Italian Commissioner Raffaele Fitto is fighting a fierce internal battle within the European Commission to defend the position of regional and local government in the upcoming 2028–2034 EU spending cycle. Responsible for signing off on as much as €400 billion of regional expenditure, Fitto stands directly opposed to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s proposal to move control to the national levels of member states, which would significantly eliminate the old role for regions in EU cohesion financing.
Cohesion policy—established in the 1970s as a means of countering economic disparities between Europe’s richer and poorer areas—has been administered directly by Brussels via mechanisms such as the ‘Berlin formula’ from the start. Under von der Leyen’s proposal, agriculture and regional expenditure (which cover roughly two-thirds of the current €1.2 trillion budget) would be merged into a single national envelope. Spending would then be tied to reforms, where member states could be required to address gender disparities to qualify for social housing funds, and promote organic farming to access agricultural subsidies.
Critics warn that the reform could provide Brussels with another opportunity to impose its left-liberal agenda on member states by withholding funding from conservative governments. Leveraging financial pressure to strong-arm member states—“financial authoritarianism”—is just one of several tactics used by EU bureaucrats seeking to concentrate power in Brussels and constrain national governments determined to uphold their sovereignty.
Fitto, who is portrayed as reserved but firm, insists that such a change could override local governance while enlarging democratic deficits. He is supported by EU budget commissioner Piotr Serafin, European People’s Party MEPs in von der Leyen’s own party, 149 regional administrations, and 14 national administrations who recently signed a collective letter urging von der Leyen to preserve regional architecture and the Berlin formula.
Proponents of the plan argue the reforms would streamline funding, the budget would be more strategic (particularly by facilitating investment in defense and innovation), and easier to administer throughout the EU.
The strain inside the Commission is still unresolved to date, in early July, as internal talks persist. A draft proposal had not been finalized two weeks ahead of von der Leyen’s budget speech, scheduled for July 16th, which shows that there are deep national and regional splits, and even splits within the Commission itself.
