Murcia Región Europea Plenary Sessions of the Committee of the Regions 2026

The Region of Murcia actively participated in the recent plenary session of the Committee of the Regions held in Brussels, with its president, Fernando López Miras, speaking at the event.

During the debate on the opinion regarding water resilience, the Region of Murcia presented several amendments focused on strengthening European water policy. The main proposal was to increase EU investment to modernize and ensure the security of water infrastructure, considered strategic for the region.

Furthermore, the Murcian government advocated for integrated water management based on territorial solidarity among regions, as well as the creation of realistic roadmaps to ensure compliance with European water objectives.

López Miras also highlighted Murcia's experience in the efficient use of water and offered this knowledge to the rest of Europe, emphasizing the need to strengthen the role of regions in EU policies related to this resource.

Finally, he highlighted the creation of the Alliance of European Regions for Water Resilience, of which the Region of Murcia is a part along with other territories, as a key step to jointly address water challenges in Europe.

At the 171st plenary session of the European Committee of the Regions, the President of the Region of Murcia, Fernando López Miras, advocated for the creation of an EU Emergency Training Unit to improve coordination between administrations in crisis situations.

López Miras highlighted the Region of Murcia's experience in emergency management and criticized the lack of information and coordination from the Spanish Government in some recent crises. He also called for regions to play a more prominent role in the design of European emergency preparedness strategies.

The President of Murcia also urged the European Union to boost industrial capabilities related to civil protection, security, and defense.

At the plenary session of the European Committee of the Regions, focused on the European Union's future budget for the 2028-2034 period, the President of the Region of Murcia, Fernando López Miras, defended the need to maintain a specific and adequately funded fisheries fund as an essential tool to guarantee the sector's viability and the development of coastal communities.

During the debate, which included the European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, Costas Kadis, López Miras emphasized that the Common Fisheries Policy has made significant progress thanks to European financial support and warned that the new objectives of the European Ocean Pact, the Biodiversity Strategy, and the Nature Restoration Act can only be achieved with stable and adequate funding.

The regional president also highlighted generational renewal as one of the main challenges facing the fishing industry, calling for measures that promote training, encourage the entry of young people and women into the sector, and improve their working conditions. In this regard, he argued that fishing and aquaculture remain strategic activities for both the economy and the identity of coastal regions.

Finally, López Miras called for the future European strategy to give greater prominence to the voices of fishermen and recognize the sector's ongoing efforts toward sustainability, striving to reconcile the conservation of marine ecosystems with a competitive, resilient, and sustainable fishing industry.