Cities & regions
Cities at the forefront: cooperation as an opportunity for towns to internationalise
Cities across the world have chosen to go beyond fulfilling their citizens’ needs and contribute to development by engaging in international cooperation. EURACTIV has looked into local and regional leaders’ motivation to do so.
Decentralised cooperation: boosting citizens participation from Barcelona to Marrakesh
The Government of the province of Barcelona (Spain) and six municipalities in Marrakesh (Morocco) have been working together to strengthen participatory democracy and upholding women’s rights in the region through decentralised cooperation for three years.
Urpilainen: COVID-19 crisis ‘proves the need for an international rule-based order’
The COVID-19 crisis "proves the need for an international rules-based order,” the EU's Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen said in an interview with EURACTIV.OpinionPromoted content
EU global response to COVID-19: a global pandemic with local solutions!
As a pandemic, COVID-19 is a truly global problem which knows no borders. The situation is now spread almost all over the world and some countries – near and far – could soon be heavily impacted, despite the youth of their population.OpinionPromoted content
Time to learn more about the PLATFORMAwards’ projects!
Did you know that many European towns and regions are building projects and partnerships with local and regional governments in Africa, Asia and Latin America, but also in the Eastern partnership? This is called decentralised cooperation.
EU unveils ‘partnership plans’ for new Africa strategy
Partnerships on ten policy areas are at the heart of the EU’s plan “Towards a comprehensive strategy with Africa,” launched on Monday (9 March). The paper will start a seven-month negotiating process with EU and African leaders, with a view to agreeing a partnership agenda at an EU African Union summit in October.
EU development policy to be more interest-driven under ‘geopolitical’ Commission
The geopolitical Europea Commission ambition would turn cooperation and development policy into an internal and external interest-driven policy, Alexei Jones, Senior Policy Officer at the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) told EURACTIV.
Nuclear ‘excluded’ from EU’s new Just Transition Fund
The EU's regional policy Commissioner Elisa Ferreira revealed on Tuesday (14 January) details of the €100 billion Just Transition Mechanism, a key financial component of the European Green Deal that should make the bloc climate neutral by 2050. VideoPromoted content
Apply before 31 January 2020 to the PLATFORMAwards
Does your town or region contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals? Do you want to win a video to promote your development cooperation project? Do you want to get a free entrance to CEMR 2020 Congress in Innsbruck? Apply before...
24 Turkish cities oppose Erdogan, support Paris Climate Agreement
Within the framework of the current COP25, 24 Turkish cities and municipalities committed themselves to the Paris Climate Agreement yesterday (9 December). Turkey is the only G20 country that has not yet ratified the Paris Agreement. EURACTIV Germany reports.
COP25: cities are no longer waiting around for nations, Milan’s mayor says
Because there is still a small number of nations blocking progress in implementing the Paris Agreement, and cities already feel their impact of climate change, they are ready to take the lead in fighting global warming, Milan's mayor and C40 network Vice-Chairman Giuseppe Sala told EURACTIV in an interview.
Why EU must guarantee funding for local, regional governments in post-2020 development policy
Member states must strongly support the proposal of the European Parliament to add a budget line for local authorities to tackle global challenges, including through their decentralised cooperation, writes Marlène Siméon.
Fourteen mayors sign declaration to promote sustainable food policies in their cities
Fourteen cities announced on Thursday (10 October) that they would pay particular attention to the sustainable and healthy food supply in their cities in the future. This way, they aim to save 60% of the carbon emissions in the food sector. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Cities will be key in the fight against climate change, UN chief says
Mayors from all over the world are meeting in Copenhagen this week for the C40 World Mayors Summit. They have gathered to fight the so-called 'climate urgency' and are calling for a "Green New Deal" to be implemented worldwide. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Investing in zero-carbon cities will return $24 trillion by 2050, report finds
By investing US$1.83 trillion - about 2% of global GDP - per year in cutting urban emissions, national governments would generate annual returns worth US$2.80 trillion in 2030 and US$6.98 trillion in 2050, a report released Thursday (19 September) finds.
Connecting the dots to enable climate leadership at all levels
We are running out of time to achieve the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030, and need urgent and ambitious climate leadership. Cities are central to this effort – and it is crucial that we continue to enable our cities to address and solve climate challenges, writes Lars Tveen.
EU cities join forces for more sustainable tourism
Climate change and tourism are closely interlinked. Local and regional authorities across Europe are working together to improve waste management to make tourism more sustainable in their towns.
‘Citizens are calling for a change’, regional leader says on upcoming EU election
If the EU wants to regain citizens' trust after the European elections, it has to strengthen links with cities and regions, Stefano Bonaccini told EURACTIV.com.
Make Europe more local, municipal leaders tell aspiring MEPs
Representatives of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) met with aspiring members of the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday (9 April) to discuss their priorities ahead of the upcoming European elections. VideoPromoted content
A city leaders agenda for Europe
The future of Europe depends on its cities. They are the place where the fight against climate change becomes real, where technological innovation can help boost the digital transformation, and where equal and inclusive societies are made.
In Bucharest, local leaders call to rebuild the EU from the bottom
Hundreds of European local and regional leaders demanded a bottom-up approach to rebuild the EU, during the 8th Cities and Regions summit in Bucharest, ahead of the informal European Council on the future of Europe in Sibiu in May.
Romania PM says EU regional cooperation key to fight Euroscepticism
Cooperation between EU institutions and regional and local authorities is key to fight Euroscepticism, Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă said on Wednesday (6 February) while addressing the European Committee of the Regions.
European Parliament votes for much greener cohesion policy
The European Parliament’s committee on regional development has voted on Cohesion policy regulation, and there is the clear intention of making Cohesion much greener from 2020. For the first time, there is also to be a ban on providing support for fossil fuels. EURACTIV Germany reports.
EU regions affected by Brexit should not be left behind
While studies and reports about the consequences of Brexit on EU27 regions are multiplying, it is increasingly clear that the EU needs to create mechanisms to support territories negatively affected by the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the Union, write Marc Joulaud and Lambert Van Nistelrooij.Supporter
PLATFORMA is the pan-European coalition of cities and regions – and their associations – active in city-to-city and region-to-region development cooperation. Its 30 partners are all engaged in international cooperation for sustainable development. PLATFORMA is co-funded by the European Union and its secretariat is hosted by the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR).