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Multiple times per year, AER brings together regions, so that they may stand stronger together, and grow in a space of best practice exchange.
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Breakfast Briefing – Competitiveness & Rural Development in the Next EU Budget
📅 17 April 2026
🕘 09:00 – 11:00 CET
📍 Stable Room – Rue d’Arlon 63, 1000 Brussels & ONLINE
Regional competitiveness and rural development are increasingly interconnected in the debate on the next EU budget. With the proposed European Competitiveness Fund under the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028–2034, the European Union aims to strengthen innovation, industrial capacity, and strategic sectors across Europe.
This breakfast briefing will bring together regional authorities, EU institutions and policy stakeholders to discuss how competitiveness policies can also support rural development, regional innovation ecosystems and territorial balance.
The discussion will explore how new EU funding instruments can create synergies with existing policies such as the Common Agricultural Policy and Cohesion Policy, while ensuring that regional authorities remain key actors in shaping investment priorities.
Participants will exchange views on how place-based approaches, regional innovation strategies and stronger multi-level governance can ensure that all regions—urban and rural alike—benefit from Europe’s competitiveness agenda.
Agenda
09:00 — Registration & Coffee
09:30 — Welcome & Introduction
- Johannes Sundelin, AER Vice President for Clean Industry, Transportation, Transition, Sustainability & Health
09:35 — Keynote Speech
- Paulo Do Nascimento Cabral (EPP/ PT), Member of the European Parliament and EPP Rapporteur on Competitiveness
09:45 — Roundtable Discussion
- Pehr Granfalk, Member of the European Committee of the Regions and Rapporteur on Competitiveness
- Johannes Sundelin, AER Vice President for Clean Industry, Transportation, Transition, Sustainability & Health
- Lilijana Madjar, AER Vice President for Cohesion & Public Services
- Jan Klopman, AER Bureau rapporteur on the MFF negotiations
10:45 — Closing Remarks
☕ This breakfast discussion provides a space for informal exchange between regional leaders and EU policymakers on how competitiveness policies can support strong and resilient rural territories across Europe.
