Fast Forward
Take a sneak peek at what’s coming up:
Read more about the Big Buyers for Climate and Environment, the Green City Accord, EU Action Plan for Integration and Inclusion, and the PROSPECT final report.
Ambitious emission reduction target for 2030
The ambitious strategy set by the European Commission to reach climate neutrality by 2050 must be accompanied by implementing equally ambitious strategies along the way. That is why we, ahead of the European Council meeting 10 and 11 December, were calling for an emission reduction target of at least 60% by 2030 at EU level, supporting the position of the European Parliament. The Council adopted a target of at least 55% reduction by 2030. You can find a first reaction of our president, Dario Nardella, here.
In our updated statement, we are calling for:
- A revision of the EU 2030 emission reduction target to at least 60% at EU level by 2030;
- A science-based EU carbon budget;
- An independent European Climate Council;
- A net zero emissions target for all member states by 2050;
- Action at all levels of government and across all sectors to achieve the goals of GHG emission reduction by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050. The Commission must capitalise on local expertise to develop the EU framework by working more with city authorities and their European network organisations;
- Reinforced financial support to the local level from the next Multiannual Financial Framework and the Recovery and Resilience Facility to sustain the transformation process in cities.
Please find our updated statement on the EU 2030 targets here. All information on the EU Climate Law and the EU 2030 targets are available here.
louise.coffineau@eurocities.eu
The (un)bearable lightness of being
This Flash’s editorial has nothing to do with Milan Kundera’s famous book set in the Prague Spring period. I’m just adopting its title. Why? Because after almost a year of living in a Covid-19 context, my whole body and mind are craving for some lightness. 2020 has been heavy and challenging in so many ways that my best wish for the coming weeks is simply to enjoy a bit of lightness… I guess it is the right time to do it, by taking a little break while we move across into 2021 and look back on what the world has gone through these past months.
This pandemic has followed other big global level shocks this century, like 9/11 and the 2008 crisis. Especially for the latter, no sustainable way out was really sought nor followed, and government responses have been more about patching things up or “let’s continue as before”. If we do the same for this current crisis and think, for instance, that the vaccine will be the solution to it all, we’ll have to be ready for another blow very soon. What Covid-19 has taught us is that the model we have built during the last century is certainly very powerful – the global GDP has grown hugely, a lot of people have moved out of poverty, etc. – but it has also generated huge consequences in terms of the relationship between human life and nature, and of broad inequalities.
Finding totally new and creative responses is therefore definitely needed. We cannot go back to the old normal if we are to learn from the past, or indeed the present. That is why I am not a massive fan of the expression “building back better”. Because the “back” doesn’t inspire a real paradigm shift and creates too much temptation for a traditional response, where everyone remains in their comfort zone.
It is as clear as it is difficult. Moving an immense transatlantic wave is not the same as being the captain of a small boat. And too many diverging interests are at stake. This said, we have learnt something these past ten months: what we thought was impossible is actually possible. Moreover, in Europe, we now have the best ever policy and financial framework to drive such change: Next generation EU and the multi annual budget, a European climate commitment to reduce emissions by at least 55% by 2030, a European green, just and digital deal, and much more. And may I say, we have our cities, and many of their inhabitants who want this change. Cities are places where this framework can become a reality for the majority of the European population, but also places where a new type of economic and societal model based on sustainability, proximity, solidarity, and co-responsibility can be tested and nurtured. To echo the new Leipzig Charter: cities and their transformative power towards the common good. This should be Europe’s drive for the future.
After these heavy 😉 but authentically felt thoughts, back to my wish for lightness. You, as cities, have been on the front line all these months, working hard to keep people safe as well as to create the foundations for a sustainable recovery. We hope Eurocities was able to contribute to even a small part of it. The Brussels team has certainly put all its energy into accompanying you this far.
I wish you all a very light end of the year and may 2021 be the year of the positive transformation we need.
New forum chairs on the starting blocks
The newly elected political forum chairs confirmed their commitment to cooperate across forums to reinforce Eurocities advocacy and messaging towards EU institutions on 7 December. Key linkages among forums’ priorities have been identified: Recovery, climate, inclusion and digitalisation, above all.
Technical forum chairs and vice chairs followed up with a first exchange on how to operationalise the cooperation and cross-fertilisation. They pledged for more information sharing among forums and steering committees, and strategic cooperation with the executive committee.
Forum chairs were represented at political level by: Annekatrien Klepsch, deputy mayor of Dresden, culture forum; Filipe Araújo, deputy mayor of Porto, environment forum; Jean-Claude Dardelet, deputy mayor of Toulouse, mobility forum; Pia Pakarinen, deputy mayor of Helsinki, economic development forum; Laia Bonet, deputy mayor of Barcelona, knowledge society forum; Maarten van Ooijen, deputy mayor of Utrecht, social affairs forum.
