The European Commission announced the “Right to Remain” strategy without separate funding

The European Commission (EC) has announced a “Right to Remain” strategy designed to keep Europeans in rural areas. However, as Politico reports, there is no separate funding for it.

The strategy, expected in early 2027, will address shortages of jobs, housing and basic services that are forcing people out of rural areas. The publication notes that the initiative will not have its own funds.

The initiative has already drawn criticism from regional representatives amid disputes over the European Union's (EU) next long-term budget. The chair of the EU Committee of the Regions, Kata Tutte, said the budget should allow regions to independently determine their future.

“We cannot talk about people's freedom to stay while simultaneously crafting an EU budget that risks concentrating both decision-making and investment in fewer hands and in fewer places,” she said.

The strategy is planned to be presented in early 2027. According to the EC, it will solve the problems that force residents to leave rural areas, but will not solve the issue of financing.

Earlier, six EU states - Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Austria and Finland - demanded that the new long-term community budget be cut by hundreds of billions of euros. It is clarified that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and five other leaders of EU countries have threatened to block the approval of a financial plan for seven years if spending cuts are not ensured.