Cities & regions

Flanders tackles pandemic’s sustainability fallout

It is clear that the ongoing coronavirus crisis has offset sustainability efforts: thousands of personal protective equipment items are thrown away every day and the pandemic has increased poverty and inequality. Flemish communities have taken these setbacks head-on, bringing together individuals and local authorities to tackle disparities caused by the pandemic.

Basque country leads way in implementing global development goals

While the sustainable development agenda took a back seat during the pandemic, one region in Spain pressed ahead with creating an 'ecosystem for sustainable development goals' to reach global goals locally. To take a closer look, EURACTIV spoke with Marta Marín, delegate of the Basque Country's mission to the EU.

Local players still sidelined in global sustainability efforts

With less than a decade to achieve the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) by 2030, new studies show that local and regional authorities are still often sidelined in the monitoring and national coordination of implementing the global benchmarks.

Some EU delegations remain ‘passive’, development chief admits

The European Commission is looking into a number of European outposts with a central role in programming EU external aid which remain “passive” despite receiving instructions to actively engage with a wide variety of local actors, Commissioner for International Partnerships...

Water cooperation with global South helps European regions

Decentralised cooperation for sustainable water management and sanitation between European regional, local authorities with their counterparts across the globe is key to help localise sustainable development goals, stakeholders say.

‘Kiss goodbye’ to reform if local leaders in EU neighbourhood ignored, stakeholders warn

Though their efforts are often overlooked, from cultural exchange to capacity building, local players are a key part of the European integration of Western Balkan and Eastern European countries and need more support.

EU ‘antenna’ outposts to submit proposals for bloc development aid

EU delegations are to submit by the end of February their proposals for spending development aid based on consultations in their respective countries, reflecting the bigger role of the diplomatic outposts in hitting assistance targets. The EU has some 140...

Don’t forget local authorities in EU-Africa relations

As the EU and African Union seek to make up for lost time in 2020 by accelerating talks on a new ‘strategic partnership’ covering political and economic cooperation one of the risks is that the talks take place in a vacuum at high political level with little regard for local communities.

EU and Africa must ‘co–operate as equals’, MEPs say

Europe should move away from a donor-recipient relationship with Africa and cooperate as equals instead, EU lawmakers have said in a new report adopted on Thursday (28 January).

Educating EU citizens key to effective development policy abroad

Investing in teaching global citizenship education at home is key to reach the EU's foreign policy and development goals, experts say.

Most political issues unresolved in external action fund negotiations

After five rounds of trilogues since the beginning of the year, European institutions are still locked in negotiations over the instrument that will channel the biggest share of external action funds but also suffered one of the biggest cuts during...

Valencia mayor: We are ready to become testing ground for innovation in Europe

Valencia is one of the dozen finalists in the race to become the 2020 European Capital of Innovation. In an interview with EURACTIV, its mayor, Joan Ribó, defended their mission-oriented proposal to overcome the biggest challenges of our period, bringing on board political parties, the civil society and the scientific community.

French and Italian organisations partner up to fight flood risks in Mediterranean

The Proterina-3Evolution project has gathered fourteen Italian and French partners from the coastal region to fight against flood risks together, as they share the same risks and benefit from the same support fund, EURACTIV France reports.

Local action for global goals

Authorities around the world are putting UN Sustainable Development Goal at the core of their agenda but including local governments in their implementation is key for success, writes Tine Soens.