Forum chairs are joined by vice chairs: Ljubljana for the culture forum, Ghent for the environment forum, Madrid for mobility, Valladolid for economic development, Rotterdam for knowledge society and Glasgow for social affairs.
People first in green energy transition
How do we put people first when moving to a green and digital economy in times of crisis recovery? This was discussed by city representatives, MEPs and representatives of the European Commission on 9-10 November during our online Social Affairs Forum. The key messages were:
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Social and green Mainstream a social perspective into green and digital agendas. Green and digital transitions need to go hand in hand with social investment.
- Nobody should be left behind, the transition should be fair and inclusive of all. We need to make it possible for everyone to benefit from the green and digital transition, including the most vulnerable people. Just transitions must come with affordable housing for all, a strong Youth Guarantee to help youth in the transition, decent working conditions for all workers and access to good education for all children and young people.
- Cities have a key role in bringing social and green agendas together and turning the EU Green Deal into local Green Deals. The role of cities is well-recognised at EU level and cities are acknowledged as allies by MEPs.
- Cities have had to readjust their priorities in light of the pandemic to help people, save jobs and meet urgent social needs at local level. Many cities admit shifting efforts to the recovery but, at the same time, they continue the work towards the green transition, which is difficult to do while facing shrinking municipal budgets.
- The role of EU funding: The Recovery and Resilience Facility is important for supporting social investments for just transitions in cities but it depends on how the member states will spend the EU funding made available.
Read more here.
The Cohesion Alliance mobilises for a strong and participative cohesion policy 2021-2027
The #CohesionAlliance partners met online on 26 November to discuss the current state of the trialogue negotiations of the Cohesion Policy package with representatives from the European Parliament, the European Commission and the German Council Presidency.
The partner organisations, representing local and regional authorities, voiced their concern about macroeconomic conditionality, the risk of centralisation and the full implementation of cohesion and REACT EU programmes over the upcoming years and urged for cohesion as a fundamental value.
With the negotiations on the rules for Cohesion Policy 2021-27 entering the final phase, local authorities and representatives of the European Parliament converged and reiterated key demands and advocacy points for strong Cohesion Policy beyond 2020.
Intervening on behalf of Eurocities, Ricardo Rio, Mayor of Braga and member of the Executive Committee, highlighted that, especially in times of crisis, by targeting the local needs, cohesion policy can maximize and boost the impact of future investments. For this to happen, cities must have a seat at the table when the decisions about programming priorities are made. Only by working closely together across levels of government can we ensure that cohesion policy is invested where it makes a positive difference to the quality of life locally.
Three years with 10 cities on cultural heritage
I don’t know how many times over three years have I said, “ROCK is a project about cultural heritage as a tool for urban regeneration”. I have used this simple sentence for explaining what ROCK is to Eurocities members, colleagues, partners and stakeholders. Since 2017, Eurocities has been involved in the Horizon 2020 funded ROCK project together with 10 of our members, and alongside universities and other partners. This year it is coming to an end. We often ask cities to tell us about the lessons they have learnt from one project or another, but this time I thought I would ask myself. What have I learnt from ROCK and what will be its legacy for the Eurocities network?
ROCK has renewed my understanding of what cultural heritage is and why it is important to consider it in urban policies. ROCK is a project about cultural heritage, but cultural heritage itself is connected to a lot of other contemporary urban issues, such as governance, social innovation and participation, new technologies, and environmental sustainability. This approach was very well reflected in the ROCK circle. Cultural heritage is a transversal urban issue and a medium to directly connect to people and increase their involvement in the making of the city. This was well understood by the ROCK cities and translated into inspiring projects involving the communities.
Cities and their local universities were involved together in the ROCK partnership. As the years passed, I noticed how much stronger their partnership became and how important it is for these institutions to work together. Locally rooted universities have an increasingly important role to play in their community and in all aspects of the city’s economic and social evolution. Municipalities and universities are influential and complementary to each other and their dialogue at local level can bring a lot to urban renewal.
I was proud to see the ROCK cities embracing the project so much, which made us reflect on the importance of European projects not only for the collaboration they allow with partners all over Europe, not only because of the leverage they create for cities to realise important projects, but also because they can change how cities function at local level. The project has igniting dialogues at local level between departments working on issues connected to cultural heritage, it has initiated collaboration and new ways of working that will hopefully remain once the project ends.
