Regions Rise Up Against Brussels’ Budget Centralization Plans

The European Union is facing a new revolt—this time from its own regions. Local and regional leaders have accused Brussels of attempting to reclaim control over billions of euros in farming and development funds that were intended to remain closer to the people.

The warning comes from the European Committee of the Regions, a little-known but increasingly vocal body representing towns, cities, and regional governments. The committee  urged Brussels to rethink its plan for the 2028–2034 budget, which would merge agricultural, regional, and fisheries aid into a single pot for each member state. 

“We want an autonomous cohesion policy directly connected with Brussels, not subjected to national structures that distort it,” said the committee president. “We know what centralized systems mean: committees making decisions from above without knowing the reality on the ground.”

The statements come amid growing distrust toward Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, whose management of the EU budget has drawn criticism both from Member States and from the Union’s advisory bodies. Increasingly, regions denounce that the current model concentrates power in the hands of a Commission that decides priorities without considering local specificities.

The new budgetary scheme proposed by Brussels aims to merge various financial instruments—including the CAP, as well as fisheries, migration, and border funds—into a single fund per country. In practice, national governments would have a “global allocation” and the freedom to distribute resources as they see fit.

That flexibility, however, worries the regions, which fear losing their direct dialogue with European institutions. “Rural and peripheral areas could be sidelined in favor of capital cities,” warn CoR sources. For many local leaders, the model breaks with the founding principle of European cohesion: reducing territorial disparities through common policies, not through budgetary deals between bureaucrats.

Already in July, 14 member states signed a non-paper opposing the Commission’s plans for centralizing the management and distribution of EU funds. “Only a distinct and robust budget and a region-based allocation methodology, reflecting the different development levels of regions, together with a stand-alone Cohesion Policy dedicated legislation, can ensure that the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) will deliver long-term unity, competitiveness and convergence across EU regions,” the document states.

The Commission’s Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms, Italian Raffaele Fitto (Fratelli d’Italia/ECR), sought to ease tensions by assuring that “the role of the regions will remain the same.” Yet his message hardly convinced those attending the European Week of Regions and Cities, where the tension between the two bodies was palpable.

In recent months, von der Leyen has been accused of imposing an excessively technocratic vision of European integration, in which major programs—whether the Green Deal, digital control, or the budget—are concentrated under her direct supervision.

In practice, the model strengthens Brussels’ power over the member states while at the same time weakening the Union’s internal plurality. From Poland to Italy, and from Hungary to France, regional governments denounce the loss of autonomy and the growing weight of EU bureaucracy in decisions that directly affect farmers, businesses, and municipalities.