Following the debate on the forthcoming EU budget review at the Committee of the Region's external Bureau meeting in Antwerp, the Committee's President Mercedes Bresso warned that the forthcoming review of the EU budget must not lead to less money for local and regional authorities to invest in sustainable, green and socially fair growth.

President Bresso warned that in these tough economic times, it is only natural that EU governments will look to reduce public spending when they review the EU budget, but the question is where is the limit going to be set, pointing out that core policy areas such as social inclusion, sustainable energy use or the Europe 2020 programme will need substantial funding.

Bresso also insisted that European policies can only work if local and regional authorities are on the front-line, delivering real results. Europe not only has to secure the funding but also strengthen its capacity to implement its policies on the ground. Therefore, any threat to EU Structural Funds must be fought off, and the CoR hopes that Belgium will support this point of view throughout its Presidency

President Bresso also welcomed the acceptance by European Commission President José Manuel Barroso of one of the key request from the Committee on the EU budget, and the reference made in his recent 'State of the Union' speech to extending the EU budget over 10 years, rather than the current seven, with a mid-term review after five years. The Committee has long called for such a system, which will give the European institutions greater flexibility in setting EU budget and policy priorities. In this regard, the Committee also believe that we must consider issuing euro-bonds in order to finance long-term strategic projects.