And finally, during these three years and enriching meetings, visits and workshops, I have met a lot of great minds, committed cities, and passionate partners, and discovered countless interesting projects. An enormous amount of work has been achieved, some of which Eurocities has gathered in a compilation book for city policy makers, urban practitioners, and cultural heritage lovers, to be released soon. I have grown a lot thanks to ROCK and will always be thankful. It was quite an adventure!
EP URBAN Intergroup for a strong long-term EU budget
What is at stake for local and regional authorities in the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF)? This was the question that the URBAN Intergroup faced on 27 November.
The seminar was opened by Fabienne Keller, Vice-President of the URBAN Intergroup who highlighted the importance of the MFF negotiations, and how they will define the EU budget for the next seven years. With the crises hitting Europe strongly, she argued that it is even more crucial to approve a strong EU budget, including an unprecedent Recovery Fund, so that European economies can recover quicker.
Jan Olbrycht, President of the URBAN Intergroup representing the European Parliament in the ongoing negotiations, provided an overview of the state of play on the EU budget, highlighting the progress made on key files, and giving insights about the discussions on the rule of law mechanisms.
Intervening at the meeting, Anna Lisa Boni, Eurocities secretary general, highlighted that by working together over the past years, the URBAN intergroup provided an important impetus for a strong urban dimension of cohesion policy, including an increased earmarking of 8% for sustainable urban development that will provide cities with almost double the allocations for local investment. Moving into a new phase for cohesion policy, it will be key to ensure strong synergies with the Recovery and Resilience Facility. More importantly, the National Recovery Plans put forward by members states shall look at the investment gaps at the local level and bring cities at the core of their plans.
In the discussions at the end of the meeting, local and regional authorities associations concluded that they will continue working together for a strong long-term EU budget by developing a coordinated communication campaign.
Click here to watch the full recording of the meeting
A critical moment for EU urban policy
The Urban Governance Group brought together our three working groups Cohesion Policy, Metropolitan Areas and Urban Agenda to discuss cross-sectoral themes at a very timely moment for urban governance. During the meeting on 25 November, members had the opportunity to further discuss the implications of the New Leipzig Charter ahead of its adoption by EU ministries.
Members presented the strategic priorities of the respective working groups for the year, making the link with the latest developments in urban EU policy and debating how to further influence the developments in areas such as the Urban Agenda post-2020 and the next EU budget, as well as the implications for urban governance in times of crisis. Members also presented and approved the candidatures for chair and vice-chair for each of the working groups.
Integrating Cities IX – Cities rally for integration
“All integration is local,” said Commissioner Johansson, during her keynote at the 9th Integrating Cities Conference, “People don’t integrate into nations; they integrate into communities.” Cities are all too aware of this – while national governments can be swayed by different political currents, cities have long been the administrations that have to tackle the reality of migration; This means enabling cohesion among migrants and communities, and exploiting the benefits of migration to the fullest.
The conference brought together hundreds of stakeholders and cities over two days to discuss the challenges they are facing in the area of migration, such as securing adequate funds to set up the right support mechanisms to help migrants meet their full social and economic potential, as well as share great ideas like cities acting to facilitate volunteer groups engaging with migration and integration.
The event was held as part of our VALUES project on volunteering and integration. Read more here.
rossella.nicoletti@eurocities.eu
Key findings from our child poverty survey
What is the situation of child poverty in cities across Europe? This is what a recent Eurocities survey set to find out. Our findings from 35 cities in 18 European countries show that:
- In most cities, child poverty is higher than the national average, due to the higher living costs in cities and lack of affordable housing.
- Children living in the most deprived urban areas have from three to ten times higher risk of poverty than children living in affluent areas. The most vulnerable groups of children are those from single-parent families, from migrant background, Roma, living in precarious housing or homelessness, and children with disabilities or special needs.
- Cities play a crucial role in fighting child poverty and breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty. Many cities already carry out a local strategy to reduce child poverty by combining an integrated approach of support to families with targeted measures to tackle the specific needs of children from vulnerable groups.
- Cities are committed to doing more to fight child poverty but need more resources. Given the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on increasing child poverty and shrinking municipal budgets, cities’ resources are no longer sufficient and need to be complemented by higher social investment in children from national and EU budgets. The EU Child Guarantee is key in this regard to recognise, support and finance cities’ efforts to reduce child poverty and promote equal opportunities for all children.
Read more here.
New momentum: The Leipzig Charter 2.0
The informal council of EU ministers on urban matters adopted the New Leipzig Charter, a strategy policy document that highlights the transformative power of cities for the common good, on 30 November.
The New Leipzig Charter calls for cities to have a stronger role in decision making at both national and EU level, to receive adequate financial means to deal with new and essential competencies, and sets a framework for how urban development should take place in Europe across the different layers of governance.
