23 February 2026: Launch event of the Coalition for the Freedom to Stay
On 23 February 2026, at the high-level Intergroup on Social Economy & Services of General Interest, the SGI Network, representing providers of Services of General Interest, led by SGI Europe, launched the Coalition for the Freedom to Stay.
Opening the event, MEP Camilla Lauretti (S&D, IT), vice-chair of the Intergroup, underlined the renewed political momentum behind the objective of completing the Single Market by 2028 through a dedicated roadmap. In this context, she framed the Freedom to Stay as one of the key enabling concepts, emphasising that mobility must remain a choice and not an obligation. Linking the discussion to the ongoing negotiations on the future Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), she stressed the need to ensure coherence between cohesion policy, competitiveness, and Single Market objectives. She highlighted the stabilising role of Services of General Interest (SGIs) as enabling infrastructures for participation across territories.
In his keynote, Enrico Letta situated the discussion in the broader geopolitical and economic context following the recent European Council retreat. Letta acknowledged the political difficulty of mobilising support around the technical objective of completing the Single Market and therefore emphasised the need for a renewed narrative. This new phase of integration should rely on three vertical pillars and three horizontal enablers. Among the latter, he explicitly identified the Freedom to Stay as key. He concluded by framing Freedom to Stay as a positive narrative capable of reconnecting rural areas and cities and strengthening the vision of “One Europe, One Market”.
The event then moved to the panel discussion on “Making Freedom to Stay operational for the Single Market”. Moderated by MEP Karlo Ressler (EPP, HR), the discussion tried to identify how to turn the Freedom to Stay from a concept to an operational reality. Three main sectoral organisations representing SGIs at a sectoral level took the occasion to express their views from a sectoral perspective. Thomas Avanzata, UITP Executive Director Europe underlined that tackling spatial accessibility in all EU territories through inclusive, affordable, and available public transport must prevent mobility exclusion and provide opportunities to all European citizens, wherever they live. Botond Szebeny, PostEurop Secretary General, entered the discussion by recalling the importance of the Postal Universal Service Obligation, and its proper financing to allow postal services to maintain their unique territorial presence all over Europe. Finally, Alberto Mazzola, CER Executive Director, underlined the necessity for a strong and resilient railway infrastructure to connect territories across Europe and allow people to have the choice of either moving or staying where they feel at home.
Valeria Ronzitti, SGI Europe General Secretary, launched the call to join the Coalition on Freedom to Stay by signing up through a dedicated website that you can access from here for more information.
MEP Marion Walsmann (EPP, DE) concluded that the discussion welcomed the recognition in Letta’s report that the Single Market must ensure citizens' participation across all territories and stressed the essential role of SGIs in preventing territorial imbalances. She called for building a “coalition of the willing” within the Intergroup to keep the Freedom to Stay initiative high on the EU political agenda.