Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto, in a written answer on 8 July 2026, outlined the Commission's approach to the forthcoming Right to Stay Strategy, emphasising that it will not introduce new funding streams or legislative proposals but will instead provide guidance and leverage existing EU policies. The answer, responding to a question from S&D MEPs Sérgio Gonçalves and André Franqueira Rodrigues, stressed that the strategy will be closely aligned with the renewed Outermost Regions Strategy, both taking the form of Commission communications. Fitto stated that the Right to Stay Strategy will support territorial attractiveness, particularly for regions with declining populations and socioeconomic challenges, including the outermost regions, by offering guidance for programming EU funds, showcasing successful policy implementation, and assisting Member States in embedding objectives into their National Recovery and Resilience Plans. The outermost regions strategy will focus on competitiveness, resilience, regional integration, and social fairness, with commitments to support local employment, education, training, housing, and economic diversification. The answer signals a non-legislative, coordination-focused approach, with no dedicated financial instruments, which may disappoint those seeking stronger EU intervention to address structural constraints such as high youth unemployment (exceeding 30% in some outermost regions) and limited connectivity. The Commission's reliance on existing funds and voluntary national implementation leaves the burden on Member States and regional authorities to translate objectives into concrete measures, potentially limiting the impact for young people and local communities in these regions. Institutional follow-up is expected with the publication of both strategies, likely later in 2026, and subsequent monitoring through existing cohesion policy frameworks.
Source✉ Open answer ↗
Asked bySérgio Gonçalves (S&D), André Franqueira Rodrigues (S&D)