It’s a new chapter for urban development that builds on the earlier Leipzig Charter, from 2007, and the more recent experience of the Urban Agenda for the EU, both of which have inspired urban policy in Europe and beyond.
Among the keynote speakers, Dario Nardella, Eurocities President and Mayor of Florence, highlighted how the New Leipzig Charter offers an “opportunity to boost the implementation of the Urban Agenda for the EU in the years ahead”, and to build on it with a “systematic and ongoing dialogue“ that would work “across all policy areas which have an impact on urban development.”
You can find out more about the New Leipzig Charter here.
Finance your sustainable energy project
Budgets may be shrinking, but your sustainable energy ambitions are not. More than ever, innovation must be the name of the game. We have helped collect the experiences of 195 public authorities through the EU-funded project PROSPECT, giving you guidance on the ideas that are out there for innovative sustainable energy financing, how they work, and what kinds of contexts they are suitable in. Read the fruit of three year’s work in peer-learning on energy financing here.
From green bonds to crowd financing, from private buildings to public lighting, we have great ideas and examples from Almada to Zagreb, you can find it all in the tools developed by prospect between 2017 and 2020 all available at the prospect website here. Whether you’re after best practices, peer mentoring strategies, cities’ needs, or just want to know about the impact of the project, it’s all available at h2020prospect.eu. Looking for more? Feel free to contact Anne Charlotte Trapp for further information or to navigate the wealth of knowledge produced through PROSPECT.
annecharlotte.trapp@eurocities.eu
Culture fostering social inclusion: what are cities’ learning needs?
11 actions to promote local policies and activities on culture and cultural heritage have come from the newly approved Action Plan of the Partnership on Culture and Cultural Heritage of the Urban Agenda for the EU.
The action plan focuses on a multi-level governance approach, aimed at smoothing the implementation of the existing EU strategies in and for cities, as well as allowing them to express their needs at EU-level. It also follows the priorities to accentuate solutions geared towards better funding, better knowledge and better regulation.
Eurocities and Urbact will join forces to lead an action focusing on culture and social inclusion. The aim is twofold: support local policy making by better understanding what the learning needs of policy makers are on topics inking culture and social inclusion; and sharing peer knowledge online.
In the coming months we will be surveying leaders of culture and heritage departments of European cities’ administrations to know what their learning and research needs are. Results will be useful to drive the work of our Culture Forum, to inform policy makers at EU level and to influence universities’ research programmes.
Cities and migrants – what’s happening at local level?
Migrant integration happens in cities, and it is overseen by local governments. The newly launched fourth Integrating Cities Report gives direct insight into how cities are integrating migrants today.
The report presents an overview of the EU policy context, national developments, the impact of COVID-19, and local action in cities. While integration practices vary between cities, they share several transversal developments:
- Developing integration policies in a structured and sustainable way
- Mainstreaming integration across different policy areas
- Focusing on the specific integration needs of particular groups
- Creating low-threshold access to integration services
- Communicating openly about equal opportunities
- Implementing an inclusive and participatory integration approach
- Working towards more inclusive city administrations and procurement practices
- Participating as key actors in the EU policy context and global governance
Cities, in their roles as policymakers, service providers, employers, and buyers of goods and services, are making considerable progress in integrating migrants. They are key actors in integrating migrants and ensuring equal opportunities for all their residents. Read more here.
katharina.bamberg@eurocities.eu
We dare to… An interactive knowledge exchange experience
Learning from your city peers as if you were visiting them – how is that supposed to work during a global health pandemic?
This year peer-to-peer exchanges could not be organised in the traditional way, which pushed CIVITAS Satellite, in collaboration with volunteering cities, to be daring and re-invent ways of working and exchanging knowledge. We asked seven cities to film their best mobility solutions and share their insights through short case studies. Their stories are now featured in an interactive e-publication, an inspiring and valuable steppingstone on the route towards greater sustainable urban mobility. It will allow you to travel virtually and learn from Aachen, Bratislava, Helsinki, Madrid, Rethymno, Szeged and Sarajevo, as well as to directly get in touch with the relevant city contacts dealing with the mobility measures you are most interested in.
Curious? Click here to explore the CIVITAS e-publication.
annecharlotte.trapp@eurocities.eu
Navigating the adversity – Back to the outdoors for culture?
Although the unmerciful winters of Europe are not the best friend of outdoor cultural events, that option should not be kept aside and the artists from the Bulgarian city of Varna are eager to show us how.
Art Community Varna, an informal association of over 50 Varna artists and organisers of cultural events, has published, with the financial help of the municipality, a catalogue that collects suggestions and ideas to keep holding open-air cultural events.
