Tour 2

By meeting with the President and Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg, the Deputy Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, and key parliamentary representatives, Commissioner Serafin engaged in a discussion on the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). These exchanges are essential to align national perspectives with EU priorities, ensuring that budgetary decisions are transparent, effective, and serve all Europeans. 

Close cooperation with national Parliaments is crucial for strengthening democratic accountability and reinforcing trust in EU financial policies. This visit of EU-funded projects was an opportunity to listen, learn lessons, collaborate, and build a budget that delivers results across every corner of the Union. 

The European Investment Bank (EIB) plays a crucial role in translating EU budgetary priorities into real-world investments that drive economic growth, innovation, and resilience across Europe. As the EU’s financial arm, the EIB provides long-term funding, guarantees, and expert advice, ensuring that strategic projects—ranging from infrastructure to cutting-edge research—receive the support they need. 

Commissioner Serafin’s meeting with the EIB was an opportunity to strengthen the partnership between the EU Budget and the Bank’s investment capabilities.  

The discussion mainly centred on InvestEU, an important program that uses EU funds to boost private and public investment in areas like green energy, digital transformation, resilience, and small business support. 

Defence was also a key topic, reflecting the growing importance of ensuring Europe’s security and resilience. In a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape, enhancing defence investment through EU financial tools is more essential than ever. By working closely with the EIB, the EU can ensure that its budget not only supports economic development but also contributes to the safety and stability of its citizens. 

During the Commissioner’s visit to the Directorate-General of the Grand-Ducal Police, the crucial role of  EU Budget in ensuring security and preparedness across Europe was emphasised.   

Together with the Minister for Home Affairs, Léon Gloden, they saw a presentation on the CBRN action plan, showing the EU's dedication to protecting citizens from chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats, which need strong national and European cooperation. 

While Member States have primary responsibility for responding to these threats, crises with cross-border implications demand a collective EU response. This is why the EU Budget supports joint preparedness, rapid response mechanisms, and cooperation frameworks that enhance national efforts and ensure a coordinated approach to security. By engaging directly with those working on the ground, the Commissioner’s visit aimed to reinforce the EU’s commitment to safeguarding citizens and strengthening resilience against emerging security risks. 

To ensure the continuation of a smooth dialogue with European regions, Commissioner Serafin also met the Finance Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Dr Optendrenk. Their discussion focused on cohesion and RFF funding in NRW, and the Minister favored cross-border projects in the Benelux region. He argued that for the future, cooperation between scientific institutions and energy infrastructure should be strengthened to speed up the industrial transformation.

As regional and national banks play a pivotal role in ensuring the stability of the Economic and Monetary Union and the internal market, Commissioner discussed the future role of Regional and National Promotional Banks with the representative of NRW Bank.  The focus was on the interaction with EIB, access conditions, and the reporting requirements.

Next stop was a visit to Ericsson’s KeeCEK project in Düsseldorf, a key initiative under the IPCEI Next Generation Cloud Infrastructure and Services (IPCEI-CIS). 

Supported by €12 million in EU funding, the project is developing smaller, more energy-efficient, and highly effective cloud-edge nodes. These innovations will enhance business and industry-critical applications, enabling ultra-fast, reliable data processing with minimal latency. 

The IPCEI-CIS initiative is driving the creation of a decentralised cloud-to-edge infrastructure, strengthening Europe’s technological sovereignty and advancing next-generation digital capabilities. 

At Ericsson, the representatives of the project expressed gratitude for the RRF support but  also described defining milestones as particularly challenging. The project promoter also described the building of networks between different companies and universities as a  major added value of European funding. 

IPCEI Next Generation Cloud Infrastructure and Services (IPCEI CIS) - Ericsson / KeeCEK (Düsseldorf) 

The Commissioner’s visit to the Netherlands was a crucial opportunity to strengthen dialogue and collaboration on the EU Budget at both the government and parliamentary levels. The meeting with Foreign Minister Casper Veldkamp and Minister of Finance, Eelco Heinen, focused on the key budgetary priorities and how the EU’s financial resources can best support the Netherlands and the Union as a whole.  

The Ministers expressed strong support for modernising the budget to better address current challenges and prioritise spending, while recalling their stances on the size of the EU budget and on common borrowing. They stressed the importance of the rule of law conditionality. 

Commissioner Serafin’s visit to the House of Representatives was equally important. Engaging directly with elected officials from across the political spectrum—those responsible for shaping policies on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), the Rule of Law, and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)—ensures that the EU Budget reflects the real needs and expectations of Dutch citizens. These discussions were essential to build consensus, enhance transparency, and reinforce the EU’s commitment to fair and effective budgetary policies that deliver tangible results for the citizens of the Netherlands. 

The Members of Parliament touched upon the linkage between reforms and investments. They also discussed CAP, national and regional partnership plans, the possibilities to support defence and the size of the Netherlands’ contribution to the next MFF. Their discussion also touched upon the importance of rule of law conditionality. 

Later during the day, the Commissioner visited EU projects that make a difference to people’s lives on the ground. In this particular visit, Piotr Serafin visited projects which specifically support the green transition of our continent. He started with the Porthos project, supported by the EU budget, which aims to capture CO2 from industry in the port of Rotterdam, transport it, and store it in empty gas fields under the North Sea. The Commissioner then met with the Mayor of Rotterdam, Carola Schouten. Later, he did a tour of the Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij (RDM) Campus, a place that hosts innovative companies working on crucial themes such as energy transition, renewable fuels and raw materials, sustainable transport and smart logistics. The Commissioner then travelled to the city of Delft, to visit the Green Village, an inhabited open-air laboratory of the University of Technology, where knowledge and educational institutions, entrepreneurs, governments and residents of the Netherlands research, experiment and demonstrate their sustainable innovations together. 

Beneficiaries of EU funds expressed gratitude for the support they received from the EU budget. They generally signaled a successful collaboration with the managing authority for ERDF and the Just Transition Funds (JTF) leading to important funding. Some of them highlighted the importance of continuing to nurture early innovation. However, regarding the application to receive funds they also called for more flexibility and simplification, and less bureaucracy. They also pleaded for a strong deregulation to make the business environment more investment friendly