Cities & regions

City pairings across Europe and beyond

European city-to-city cooperation, including town twinning, is increasingly viewed as a possible solution to current challenges of sustainability as well as a way to promote best practice exchanges at the local level.

Local public finances and the green transition

As the EU is struggling to find ways to pay for the transition of its industries towards a carbon-free economy, finances of local governments play an often-neglected role in delivering the needed investments, argues a report.

City-to-city cooperation addresses economic and social needs, mayors say

Local municipalities in the EU and third countries are partnering up to boost local economic and social development, exchange best practices and promote civic participation.

European towns struggle to retain youth, fight unemployment

While youth unemployment across the bloc has decreased compared to last year, European towns are struggling to remain attractive to young people.

European and African local authorities renew EU partnership for sustainable development

The European Commission and five local authority associations have renewed a four-year partnership to make European and African communities more sustainable and pave the way for stronger EU-African relations. The Commission recently signed five agreements with associations of local authorities...

EU cities mobilise to address mental health toll of war on Ukrainians

European cities and towns are facilitating access to mental health care professionals and psychological support for displaced Ukrainians.

European towns exchange good practices to boost migrants’ integration

Cooperation and knowledge exchanges between European towns can play a key role in integrating newcomers, experts say, adding that their inclusion strategies can also serve as a model for larger European cities.

European cities call for more staff, resources to decarbonise buildings

While the EU is planning to decarbonise buildings across the bloc to advance the green transition, local authorities are calling for more support to face a shortage of skilled workers to design and implement decarbonisation projects.

European local and regional authorities call for bigger role in CoFoE follow-up

While the follow-up to the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) remains uncertain, local and regional authorities are calling on the EU to grant them a bigger role in the implementation of the citizens’ recommendations.

European mayors eye long-term partnerships with counterparts to rebuild Ukraine

Leaders of European cities and towns are moving to support Ukrainian local and regional  authorities through peer to peer schemes as sub-national leaders look to rebuild the war-torn country.

EU regional catch-up cohesion funds to be rerouted to help Ukrainian refugees

As the war in Ukraine rages on, Europe braces for an unprecedented wave of refugees. European regions are expected to play a crucial role by leveraging their interconnectedness and the EU’s regional cohesion funds.

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.