From taking over the space of a parking lot to having choral celebrations, the creativity to keep the spirit of cultural events, under strict sanitary conditions, is endless. A new catalogue, ‘Urban spaces for culture’ is now available in Bulgarian. We invite all Eurocities members to contact our colleagues from Varna and get inspired by their imaginative way of navigating the adversity.
City-dialogue ‘Providing Services of General Interest in times of COVID-19’
Services of General Interest (or ‘SGIs’), contributing to approximately 26% of the EU’s GDP, represent a large percentage of the activities that remained operational through the pandemic. COVID-19 brought to light the urgency of upholding the provision and the quality of public services, from well-equipped hospitals, to safe public transport, to a reliable energy supply, to affordable housing.
That’s what has been concluded during the virtual joint city-dialogue ‘Providing SGIs in times of Covid-19’ hosted by Eurocities, in partnership with the European Centre of Employers and Enterprises providing Public Services (CEEP), last 25 November.
Taking the remunicipalisation approach is essential, explained Renate Brauner, Commissioner of the City of Vienna for SGIs and Municipal Economy, to foster sustainable local economies. The study ‘Remunicipalisation in Europe’ shows the importance for cities and local communities of stepping into SGIs to regain service quality while offering affordable prices and focusing on social and green targets.
Thus, it is imperative to strengthen support to public services in the recovery process while pursuing the green transition and digital transformation, stated Mirzha De Manuel, Member of the Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis.
In this context, SGIs providers carried forward a sharp and incisive debate featuring far-sighted ideas on the provision of SGIs, some of which emerged as a response to the crises.
The representative of the Public Utilities Company of Vienna, Elisa Schenner, illustrated the ‘reusing approach’ through which traditional waste is used to power diesel buses.
Maria Dolores Ortiz Sanchez and Alberto Alonso Poza, representatives of the mobility sector of Madrid, added to the discussion on sustainability: Adopting measures such as the reallocation of part of the existing road space for biking and walking led to a major increase in users and trips with BiciMAD, a local bike sharing system.
The ‘make it green’ approach was also part of Virginie Toussain’s intervention. Representing the housing sector in France, she asked for an increased EU investment in high-quality and energy-efficient social housing to best mitigate the effects of the pandemic.
Tjitte Alkema, Vice-Secretary General of the European Hospital and Healthcare Employers’ Association, laid out the positive developments achieved during the crisis: procedures that used to be more time consuming have been made more efficient, without impacting the quality of care or patient safety.
The cooperation is just a starting point to pursue constructive exchanges of ideas, experiences and solutions, between Eurocities and CEEP.
aleksandra.olejnik@eurocities.eu
Cultural Heritage Essentials
How can we convert historic cities into resilient, sustainable, and creative cities? European cities and Eurocities members have been pioneers in turning their local cultural heritage into strong assets, be it tangible cultural heritage, such as buildings, monuments and public spaces, or intangible cultural heritage such as songs, practices and stories. Cultural heritage is not considered solely as a relic of the past, but something naturally connected to contemporary urban issues such as governance, social innovation, environment sustainability, etc., and a powerful engine of transformation for cities.
In a new book for policy makers, urban practitioners and cultural heritage lovers, Eurocities gathered insights, lessons and experiences from the H2020 ROCK project, in which Eurocities and ten of its member cities were partners alongside universities, NGOs and private companies. From 2017 to 2020, ROCK demonstrated how, in European cities, cultural and historic city centres can become laboratories for testing new models of urban regeneration, sustainable development and economic and social growth, and thus lead the urban transition.
You will discover how cities have designed new approaches to bridge the gap between conservation and preservation of cultural heritage and contemporary urban issues. From sustainable adaptive reuse of cultural heritage, to new governance models, to city branding, we take you on a journey through a multifaceted urban cultural heritage and how cities can work on it with citizens and for a brighter urban future. Access the book online here, or order a physical copy here.
Cargo-bikes to the rescue!
“Due to the corona situation, people buy significantly more online,” says Dr. Thomas Nobel, managing director tbnlr (to-be-now-logistics-research) in Bremen, “an increase of delivery of goods that we actually only know from the pre-Christmas period.”
The trend was already picking up before the corona crisis, but, as in many other cases, covid-19 has stepped on the accelerator, creating more deliveries, additional traffic and increased emissions. But cities are ready to respond.
Already an exemplary city, as the German city with the highest share of cycling and lowest level of NO2-concentration, and committed to transforming its inner city in a car-free area by 2030, Bremen is taking the lead on testing solutions to make on-demand delivery more sustainable. Together with Groningen and Mechelen, Bremen will be coordinating pilot solutions for the movement of goods in cities through a newly launched EU project – ‘Urban Logistics as an on-Demand Service’ short ‘ULaaDS’. As partner of the project, Eurocities will organise a series of events and replication activities open for other cities to join.
