September 2026

 

September 2026 brought a series of important decisions and new approaches in regional development and local self-government in the EU. In this publication, we discuss new rules to tackle the housing crisis, the preparation of the EU budget for 2028–2034, the latest regional data from Eurostat, security in the eastern regions, and current practices in France, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. We also examine what these changes and European experience might mean for Ukrainian communities.

 

The EU has announced new rules to tackle the housing crisis: local authorities are offered more tools

On 9 September 2026, the European Commission presented a proposal for the Affordable Housing Act and a recommendation to Member States on tackling the housing crisis. The aim of the package is simple: to give national, regional, and local authorities greater scope to respond where there is a shortage of housing and where house prices and rents are becoming unaffordable for a significant proportion of the population.

Large cities, agglomerations, islands, and popular tourist regions are under the greatest pressure. According to the latest Eurobarometer survey, 51% of urban residents in the EU consider affordable housing to be a pressing issue in their locality.

One of the key ideas behind the proposal is to provide the authorities with clearer tools to identify territories under housing pressure. Once such a problem has been confirmed, local authorities will be able to choose solutions appropriate to the specific situation. At the same time, these solutions must be justified, necessary, proportionate, and transparent.

Possible measures include regulating short-term rentals and second homes, bringing vacant properties onto the market, streamlining town planning procedures and making more efficient use of land and existing buildings. Another priority is to increase the supply of social and affordable housing.

At the same time, the EU is not proposing a single solution for all territories. Instead, the specific set of tools should be determined at the national, regional, or local level, depending on the local situation.

For local governments in Ukraine, this is particularly relevant in the context of post-war recovery, internal displacement, and rising demand for housing in certain communities. The European approach may be useful for communities that need to simultaneously address housing shortages and the efficient use of existing property and land resources. The principle itself is also important: it allows a community to choose the tools appropriate to the specific situation in its territory.

 

The EU Committee of the Regions has launched a tool to enable cities and regions to contribute to shaping the future EU budget

On 29 September 2026, the European Committee of the Regions launched a new digital tool called Jacques, designed to help cities and regions understand proposals for the next long-term EU budget (2028–2034) and the positions of local and regional authorities on its formulation. The tool uses artificial intelligence to link the Committee of the Regions’ positions to the relevant official documents. Official information from the Committee of the Regions

The next EU multiannual financial framework will set out the priorities and funding rules for the period 2028–2034. It will cover, in particular, cohesion policy, agriculture, research and innovation, competitiveness, climate policy, and external relations. Negotiations on its final content will continue until the end of 2027.

This is of fundamental importance for cities and regions, as the future architecture of cohesion policy and access to European funding for territorial development will depend on the new financial framework. The Committee of the Regions, in particular, advocates for the direct involvement of cities and regions in the preparation of future national and regional plans, as well as for the preservation of the principle of multilevel governance as the foundation of cohesion policy.

The Jacques tool is also relevant to Ukraine. Ukraine has EU candidate status and, in June 2026, opened the first negotiation cluster as part of its accession negotiations. One of the key areas of Ukraine’s alignment with the EU is the harmonisation of its regional policy and governance systems with European approaches.

In this context, Jacques can be useful to Ukrainian local governments in understanding how future cohesion policy is shaped in the EU, which issues are priorities for cities and regions, and which principles may determine the mechanisms for funding regional development. For Ukraine, this is particularly relevant in the process of preparing for EU accession and the future integration of Ukrainian communities into the European system of regional development.

 

Eurostat has published the EU Regional Statistical Yearbook for 2026

On 23 September 2026, Eurostat published the Regional Yearbook 2026, an annual statistical review of the socio-economic development of the regions of Europe. The publication covers demographics, the labour market, the economy, tourism, the environment and other key indicators.

The Yearbook contains data on the regions of the 27 EU Member States, 9 candidate countries, and 4 countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). This allows for comparisons between regions and enables the tracking of changes in their development over different years.

Key indicators in the Regional Yearbook 2026 include:

• in 2024, the EU population grew by 1.2 million people, whilst 90 regions recorded a decline in population;
• 77% of EU regions showed an increase in life expectancy in 2024;
• the youth unemployment rate in 2025 stood at 11.7%, which is almost double the overall unemployment rate;
• in 2024, the GDP of the EU stood at around EUR 18 trillion, with the strongest economic performance concentrated in major capital cities and industrial regions;
• in 2024, EU tourist accommodation recorded around 3 billion overnight stays, 2.7% more than the previous year;
• during the period 1995–2025, the number of heating days fell in 220 out of 230 regions, reflecting long-term changes in climatic conditions.

