The 2025 edition of the Eurocities Pulse Mayors Survey gathers the views of 86 mayors from major cities in 26 European countries. It captures their top priorities this year, how they see their economies and democracies, and what they need from national and EU leaders.
As in 2024, mayors across Europe have similar priorities on climate action, affordable housing and social inclusion. But looking more closely at cities in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands we see that differences in trust, fiscal autonomy, mobility and housing shape what they can actually deliver.
These country insights are based on a limited sample of mayors in each country, so they are indicative of trends rather than fully representative national surveys.
Shared European trends: climate, housing and trust in the EU
At the European level, climate action remains firmly in first place. 63% of mayors select it among their main priorities for 2025, making it number one for the third year in a row.
Affordable housing follows at 34%, with social inclusion and equity close behind at 33%. Economic growth and attractiveness jumped from eighth to fifth place compared to last year, signalling growing concern about competitiveness alongside social and climate goals.
Housing pressures are a serious concern. Overall, 39% of mayors say housing in their city is already unaffordable and a further 47% say it is “in the risk zone.” Only 14% still consider housing clearly affordable. The main drivers of unaffordability are demand exceeding supply (76%), rising construction costs (71%) and limited land availability (60%). In response, 93% of cities want to increase affordable housing supply, 73% want to expand social housing, and 69% prioritise reducing the housing cost burden for vulnerable groups.
Mobility is the second special focus of the Eurocities Pulse Mayors Survey 2025 edition. 57% of mayors identify insufficient funding for investment as a top public transport challenge, 43% point to high operating and maintenance costs, and 38% highlight accessibility and affordability. To respond, 60% prioritise expanding public transport networks, 48% want to ensure services remain affordable and accessible, and another 48% focus on building multimodal, integrated systems.
On governance, trust in the EU is solid. 69% of mayors report high trust in the EU institutions, only 2% report low trust, and 73% are optimistic about the Union’s future. At the same time, 64% are confident in their city’s economic outlook but only 30% are confident about their national economy. Around 69% say multi-level cooperation has improved over the past decade, yet fewer than three in ten mayors report high fiscal autonomy. Across the sample, mayors repeat a core message from last year: they want more direct EU funding to cities, especially as debates begin on the EU budget for 2028–2034.
Germany: local optimism, tight budgets and housing stress
Within this wider picture, the German results, based on answers from a small group of mayors, broadly mirror European priorities on climate action, affordable housing and social inclusion, but show more caution about the national context.
Almost 70% of mayors across Europe report high trust in the EU institutions, compared with roughly half of German mayors. Confidence is even weaker at the national level: while about half of mayors elsewhere have high or full trust in their national government, this is the case for only one third of German mayors. Yet, 75% of German mayors remain optimistic about the EU’s future.
Economically, they feel confident locally but not nationally. German mayors are broadly positive about their city economies, in line with the European average, but only 8% are positive about the national economic outlook (compared with 21% in Western Europe and 31% across Europe). On funding, 70% say regional funds are easy to access, but less than half say the same about national funding, and only 8% find EU funding easy to reach.
Housing is a growing concern. Around one in three German cities say housing is clearly unaffordable, and only 8% consider it affordable, compared with 16% of Western European cities and 15% overall. Rising construction costs and limited land availability are the main drivers, alongside strong demand.
For 2025, German mayors still rank climate action first, but education and public budget consolidation now sit alongside affordable housing and social inclusion as key priorities, highlighting the tension between fiscal discipline and social and climate ambition.
France: mistrust and pressure to expand social housing
The French findings, based on a sample of six cities, make France the clear outlier on trust and democracy. At regional level, 43% of French cities report having no trust in their regional government, compared with fewer than 10% in Western Europe and across Europe.
At national level, French mayors reveal lower levels of trust than their peers. Even at the EU level, where trust is generally high, fewer than half of French mayors report high or full trust, compared with 58% in Western Europe and 69% across Europe. Only 43% are optimistic about the EU’s future.
The economic and democratic outlooks reflect this unease. 43% of French mayors are positive about their local economy, but none report a positive view of the national economy. 57% say they are dissatisfied with democracy in their country, and 43% are dissatisfied with democracy at EU level.
Housing affordability is particularly acute. 43% of French cities say housing is unaffordable (versus 35% in Western Europe), while 29% still consider it affordable, suggesting differences between French cities in the sample. Demand exceeding supply is reported as the main driver, but short-term rentals weigh more heavily in France than elsewhere. French mayors see expanding the social housing stock as their number one priority, and they want more direct resources from the EU budget, including Cohesion Policy, rather than relying mainly on incentives for national investment.
For 2025, climate action is the top priority (29% of French cities), sustainable mobility comes a surprising second (24%, compared with under 10% in Europe overall), and affordable housing, social inclusion and digital transition round out their top concerns.