You can learn more about ULaaDS here.
Interview: Marijn Fraanje
One of the main issues for cities managing the digital transition is the lack of financial resources and capacity of small cities. This is according to Marijn Fraanje, CIO of The Hague, in an interview following on our Knowledge Society Forum session in Smart City Live 2020.
Marijn Fraanje pointed out that to help these cities to develop digital policies, the bigger cities should share their own knowledge and expertise, as the Cooperation of Dutch Municipalities in the Netherlands is currently doing. However, the EU should also be present and help the cities shape a digital identity. Another major point of Marijn Fraanje is that European countries need to reorientate their economic strategy for a stronger European IT sector which can foster digital transformation and lead to a more transparent and ethical digital reality. Finally, he is convinced that education in digital skills is indispensable for all, while in parallel we should work to make the digital services of cities more approachable. Cities following the example of The Hague should also promote innovation platforms.
Read the whole interview here.
nefeli.iliopoulou@eurocities.eu
European Data Governance Act
The European Commission introduced the European Data Governance Act, a regulation for European data governance, on Wednesday 25 November. The proposal promotes the availability of data for re-use, increasing trust in intermediaries and strengthening data exchange mechanisms across the EU.
The main points of the proposal are that data from the public sector, in line with individual rights, should become available for re-use based on a harmonized set of conditions. Additionally, the proposal aims to facilitate the exchange of data between companies through remuneration of any kind. Furthermore, it emphasises the assistance of data subjects to exercise their rights under the GDPR by an intermediary and supports the creation of ‘Data Altruism Organisations recognised by the EU’ to stimulate the use of data for altruistic reasons. Finally, the proposal introduced the establishment of a new formal expert group, the European Data Innovation Board, that should facilitate the exchange of good practices to support governance for cross-sectoral standardisation.
Unfortunately, the facilitation of ‘Business-2-Government’ data sharing is not mentioned in the proposal. It is addressed partially in the Digital Services Act which came out this week. Eurocities will work to have the topic elaborated in the Data Act scheduled for Q3 the next year.
You can find the official press release here, the initiative overview page here, and the actual proposed text here.
nefeli.iliopoulou@eurocities.eu
Barcelona on 5G
The European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association had a dialogue on 5G Users Forum and EU Smart cities on Wednesday 7 November. Barcelona represented Eurocities at this event introducing the position on 5G. You can find more about the event here and Eurocities’ statement on 5G here.
lodewijk.noordzij@eurocities.eu
How has COVID-19 affected food policy?
Food supply and insecurity, waste, food chains and many other food-related issues became front-of-mind issues for cities during the COVID-19 crisis. But the pandemic also showed that cities can step up to the mark to make sure no one goes hungry. It also showed why collaboration on food policy is more crucial than ever.
That’s why three Eurocities members were happy to share their approach to food systems and discuss the effect of the pandemic at the Italian embassy in Paris on 26 November.
The event, part of the Week of Italian Cuisine, showcased the food policies and responses of Milan, Bordeaux, Grenoble-Alpes Metropole and Bergamo. The cities outlined how they relied on solidarity and clever thinking to tackle food issues that were amplified during the pandemic.
After sharing their exciting and thought-provoking policy approaches, the speakers all agreed that close, continuous collaboration on food policy would be crucial in the post-Covid world.
Milan, Grenoble-Alpes Metropole, Bordeaux and Bergamo are all taking part in the EU-funded FOOD TRAILS project, which kicked off last month. The project aims to facilitate food system transformation by sharing the best practices of 11 food-based pilot projects in cities across Europe.
You can read more here.
Fight racism wherever you find it
This year we have seen the stark inequalities the pandemic has highlighted and witnessed the huge Black Lives Matter movement globally. In Europe, protests have defaced statues linked to the colonial and slavery past of the continent, reminding us that the legacies of our dark history can still be found across the streets of our cities.
Eurocities, together with the city of Glasgow, organised a city dialogue on culture and anti-racist practices on the 15 of December, where issues such as how to face difficult local history; how to enable anti-racist policies; or how to create inclusive cities through culture were discussed.
Some of the takeaways from the event were:
- The recognition of institutional racism is key to change its present consequences. The first steps to creating an inclusive city are: Have a clear toolkit where you understand what you are doing and why; have the courage to speak your truth; and have patience.
- Create counter-narratives to use colonial history in your favour. The city of Lisbon showed us how a polemic monument standing for “the age of the discoveries” can become a space of encounter and inclusivity for black and ethnic minority communities through exhibitions on the topic.