The Regional Yearbook shows how the EU systematically collects and uses comparable data at the regional level to analyse demographic, economic, social, and environmental trends. For Ukrainian local governments, this approach can be useful when developing strategies for community and regional development, setting investment priorities, monitoring demographic trends, and evaluating the effectiveness of local policies.

The publication is also of practical significance for the development of regional statistics in Ukraine. Eurostat already uses a statistical classification of Ukrainian territories, which comprises 27 Level 2 regions and 138 Level 3 regions. This approach provides a basis for a comparable analysis of territories and the gradual alignment of Ukrainian regional statistics with European standards.

The full Regional Yearbook 2026 is available on the Eurostat website.

 

European cities and regions are focusing more attention on the security of the Eastern borders of the EU

On 17 September 2026, Cáceres (Spain) hosted the meeting of the European Committee of the Regions’ Commission for Territorial Cohesion and the EU Budget (COTER), dedicated in particular to the situation in the eastern regions of the EU bordering russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. Representatives of local and regional authorities emphasised that support for these territories should be viewed not only as a matter of solidarity, but also as a strategic investment in the security and cohesion of the European Union. European Committee of the Regions

The participants called for additional, stable and long-term funding to be secured for the eastern border regions. At the same time, they argued that new security resources should not be generated at the expense of cuts to cohesion policy funding. Particular emphasis was placed on the need to involve local and regional authorities in the planning and implementation of relevant measures.

Why this is important for Ukraine: the EU’s focus on eastern border territories directly concerns Ukrainian communities and may influence future priorities for European funding, cross-border cooperation, and support for the resilience of border regions. The European Commission also emphasises the need to take the needs of eastern border territories into account in future EU policies and investment programmes.

 

France: local authorities will receive additional resources but also contribute to budget savings

On 30 September 2026, the French government presented the main parameters of the draft budget for 2027 to local authority representatives. Local authorities are set to receive additional resources, although they are also expected to contribute to national budgetary savings. The total value of the measures envisaged for the local level is estimated at EUR 5.4 billion.

Key measures include the CPEB (contribution to the balancing of public finances), which is expected to raise around EUR 2.5 billion. It will apply to some municipalities, inter-municipal associations (EPCI) and departments. At the same time, the government plans to increase certain key transfers: the DGF (general operating grant) by EUR 150 million, the DSU (urban solidarity grant) by EUR 150 million, and the DSR (rural solidarity grant) by EUR 140 million.

To support local investment, the DSIL (local investment support grant) is set to increase by EUR 200 million, whereas the DETR and Fonds vert funds are to be maintained at EUR 1 billion each. Changes are also envisaged to the rules governing the FCTVA, the VAT compensation fund for investment expenditure, with a greater focus on environmental and territorial projects. The FCTVA is one of the key instruments of state support for local investment.

The financial situation of local authorities in 2026 also remains relatively dynamic. According to data from the Directorate-General for Public Finances, between January and August, the operating revenue of local authorities rose by 2.7% and expenditure by 2.2% compared with the same period in 2025.

The French approach demonstrates how the state can combine fiscal consolidation with the maintenance of transfers and investment support for territories. The use of differentiated funding and equalisation mechanisms, which take into account differences between regions and their financial capacity, is also of interest to Ukraine. In the French system, in particular, the DGF includes financial equalisation mechanisms, whereas individual subsidies are directed to support urban, rural, and investment needs.

 

German municipalities call on the EU to simplify public procurement rules

On 10 September 2026, the leading German municipal associations called on the European Parliament and EU Member States to make the reform of European public procurement legislation simpler and more flexible. In their view, the new rules should reduce bureaucracy, ensure legal certainty and leave the municipalities sufficient scope for independent decision-making. Official statement from the German Association of Towns and Cities

Local government associations are paying special attention to inter-municipal cooperation. The proposed changes are intended to simplify situations where one municipality performs tasks on behalf of another. For example, this refers to cases where one municipality provides winter road maintenance in a neighbouring municipality. At the same time, municipal representatives are opposed to excessive new requirements regarding reporting, documentation and the publication of data, which could increase the administrative burden.

