“A new architecture of EU policies and funds post-2027 – what place for local development?” Part 3: In what direction can the next MFF evolve in 2026? Webinar, Thursday 4 December 2025, 16:30-18:00 CET 2025 has seen the prospect of a dramatic transformation of EU funding and policy architecture in the 2028-2034 period. It has marked the start of a debate in the context of the next Multiannual Financial Framework which is likely to stretch up … Continue Reading
Events & activities
LDnet online presence
Dear LDnet followers, we’re strengthening our online presence! Follow us on LinkedIn for updates on our news, events, and insights on local development across Europe: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ldnet.eu/posts/?feedView=all We are no longer on Twitter. You can now connect with us … Continue Reading
ELARD campaign on the post-2027 regulations
On 17 November 2025, ELARD launched a targeted letter campaign addressed to Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and members of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), asking them to use their voice to share our legislative amendments for the post 2027 regulations. This follows on from a call … Continue Reading
Territorial Foresight for Intergenerational Justice – 10 December 2025
The event, Territorial Foresight for Intergenerational Justice: Tools and Practices for Sustainable Regional Policy and Planning, forms part of the Big Question Week “What if spatial planning took intergenerational justice seriously?”. It will take place on 10 December 2025, from 09.00-12.30 CET. This … Continue Reading
European Urban CLLD Network
LDnet covered the first public meeting of the newly created European urban CLLD network in Brussels on 3rd and 4th November 2025. The network has been set up on the initiative of Valentin Dimon, president of the Bucharest LAG. Its early members include his own LAG in Bucharest, Camina in Spain, a LAG in … Continue Reading
Feedback from the Policy Action Lab – Rural areas and communities in the post-2027 EU budget and policies
This Policy Action Lab (see below) took place successfully on 5 November 2025 in Brussels. We are pleased to post the initial feedback provided by Āris Ādlers who participated in this event. Dear LDnet members. Greetings from Brussels. The European Commission presented its vision for the post-2027 EU … Continue Reading
UNIMUNICIPIOS: Connecting research and local communities for sustainable development
On September 1, 2025, at CEiiA | Engineering and Product Development Centre, the host institution of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network’s Portugal network (SDSN Portugal), the network signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with three Portuguese municipalities — Matosinhos, Braga, and … Continue Reading
‘From vision to action: Empowering rural areas for the future’ – Highlights from the Rural Pact Conference
The Rural Pact Conference “From vision to action: Empowering rural areas for the future”, organised at the Château du Biez near Kortrijk (Belgium) on 16 and 17 September 2025, brought together 250 rural stakeholders from all over the EU and beyond, to exchange, network and discuss how to move forward with … Continue Reading
LDnet Webinar (28.5.2025) – “A new architecture of EU policies and funds post-2027 – what place for local development? (part 2)” – Presentations and Recording
This webinar took place successfully with 50 active participants on 28 May 2025. The full recording of the webinar is available HERE. The presentations of the speakers are available below. A summary of the event will be published shortly. For the background to this webinar and its agenda read … Continue Reading
Articles
Chairperson’s report
Following the re-launch of LDnet earlier this year, four groups initiated by the management board of our association are now up and running. The communications group has set up a number of new systems and we now have a members WhatsApp group which you are welcome to join. We have just become active on … Continue reading
The European Commission’s proposals for the future EU budget: Stakeholders’ and experts’ responses
As expected, on 16 July 2025, the European Commission published its long awaited proposals for the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the 2028-2034 period and we have published an extensive overview. A debate has already kicked off and we are summarising below the stakeholders' and experts' responses, … Continue reading
6th European Rural Parliament: Rural Solutions to Global Challenges
Neslihan Önder Özen, Alistair Adam Hernández November 5, 2025 As part of the German Delegation, Alistair Adam Hernández and Neslihan Önder Özen from LDnet participated in the 6th European Rural Parliament and served as co-moderators of two workshops on rural movements alongside Tobias Federwisch from the … Continue reading
An overview of the Commission’s EU budget proposal and the challenges ahead
The Commission lays out the plans before the budget battle Serafín Pazos-Vidal analyses the new EU budget proposal for 2028-2034 presented by the Von der Leyen Commission. Although it is billed as a "radical restructuring," the author warns that it is actually "doing much more with the same," which … Continue reading
Βottom-up initiatives can make local communities more resilient to climate change, social exclusion, disinformation, or conflict challenges
The series ‘Expert Voices’ offers interviews showcasing the experience and insights of AEIDL experts and ELIF members. In the 8th edition, Urszula Budzich-Tabor, Senior Policy Analyst at AEIDL on the Rural Pact Support Office and LDnet Deputy Chair, highlights: How the LEADER approach empowers … Continue reading
PUBLICATIONS
Cohesion Policy on the Rocks?
This EPRC paper by Mendez, C., Bachtler, J., and Wishlade, F. deals in a systematic way with: The state of play of Cohesion Policy The shaping of MFF of the MFF proposals The national perspectives on reform The EU budget proposals for 2028-2034 The Cohesion Policy regulatory proposals for … Continue reading
Ex post evaluation of the ERDF and CF for the period 2014-2020
The European Commission published on 10 October 2025 a Staff Working Document presenting the findings of the ex post evaluation of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) for the 2014-2020 programming period. The evaluation is built around the five evaluation criteria stemming … Continue reading
A new urban policy agenda for the EU
This briefing paper by the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS), authored by Vasilis Margaras and published in October 2025, addresses the current challenges facing the cities in Europe and the EU response through the Urban Agenda for the EU (UAEU) so far and potentially in the post-2027 … Continue reading
STRAT-Board: A major data source on how CLLD and other territorial instruments are used in 2021-27
STRAT-Board, an Interactive Tool for Integrated Urban & Territorial Strategies In October 2025, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) launched the 2021-27 version of its STRAT-Board database and map showing all Cohesion Policy-funded territorial strategies in the EU. It is an interactive … Continue reading
CoR: Democracy and European unity at risk under current post-2027 MFF proposal
A debate on the next EU long-term budget after 2027, the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), highlighted major concerns among regions and cities regarding the proposal put forward by the European Commission on 16 July. The exchange, held during the meeting of the Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy … Continue reading
Strengthening local capacity to empower communities to innovate, making solutions more inclusive, resilient and sustainable
“Policies that respect and strengthen local capacity don’t just deliver services — they empower communities to innovate, making solutions more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable." The series 'Expert Voices' is expanding, sharing the latest interviews showcasing the experience and insights of AEIDL … Continue reading
CLLD in fisheries and coastal communities: Achievements and Lessons
As a follow up to the preliminary report on “What does CLLD bring to coastal and fisheries communities around Europe?” published in December 2024, FAMENET has published a full report “CLLD in fisheries and coastal communities. Achievements and Lessons” which includes quantitative results achieved in the … Continue reading
Intergenerational Fairness: A Local and Regional Approach to Building Inclusive and Sustainable Societies
The European Committee of the regions (CoR) has called for young people and future generations to be better protected from the consequences of political choices that prioritise short-term interests over long-term sustainability, and for more attention to be paid to ensuring that actions today do not become a … Continue reading