Colonialism is a topic that has reignited, and this city dialogue reflected the need and willingness to open city collaboration on the topic. As such, in 2021 Eurocities will continue developing further joint work to create inclusive, anti-racist cities through culture.
The video is available here: Eurocities city dialogue – culture and anti racist practices
Sustainable market solutions
“As a buyer from a government, we must give the right signal. We must stimulate the market. With the Big Buyers group, we give attention, we motivate each other. We have to make big steps, but if we do it together, it’s easier.” – Richard Brabers, city of Rotterdam, member of the Big Buyers Initiative heavy-duty electric vehicles working group.
Big Buyers for Climate and Environment is a European Commission Initiative for promoting collaboration between big public buyers in implementing strategic public procurement for sustainable solutions.
Public procurement can be a key tool in driving the development of innovative goods and services on the European market. By working together, and pooling their resources, cities, central purchasing bodies, and other major public procurers can maximise their market power and impact.
The first phase of the Big Buyers initiative has produced a number of useful results: under the three areas of collaboration of zero-emission construction sites, heavy-duty electric vehicles and circular construction materials, public entities have shared challenges and solutions, established collaboration with suppliers and worked with technical experts across Europe. Check their results at www.bigbuyers.eu
For this next phase, four areas for joint collaboration will be established based on the concrete needs and interest of public entities toward procuring new sustainable solutions which are currently not available on the market.
We are looking for ambitious public entities interested in working on innovation procurement in areas such as health, clean energy, low-carbon construction or intelligent transport.
Have your say! Fill in the questionnaire here by 13 January.
Through a quick online form, we will collect your interest around six possible areas of collaboration: Mobility, Energy, Construction, Information and communication technologies (ICT) and artificial intelligence (AI), Health or other.
For each area, you can then describe specific needs (services or products) you are looking to procure in the coming years, but which are currently not easily available on the market.
Working groups will be established starting from February/March 2021 for a period of two years.
For any further information or questions visit the website, www.bigbuyers.eu.
Your working groups this autumn – catch-up on the latest
Last month we were very busy discussing many different topics in our working groups, and we would like to thank all participants who attended our online meetings. Your input was very valuable!
WG Waste: 14 October 2020
During this working group we discussed how cities could tackle waste problems in Europe. We updated you on policy developments of the Circular Economy Action Plan, Packaging & Packaging Waste, and we had discussions about the role of Extended Producer Responsibility. You can read about the meeting in more detail on the Eurocities website.
WG Green Areas and Biodiversity: 16 October 2020
During our WG GAB meeting, we had an excellent discussion on the global status of biodiversity, on biodiversity and green infrastructure strategies, and what Urban Greening Plans should achieve. In addition, we had very interesting presentations from Amsterdam, Manchester, and the WWF about their visions for a greener urban future. On our website you can find an extensive write-up of the meeting.
WG Noise: 21 October 2020
‘How do we define quiet areas?’ This question was the central theme of the WG Noise meeting. We had great presentations from the City of Florence and the City of Lisbon, and many of the participants shared their perspective on what a quiet area should entail. Curious about what our members had to say about quiet areas? Please visit our website for a detailed write-up
WG AQCCEE: 12 November 2020
During the WG Air Quality Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, dedicated to the Renovation Wave, we looked at the main aspects of the strategy: Mandatory minimum energy performance standards, energy performance certificates, the requirement for purchasing and renovating existing public buildings at all administrative levels, and barriers for households in energy poverty. Please have a look at the Eurocities website for more information.
WG Water: 26 November 2020
During our WG Water meeting we discussed the upcoming working plan for 2021. We also updated you on the latest water policy developments: The Zero Pollution Action Plan, the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, and the Bathing Water Directive. In addition, we discussed the 8th Environmental Action Plan, the National Recovery and Resilience Plans, and the Sewage sludge use in farming evaluation. Want to catch-up in more detail on what we discussed? Please visit the Eurocities website.
We thank you for your input and valuable contributions during these sessions!
louise.coffineau@eurocities.eu
eugenia.mansutti@eurocities.eu
Future of the Covenant of Mayors – climate neutrality, fairness, inclusiveness
91% of surveyed cities are in favour of making climate neutrality a long-term target for cities/regions in the Covenant of Mayors – Europe. This was just one great finding from a survey we ran as part of the Covenant of Mayors office during the summer 2020 to collect cities’ views and suggestions on the future of the initiative.
Other interesting results include:
- 62% of respondents would be in favour of scaling up the Covenant of Mayors adaptation commitment, 58% of them by making adaptation targets compulsory.
