When Ursula von der Leyen stood before the European Parliament today to deliver her State of the Union speech, she asked: “Does Europe have the stomach for this fight?”
For us, as the Party of European Socialists Group (PES Group) in the European Committee of the Regions, the fight is unequivocal: Europe’s fight is not for more centralisation, but for a Union that empowers its people and their communities. The real battleground is not in Brussels, but it is in our regions and cities where Europeans live, work, and build their future.
On 18 July 2024, Ursula von der Leyen promised: “Regions will remain at the centre of our work. We need a strengthened cohesion and growth policy with regions at the centre.” Yet, in her speech today, regions and territories have vanished from her vision. This is a betrayal of her promise. Competitiveness took centre stage, but competitiveness cannot be achieved if regions and cities are crossed from the map of the EU. It requires a people-centred, place-based approach that empowers communities to drive change.
The debate on the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) is not just about numbers; it is about who decides Europe’s future. This is why the debate on the MFF is so crucial. The Commission’s “cash-for-reforms” model lacks democratic legitimacy and oversight, risks fueling discontent, and hands ammunition to those who want to portray the EU as distant and overbearing.
That means a budget for people, not for bureaucracy: one that guarantees every region the means to develop long-term strategies for the green transition, competitiveness, and social progress - in the factories of Wallonia, the ports of Gdansk, the schools of Andalusia, and the innovation hubs of Helsinki.
Luca Menesini, the President of the PES Group stated: “It is no coincidence that 75% of EU citizens feel Ms.Von der Layen has failed to defend their interests. This is not merely a crisis of leadership; it is a crisis of trust in the very foundations of the European project which is based on cohesion. When the bonds between the EU and its regions are cut, the connection between our Union and its citizens is destroyed. Europe does not thrive from the top down. Europe will not survive without a strong cohesion policy.
True progress and sustainable competitiveness are built from the ground up, through the vitality of our regions, the innovation of our SMEs, and the resilience of our local communities. Big corporations and global CEOs do not serve Europeans; they serve themselves. Without the active involvement of regions and cities, we will never heal social fractures, solve the housing crisis, or restore faith in our Union.”
The State of the Union is not just about the European institutions in Brussels. It is about the daily lives of Europeans. It is about ensuring that solidarity is not a slogan, but a reality felt in every corner of our Union.
The future of Europe will not be written in Brussels alone. It will be built in our communities if we dare to place them at the heart of the European project. That is the socialist vision for a Union that is credible, united, and equal. The question is not whether Europe has the stomach for the fight. It is whether its leaders have the courage to fight for the Europe we want.
