British cities have expressed their commitment to European cooperation even after Brexit. “We want to stay connected”, said Marvin Rees, mayor of Bristol, at the conference Eurocities 2020 on Wednesday. He shared a statement of UK Core Cities emphasising the willingness of the cities to continue city to city collaboration at a European level.
UK Core Cities are Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield.
This is the full statement:
“The coronavirus crisis and Brexit have created an unprecedented situation for both the UK and the EU. All of our great European cities have been impacted by COVID-19 but by working together, cities will play a crucial and leading role in how we secure our future, to renew our economies and communities, creating greener, more inclusive growth for the future.
As we approach the end of the Brexit transition period, city to city collaboration at a European level and cooperation within the Eurocities network has never been more important. UK Core Cities wish to remain your trusted partners, sharing important European values including those of solidarity, inclusivity, peace and cooperation. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our European partners in our commitment to work together to ensure that all our cities remain open, tolerant, welcoming and vibrant places to live, work and visit.
We wish to thank Eurocities, the Executive Committee and its membership for the fantastic support they have given us since the Brexit referendum. We remain committed to the Eurocities network and the priorities set out in its Strategic Framework. We will seek to better align our own political efforts to support the ambitions of Eurocities across the various policy areas.”
Councillor Judith Blake
Chair of UK Core Cities
Leader of Leeds City Council
