The European Parliament's Budgets, Regional Development and Agriculture committees, meeting jointly on 3 June 2026, debated the draft regulation on national and regional partnership plans for 2028–2034, covering cohesion, CAP, fisheries, prosperity and security. The single fund architecture — merging cohesion, CAP and fisheries into one framework — emerged as the most divisive issue, with S&D, PfE and The Left rejecting the merger as weakening sectoral identities and risking renationalisation, while EPP rapporteurs Karlo Ressler and Andrey Novakov worked within the framework to improve accountability. Cristina Maestre (S&D), Tamás Deutsch (PfE) and João Oliveira (The Left) argued the merger would dilute sector-specific policies, whereas Ressler and Novakov focused on delegated acts, ring-fencing and an 11% urban earmark to strengthen the framework. On multilevel governance, Ľubica Karvašová (Renew) and Gordan Bosanac (Greens/EFA) pushed for direct regional access to funds, while António Tânger Corrêa (PfE) stressed compatibility with national structures. Parliamentary control was a major concern: Damian Boeselager (Greens/EFA) and Thomas Geisel (NI) warned of Commission dominance, while Ressler and Novakov insisted on Parliament's final role in delegated acts. On CAP, Elsi Katainen (Renew) and Norbert Lins (EPP) defended the two-pillar structure and sectoral safeguards, while Commission representatives argued integrated programming retained all interventions. Conditionality split groups: PfE and some ECR speakers rejected rule-of-law links, while Greens/EFA and Renew supported smart conditionality to protect beneficiaries. Simplification claims were questioned by Tamás Deutsch and Klara Dostalova (PfE), who warned of new administrative burdens. Consensus emerged on stronger regional involvement, the n+3 rule (funds must be committed within three years), higher prefinancing, CAP visibility, and protecting final beneficiaries. Rapporteurs pursued amendments rather than rejection, also proposing a 5% reserve for unforeseen needs and anti-centralisation measures. Next steps: amendments due 16 June, next joint meeting 14 July. The outcome will directly affect regional and local authorities, farmers, fisheries operators, and cohesion beneficiaries across the EU.
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