Italy: cautious optimism and limited fiscal autonomy
The Italian responses, from a sample of eight cities, point to positive trust at all government levels. Fifty percent of Italian mayors have high trust in their regional authorities, and around one third have high or full trust in their national government. None report having no trust at any level. More than one third of Italian mayors are optimistic about the EU’s future, but this is still well below the 73% average in Southern Europe and across Europe.
Economically, 63% of Italian cities are positive about their local outlook, but only 13% are positive about their national economy; 88% take a neutral view. Italian mayors are more satisfied with democracy in the EU (63%) than in Italy (38%). 75% say multi-level cooperation has improved, although a quarter report a significant decline.
Funding patterns are unusual. 25% of Italian cities find it difficult to access regional funds, while 50% say access to national funding is easy. At the EU level, most describe access as easy or neutral, and none find it difficult. However, none of the Italian cities report high fiscal autonomy, and half say their autonomy is low.
Housing affordability reflects the broader Southern European picture. Half of Italian cities report unaffordable housing, slightly above the 43% in Southern Europe and 39% in Europe. Almost 90% say demand exceeds supply, 62.5% highlight the impact of short-term rentals, and regulatory constraints are the third biggest driver. All Italian cities in the survey choose expanding the social housing stock as a top priority. For 2025, 29% of Italian cities put climate action first, with sustainable mobility second (13%), tied with affordable housing – a sign of the pressure to manage mobility transitions in dense, historic urban centres.
Spain and the Netherlands: high trust, different constraints
Spanish cities in the sample present one of the most positive profiles, even if the sample is limited. Around 88% of Spanish mayors have high or full trust in their regional governments, and all have high or full trust in the EU. Every Spanish city is optimistic about the EU’s future and positive about its local economy; 50% are positive about the national economy.
No Spanish city reports dissatisfaction with democracy in the EU. 63% say multi-level cooperation has improved, and funding is comparatively accessible: 75% find regional funding easy to obtain, 50% say the same for national and EU funds, and none report difficulties at regional or EU level. 38% of Spanish cities report high fiscal autonomy.
Housing remains a concern: 38% of Spanish cities report unaffordable housing and 50% report moderate unaffordability. Demand exceeding supply (86%), limited land and regulatory constraints (57% each) and short-term rentals are the main drivers. Spanish mayors prioritise increasing affordable housing supply and expanding the housing stock, and they favour more direct EU resources via the EU budget and Cohesion Policy. For 2025, they put economic recovery and attractiveness first, climate action second (20% of cities) and affordable housing third, together with democracy and services.
Dutch cities also offer a small but telling sample. They combine very high trust and optimism with limited fiscal freedom. Across regional, national and EU levels, all Dutch mayors report neutral or high trust, and none report low or no trust. 83% are optimistic about the EU’s future. 83% are positive about their local economy and 67% about their national economy, with no negative views. Yet 50% of Dutch cities report low fiscal autonomy, compared with 22% in Western Europe and 19% across Europe.
In housing, 40% of Dutch cities say housing is unaffordable and only 20% see it as affordable. All Dutch mayors identify demand exceeding supply as a key driver, alongside rising construction costs and limited land availability. They prioritise increasing affordable housing and expanding social housing, and support a mix of more direct EU resources and incentives for national investment.
For 2025, 28% of Dutch mayors place climate action at the top of their agenda, above the European average, and 17% highlight social inclusion and equity.
Different national realities, shared European goals
The 2025 Eurocities Pulse Mayors Survey confirms last year’s picture: mayors are united on the big goals – climate neutrality, affordable and social housing, social inclusion and sustainable mobility.
What changes this year is the clarity with which they link those goals to the conditions they face at home.
Based on a limited but diverse group of cities, these country examples show how national systems can either amplify or constrain local ambition. German and French cities are trying to move ahead on housing and climate while dealing with tight budgets and, in France, deep mistrust in institutions.
Italian mayors look to the EU as a relatively stable partner, but low fiscal autonomy limits what they can do. Spanish cities suggest how high trust, easier access to funds and stronger autonomy can translate into greater confidence and investment. Dutch cities remind us that even in prosperous, optimistic contexts, housing and limited local powers can still hold back progress.
In that sense, the Eurocities Pulse Mayors Survey acts as an early warning system for European policy-makers. If the next seven-year EU budget and the new EU Policy Agenda for Cities are to succeed, they must be built not only around headline targets but around these very different starting points.
Listening carefully to mayors, and remembering that these findings come from a limited sample that still points to wider patterns, is the first step. Aligning funding, rules and responsibilities so that cities can deliver on their promises is the real test for the years ahead.
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This article is based on an in-depth analysis of the policy priorities of Europe’s city mayors, carried out in the Eurocities Pulse Mayors Survey 2025.