- 74% of respondents have already taken actions to reduce emissions in ‘non-energy related sectors.’
- 80% of respondents support enlarging the scope of the Covenant of Mayors to even more ‘non-energy related sectors’, either as a mandatory or optional reporting requirement.
- 97% of the respondents are in favour of promoting multi-players’ commitments from citizens, businesses and other groups of actors.
You can find more information on the results of the survey on the Covenant of Mayors website.
eugenia.mansutti@eurocities.eu
Penafiel, Torres Vedras and Turku are the first signatories of the Green City Accord
We are glad to announce that two Portuguese cities, Penafiel and Torres Vedras, and Turku in Finland have signed the Green City Accord, a commitment to work towards a better environment and improve of the quality of life of citizens.
Signatory cities commit to stepping up their efforts in five environmental areas: Air, water, biodiversity, circular economy and waste, and noise. To this end, they will determine baseline levels and local targets in each area for 2030, which will be monitored over the coming years. There are multiple reasons to join this movement. Amongst them, participating cities will have access to an online helpdesk and opportunities to exchange know-how, expertise and good practices among each other, for example through workshops and peer-learning visits. Interested in signing the Green City Accord?
To join the initiative, mayors should first present the Green City Accord to the city council (or equivalent decision-making body) for an official decision. Once the city council decision is obtained, the mayor can sign the commitment document electronically through this form. Check out the Green City Accord website to find out more.
Cities get inspired by Lyon to put Housing First
How can cities provide housing for all homeless people without requiring them to be housing ready? What kind of support is required for those who benefit from this approach? These are the guiding questions for the implementation of Housing First. To find elements of an answer, the members of our working group homelessness joined an online policy transfer on 24-25 November and learned more about Lyon Metropole’s five-year plan for Housing First and the fight against homelessness. Exchanges covered a variety of aspects, from how to increase the availability of dwellings for Housing First through the mobilisation of the private market, to how to house those without income while ensuring the financial sustainability of the system. Follow Olivier and the Blindar family in this video to discover how Lyon provides individual solutions for each profile.
The report and recordings of the meeting will be available soon on Eurocities’ member platform.
Cities delivering housing rights
Housing and support to homeless people is a key priority in European cities. Eurocities’ new report on cities delivering social rights shows how cities implement principle 19 of the European Pillar of Social Rights on housing and homelessness. While the research was undertaken prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the resulting crisis highlighted the pre-existing challenges that Europe was facing on housing and the additional difficulties experienced by vulnerable groups. In the report, 24 cities identify the main trends and challenges while also sharing information about their ambitious actions and presenting examples of best practices. The findings of the analysis then feed into recommendations to the EU and member states. Find out more in the report here.
#BuildingLife
Eurocities has joined the #BuildingLife campaign, launched by the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) on 07 December. #BuildingLife will bring together actors calling for ambitious policies at all levels to decarbonise the built environment. It will accelerate the ambitions of the European Green Deal in the building sector, and create the first region-wide response to the vision of a net-zero-embodied-carbon built environment.
Klaas Verschuure, Deputy Mayor of the City of Utrecht, and Anna Lisa Boni, Secretary General of Eurocities , are ambassadors of the campaign.
You can join the campaign on social media using the #BuildingLife
eugenia.mansutti@eurocities.eu
Does your city have organisations together for challenges?
Bristol has been commended for its One City approach to city governance. It brings together public, private, voluntary and third sector partners from across our city, who share the aim to make Bristol a fair, healthy and sustainable city. It publishes its One City Plan annually, and ensures voices from across the city can be heard in decision-making.
The Covid-19 pandemic has meant city organisations need to work together more than ever before, and we believe there are other cities who have formal ways of doing this. We are interested to hear if you have a similar approach to city governance, or to one specific issue in the city. We’d like to connect and share insights on how that is structured.
If you have an example in your city please email international@bristol.gov.uk
Upcoming Events
EDF Meeting 2021 – Oulu
17-19 March
We warmly remind to all Ecnomic Development Forum members to save the date for the virtual EDF meeting from 17-19 March 2021, ‘Innovative cities – creating a resilient economy.’ Oulu, well-known for its creative global business ecosystem, built upon on innovation capacity and high-tech, developed in local universities and research centers with international partners, will be our virtual host city.
For instance, on the first day, local actors, academics from European universities and representatives from international organisations and EU institution will fuel the discussion on cities’ experiences in boosting an innovative entrepreneurial environment. Over the past decade, Oulu has been one of the many cities in Norther Europe to stand out in tackling the financial crisis by supporting and funding start-ups and innovative projects.
aleksandra.olejnik@eurocities.eu