Regions should be considered as strategic partners and have a voice in the new Multiannual Financial Framework (“MFF”), said the Minister of Interior, Konstantinos Ioannou, in statements to the Press after his meeting with Filip Reinhag, President of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR), ahead of the CPMR’s meeting in Nicosia on Thursday.
“The future of Europe lies not only in capital cities and institutions, but also within the regions. Therefore, the voice of the regions is essential for European cohesion, for our competitiveness, for the future of Europe”, Ioannou said, adding that “regions should be considered as strategic partners and have a voice in the new MFF”.
In his statements, Reinhag said that the very high ambitions of the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the EU “align very well with the priorities of the CPMR in getting the regions more to the centre of the policy debate”.
As he noted, “everyone lives in a region, and we know firsthand that it’s the regions that can also deliver prosperity, security and connectivity to its citizens”.
The CPMR meeting focused on connectivity, competitiveness and resilience of the European Transport Network, discussed how to make the next MFF deliver more for regions and deliberated strategies for island and coastal communities.
In his address to the CPMR’s Political Bureau Meeting, Ioannou said that European Union is entering a decisive phase of reflection and negotiation on its future priorities and financial architecture, notably the next Multiannual Financial Framework. “The discussions ahead will shape the Union’s capacity to deliver on competitiveness, climate neutrality, digital transformation, security and social cohesion,” he said.
In this context, he added, regions must be recognised as strategic partners. “Policies developed without a territorial lens risk deepening disparities rather than reducing them, while investments that overlook regional specificities may fall short of their intended impact,” he stressed.
The President of CPMR and Regional Councilor, Filip Reinhag, said that many of the priorities of the Cyprus Presidency align with those of the CPMR.
He described CPMR’s vision as “a European Union that leaves no one behind”, noting that empowering citizens and fostering thriving environments in which they can live, work, and prosper is at heart of its actions.
A truly autonomous Europe can only be built on strong social and territorial cohesion, where no region and no citizen is left behind, he added.
“As President of the CPMR, I see it as our collective responsibility to ensure that this principle is translated into concrete political and financial decisions at the European level,” he pointed out.
