EURegionsWeek 2026: who decides the future of European regions?

Translated by Martina Ravasi

A region facing depopulation and a metropole addressing housing pressure don't have the same priorities. Nevertheless, both are asked to contribute to the EU common goals. Therefore, who must decide how to turn these ambitions into concrete interventions? To which extent can local needs be balanced with a shared European strategy?

This is one of the issues at the core of the 24th edition of the European Week of Regions and Cities (EURegionsWeek), which took place in Brussels from October 12th to 14th 2026. This event – organized by the European Commission and the European Committee of the Regions – gathered institutional representatives, local spokespersons and experts on the future of Cohesion Policy. The motto of this year – Strong regions, strong Europe – evokes a direct relation between local territories and the Union. However, how is this relation established concretely?

The executive vice president of the Commission, Mr Raffaele Fitto, identified two priorities during the opening press conference – the right to stay and competitiveness. The former is the opportunity for citizens to build their own future in the region where they live, without being forced to leave due to a lack of opportunities. The latter recalls the need to reinforce the EU economic potential, involving those regions that risk being left behind too. Although these two ambitions are tightly linked with each other, they highlight a problem - having common goals doesn't necessarily imply implementing the same solutions everywhere. A European policy can pave the way, but its effectiveness often depends on being adapted to the economic, social, and demographic conditions of single territories.

However, recognizing these differences doesn't resolve the issue automatically. On the contrary, there is a new one: to which extent should regional authorities intervene in the policy-making process and in policy implementations? The debate on the next EU's multiannual budget, covering the 2028-2034 period, makes this question particularly timely. Indeed, the idea of introducing national and regional partnership plans has raised concern over the risk of centralising investment decisions in the hands of national governments.

During the EURegionsWeek opening, Ms Kata Tüttő - the president of the European Committee of the Regions – warned about a potential centralisation, underlying that it may weaken the role of local authorities and exacerbate regional disparities at the same time. According to the Committee, an effective cohesion policy must count on the expertise and the investment capacities of the regions, thus preventing centralisation in favour of the already developed areas.

This matter highlights a tension going beyond a mere distribution of fonds. On one hand, the European Union needs to coordinate its investments to address shared issues, from industrial competitiveness to energy transition. On the other hand, an excessively uniform strategy risks neglecting those differences that the EU Cohesion Policy is supposed to reduce. However, it isn't a matter of choice between Brussels and local regions. A stronger European coordination doesn't necessarily entail a higher centralization and at the same time a higher territorial participation shouldn't imply a fragmentation of common goals.

EURegionsWeek has a particular meaning under this point of view. Through debates, workshops and ideas exchange this event is an opportunity for discussion between those defining European priorities and those who have to implement them. Most importantly, EURegionsWeek can overturn a monodirectional vision of integration. Indeed, regions mustn't simply implement European policies, but they can also contribute to define them.

The challenge of EURegionsWeek 2026 isn't finding a pattern valid for all territories but creating a system capable of valuing differences without losing a common direction. This is because Europe's strength depends not only on its ability to set shared goals, but also on recognizing that there are different paths to achieve them.

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