Local Alliance calls on the European Commission to highlight the role of local and regional governments
Ahead of the State of the European Union address, the Local Alliance, representing Europe's leading local and regional government networks, asks Commission President von der Leyen to take this opportunity to affirm the European Commission's commitment to engage and involve local and regional governments actively.
On 16 September 2026, President von der Leyen will deliver her annual State of the European Union address. The speech is expected to affirm the EU's need to strengthen competitiveness, resilience, and cohesion, as well as climate ambitions.
While these are shared goals, European citizens face daily struggles such as the housing crisis, job insecurity, rising energy costs, the climate crisis, extreme events such as recent heatwaves and wildfires, and unreliable public services. This was evident last summer, when local and regional governments were at the forefront of crisis response and adaptation. In these situations, they first turn to the authorities closer to them, namely cities and regions.
Cities and regions are therefore not simply beneficiaries of European funds or implementers of policy: they are democratic levels of government that implement close to 70% of EU legislation and account for around 68% of climate-significant public investment across OECD countries and the EU. Citizens have more trust in the levels of governance closer to them, and so cities and regions help sustain public trust in democratic institutions.
With a letter addressed to President von der Leyen, the Local Alliance—comprising ACR+, CEMR, Climate Alliance, Energy Cities, Eurocities, FEDARENE, ICLEI Europe, and POLIS—calls on the Commission to reaffirm local and regional governments as trusted and indispensable partners of the European project.
A stronger role for European local and regional authorities
The recent news of the restructuring of the Commission departments, the next Multiannual Financial Framework discussions, and broader efforts to simplify EU policy implementation risk sidelining local and regional governments, removing the institutional interlocutor and the financial route to engage with the EU. Greater coherence does not equal more centralised decision-making.
To avoid weakening locally driven transitions and the territorial dimension of European policy and investments, the signatories of the letter ask President von der Leyen to state the Commission's commitment to maintain a strong and equal partnership with local and regional governments, and ensure that the next EU budget provides the necessary investment and capacity they need to deliver for people in every territory. Collaboration is the only way to build a more competitive, resilient, and climate-neutral Europe that delivers for people in every community and territory.
Read the letter.
