mayors of A Coruña, Inés Rey, and Badalona, Xavier García Albiol, stressed the need to continue to have a specific allocation for urban development.

Next steps

Galicia Europa Foundation, as the Xunta’s representative office in Brussels, will send this declaration to the European institutions involved in the negotiation of the next multiannual financial framework, mainly the Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission itself.

The adoption of this declaration comes a few days after the unanimous adoption of a CoR resolution on this issue and the call made by the Cohesion Alliance for a review of the reform of cohesion policy.

The MFF proposal must be approved unanimously by the Council, with the prior consent of the European Parliament.

Galicia Declaration