Background

On 16 July, the European Commission unveiled its proposal for the EU budget for the 2028-2034 period, the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). With new priorities in competitiveness and defence, and Cohesion funds moving to national envelopes, the draft budget represents a significant shift not only in thematic focus but also in overall structure. As the new architecture is taking shape, where does local and regional digital transformation fit in the EU’s evolving funding landscape?

With a total budget of €865 billion for the 2028-2034 period, the National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRRPs) will consolidate funding streams currently allocated through Cohesion Policy instruments: While Member States are expected to include objectives that contribute to the green and digital transition, cities’ and regions’ involvement in shaping these plans appears limited. Furthermore, the creation of a new instrument called the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) aims to merge several existing funding programmes, including Horizon and Digital Europe, into a single framework with four “policy windows”, including one on “Digital Leadership”.

Objective

The Living-in.EU Financial Working Group, in collaboration with the Eurocities Digital Forum, is organising a dedicated webinar on Wednesday 19 November 2025 (10:30-11:30 CET) to discuss these changes and their implications for cities and regions: After a general introduction to the new budget architecture, the webinar will dive deeper into the impact on funding for local and regional digital transformation. The session will also explore how to leverage forces within the Living-in.EU community of local and regional authorities to shape the new budget, and allow participants from cities and regions to identify their needs and concerns in an interactive discussion.

Agenda

1. Welcome and introduction
2. Digital transformation in the next EU budget 
   (Chiara Venturini, Head of Digital Transformation and Economic Development, Eurocities)
3. Leveraging the power of Living-in.EU signatories to engage with national authorities on funding 
   (Piia Wollsten, Director for Digital Services Development, Espoo)
4. Interactive discussion with Slido: Cities’ and regions’ needs and concerns regarding the current budget proposal
5. Next steps