The German experience is relevant in the context of aligning Ukrainian public procurement legislation with EU standards. For Ukrainian local governments, simplifying procedures, developing inter-municipal cooperation, and reducing the administrative burden are of particular importance. In the process of community recovery, this is directly linked to the speed of implementing infrastructure projects and the effective use of budget funds.

The German example also shows the importance of taking the needs of municipalities into practical account when reforming European rules. Local authorities emphasise that new requirements should not create additional bureaucracy, but should help communities carry out their tasks more quickly and effectively.

 

Czech Republic: the debate on municipal amalgamation continues, but the focus is on voluntary cooperation

On 17 September 2026, the Czech Association of Local Authorities (SMS ČR) held a nationwide conference in the Czech Republic, during which, amongst other things, the issue of the large number of small municipalities and ways of strengthening their capacity were discussed.

The Czech system of local self-government remains one of the most fragmented in Europe. After the political changes of the 1990s, the number of municipalities increased significantly: whilst there were around 4,100 in 1990, by 1994 the figure had reached approximately 6,230. This was the result of a mass separation of small communities. In 2025, there were 6,258 municipalities in the Czech Republic.

At the same time, since 2000, Czech legislation has emphasised not compulsory consolidation, but voluntary amalgamation and inter-municipal cooperation.

This model was one of the central themes of the SMS ČR conference in September. The President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, spoke out against the top-down amalgamation of municipalities, emphasising that the state should create conditions for natural and voluntary cooperation between municipalities, particularly for the joint performance of tasks and the provision of services. Official information from SMS ČR

One such mechanism is the “community of municipalities” (společenství obcí), which is a special form of voluntary inter-municipal cooperation. It allows communities to organise public services together, coordinate regional development, and make use of shared resources. As of 2026, these communities comprise 1,205 municipalities, accounting for 19.3% of all municipalities in the Czech Republic.

The Czech model thus combines the preservation of municipal autonomy with mechanisms for the joint performance of tasks. The debate over the possible consolidation of municipalities continues, but the current focus is on voluntary cooperation, shared services, and the pooling of resources, rather than on the administrative dissolution of small municipalities.

 

Slovakia is preparing for the new cycle of EU funds: communities are setting their priorities for 2028–2034

Preparations are underway in Slovakia for the National and Regional Partnership Programme (NRPP) for 2028–2034, which is intended to set out how the country will use European funds during the next programming period. Local self-government is already involved in this process at the stage of defining future priorities.

On 6 September 2026, the Association of Towns and Municipalities of Slovakia (ZMOS) announced that work on the NRPP was ongoing. In July and August, preparations for identifying territorial needs continued: towns, municipalities, and other territorial partners were tasked with drawing up strategic packages of needs for their territories. These packages would subsequently be taken into account when planning investments funded by EU funds. Official information from ZMOS

The NRPP is set to become the key strategic document through which Slovakia will plan the use of European resources for the 2028–2034 period. According to current estimates, this plan could potentially receive funding amounting to approximately EUR 19.9 billion.

The process involves representatives of the central government, regions, towns and communities, the business sector and civil society. A dedicated working platform has been set up to coordinate the preparation of the NRPP, facilitating the exchange of information between partners and their involvement in shaping the document’s strategic priorities. Meetings have already been held on the platform in 2026, on 13 February and 14 July.

The Slovak experience shows that municipalities can participate in shaping EU policy even before specific funding calls are launched. This allows communities to identify their own challenges and investment needs in advance, ensuring these are considered when national and regional priorities are set.

In the context of Ukraine’s future integration into the EU’s cohesion policy, it is important for Ukrainian local governments to prepare project and need portfolios at the planning stage, to align these with regional strategies and to participate in partnership mechanisms for preparing future programmes.

This approach helps link local development strategies with broader national and European regional policy priorities, and prepare communities to participate in future funding mechanisms.

 

The events of September demonstrate that cities and regions continue to play an increasingly important role in shaping EU policies, ranging from setting investment priorities and accessing funding to participating in the resolution of housing, security and infrastructure issues. For Ukraine, this experience is an important guide as it adapts its regional development system to European approaches and prepares local communities for participation in future EU cohesion policy mechanisms.