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CEMR announces grant recipients for SPICE 2025 Twinning Programme 

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Twinning plays a vital role in connecting municipalities and regions, encouraging them to tackle shared challenges — from climate action and digital transition to social cohesion and public service innovation. Beyond these policy priorities, Twinning also nurtures mutual understanding and a sense of European belonging among citizens and communities.  

Since 1951, CEMR has championed Twinning as a powerful tool for peacebuilding, dialogue, and long-term collaboration. Today, these partnerships go beyond symbolic exchanges to become strategic platforms for co-creating solutions to the pressing challenges facing Europe’s towns and regions.  

The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) is pleased to unveil the selected recipients of the SPICE 2025 sub-granting scheme, part of the broader project “SPICE – Empowering Local and Regional Governments for Sustainable Policy Implementation and Civic Engagement in Europe”. 

Funded by the European Commission under the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme, this grant scheme builds on the success of the 2024 pilot phase. It aims to support national associations of local and regional governments in strengthening Twinning initiatives and related activities across Europe. 

The selected proposals reflect a strong commitment to EU values, civic participation, gender equality, social inclusion, and democratic governance. Each winning association will receive a sub-grant of up to € 30 000 to implement projects that bring together municipalities across borders in shared learning and joint action.  

CEMR is proud to support the following local and regional government associations as recipients of the SPICE 2025 grant programme: 

1. TÖOSZ – Települesi Önkormanyzatok Orszagos Szövetsege (Hungarian National Association of Local Authorities) 

2. KEDE – Κεντρική Ένωση Δήμων Ελλάδας (ΚΕΔΕ) (Central Union of Municipalities of Greece) 

3. LALRGA – Latvijas Pašvaldíbu Savieníba (Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments) 

4. AFCCRE – Association Française du CCRE (French Association of CEMR) 
    

CEMR warmly thanks all member associations who submitted proposals under the 2025 call and contributed to its success. Stay tuned as we share updates on these promising initiatives and their impact across Europe. 

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CEMR Announces Grant Recipients for REALISE 2024 Twinning Programme

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The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) is pleased to announce the recipients of its grant scheme established under the REALISE project. Funded by the European Commission’s CERV programme, the initiative aims to bolster subnational government Twinning endeavours.

The grant scheme not only supports the promotion of Twinning arrangements but also empowers national associations to undertake related initiatives that address specific challenges. Proposals with merit are eligible for funding of up to €30,000.

CEMR expresses its delight in selecting the following Local and Regional Government Associations for the REALISE 2024 grant programme:

Twinning serves a leading role in fostering connections between Local and Regional Governments. This collaborative approach facilitates the tackling of a wide range of pressing issues, encompassing urban development, climate change, service improvement, social inclusion, and migration.

Additionally, Twinning initiatives promote peace and solidify European values and belonging.

Since its inception in 1951, CEMR has been an advocate for Twinning, recognising its potential to connect communities, cultivate mutual understanding, and drive collaborative efforts. Today, these programmes extend beyond cultural exchanges, encompassing the sharing of best practices and the joint development of solutions to shared challenges.

CEMR extends its sincere gratitude to all associations that participated and submitted compelling proposals. We encourage you to stay informed of forthcoming updates on these exciting projects.

Call for Project Proposals

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CEMR is excited to announce the launch of a call for project proposals to enhance Twinning activities among its member associations.

This initiative, part of the REALISE project funded by the European Commission, seeks to promote collaboration, share best practices, and address challenges faced by local and regional governments across Europe.

Read more and fill out the forms below:

• Application form in English: Annexe 1
• Budget template in English: Annexe 2

City pairings across Europe and beyond

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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.

City pairings are receiving renewed attention and resources at local, national and European levels as innovative ways to tackle current challenges, boost sustainable development and promote cultural exchanges.

Earlier in January, Italian President Sergio Mattarella and his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier announced the second edition of an award for city cooperation between the two countries. The prize, first launched in 2020, will reward municipalities cooperating on civic engagement, culture, inclusion and sustainability.

“Twinnings between Italian and German municipalities represent a fundamental instrument to consolidate the friendship between Germany and Italy, deepen our relationship and face together our current and future challenges,” Mattarella said.

Meanwhile, at the EU level, the European Commission is funding several initiatives to boost city cooperation, such as the International City Partnerships matching European and third-country cities on sustainable development. It also recently published a €4 million call for 2023 for towns working together to promote intercultural dialogue and European citizenship.

Neighbouring cities

According to Lucian Zagan, mobility project coordinator at Eurocities, city partnerships benefit local governments.

“Cities need to cooperate to advance their interests at national and EU level,” he told EURACTIV, adding that municipalities often collaborate on areas of mutual interest.

For instance, Helsinki and Tallinn, which are divided by an 82 km strip of sea, have been cooperating since the 1990s and are now working together on cleaning up the Baltic Sea.

“We, as twin cities, are initiating together this campaign on cleaning the sea for all the cities around the Baltic Sea,” said Krista Kampus, who leads the work of Tallinn as European Green Capital for 2023.

While neighbouring countries often share a similar culture and needs, territorial proximity is not a prerequisite for collaboration, according to Zagan.

Long-distance cooperation

Despite the distance separating them, many European towns are currently cooperating with cities in third countries.

For instance, the Italian city of Palermo, recently launched an initiative to exchange best practices with the twin town of Sekondi-Takoradi, in Ghana. The aim of the initiative, called “Twin cities in Sustainable Partnership”, is to support urban and sustainable development processes.

Meanwhile, the city of Zaragoza in Spain established a partnership with Ounck, a small Senegalese town, to support the local production of spirulina, a food supplement that plays a key role in malnutrition.

According to Fabrizio Rossi, secretary general of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), these city partnerships can provide a “long-term systematic approach” to solve global challenges, “far away from geopolitical tensions” which might arise at the national level.

Networks of cities

European municipalities are also joining forces on specific issues, such as sustainable mobility and health, through networks of cities.

Tallinn, for instance, is part of the NetZeroCities partnership, which aims to promote Europe’s transition to net zero emissions, and the CIVITAS network, which fosters sustainable urban mobility.

Article published on Euractiv.

Get funded for town twinning and networks of towns

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Do you want to set up a town twinning or a network of towns? The EU’s CERV programme (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values) can provide up to 30,000 euros for town twinnings and financing with no upper bound for networks of towns.

You have until 24 March 2022, 17:00 CET, to send your request for funding. The results will be shared between June and July 2022 after evaluation of the proposals.

An information session will be held on 8 February between 10:00 and 12:00 (in English). The session aims to explain the content and conditions of the call for proposals, as well as giving participants space to ask questions. You can else get directly in touch with your national CERV contact point.