The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) held a stakeholder consultation on the future of the European Social Fund (ESF) within the next EU Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF) on Monday 23 February, gathering views on the Commission’s proposals. Led by Rapporteur Carlos Martínez Mínguez (Spain, PES), the consultation emphasised the need to guarantee the right to stay and the importance of a cross-cutting regional and local approach to future funding of the social dimension in Europe.  

In his opening remarks, Mr. Martínez Mínguez highlighted the need for concrete guarantees rather than hollow rhetoric on social spending, given the reduced emphasis on social priorities in the current debate.   

While acknowledging the need for multilevel governance, Mr. Martínez Mínguez called for strong cooperation between stakeholders and the need for additional funding for social objectives. The upcoming opinion should include key pillars on the social dimension, fair and decent work, quality of life, lifelong learning and education, quality housing, mobility, gender equality, and inclusion. The CoR and Euromontana strongly reject the single fund model, with the CoR citing the importance of defending an independent budget line for the European Social Fund, alongside the need for accountability and a territorial approach to competitiveness.   

Euromontana took the floor to emphasise the principles of partnership and subsidiarity, calling for legal guarantees for regional and local authorities in the monitoring and implementation of the next MFF, as well as dedicated territorial indicators for mountain areas within the Performance Regulation, as key territories legally recognized under Article 174 TFEU. While often under-acknowledged, mountain areas deliver vital strategic services (ecosystem services, tourism, water and energy provision, among others) for Europe, and therefore require long-term, stable investment to guarantee the right to stay. By supporting increased investment in public services to tackle social isolation and demographic decline in mountain areas, the ESF has the potential to be instrumental in operationalising the Right to Stay within the EU’s policy architecture.  

Mr. Martínez Mínguez welcomed Euromontana’s input, acknowledging the Right to Stay and a territorial approach (at NUTS3 level) as important components for the upcoming opinion. Stakeholders are invited to submit position papers or written input to sedec@cor.europa.eu until the 12th of March for consideration in the Committee’s opinion.  

Euromontana continues to advocate for a ‘Mountain-friendly MFF’ with common objectives, mandatory territorial chapters within the National and Regional Partnership Plans, dedicated funding streams, and preserving place-based approaches that recognise mountain areas’ unique challenges. These demands are not only relevant to mountain areas, but to all territories facing permanent natural and demographic constraints and are essential for effective place-based policymaking.