Europe’s Electrification Plan can only succeed with local governments
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2–4 minutes
The European Commission has presented its Electrification Action Plan, setting out how Europe can accelerate the transition to clean electricity across buildings, industry and transport and reduce costs of future-proof solutions. For CEMR, this is an important step towards a more competitive, secure and decarbonised Europe.
Efficient electrification is no longer a sectoral energy policy – it is becoming a defining element of Europe’s economic and territorial transformation. That is why local and regional governments must be fully involved to make the plan a success.
The Action Plan rightly recognises the need for major investments in electricity grids, energy storage, renewable energy, electric mobility and cleaner heating systems.
CEMR welcomes the Commission’s proposal to support local heating and cooling planning through the European City Facility. The programme will begin with €15 million to help 180 local and regional governments prepare local plans before expanding to support up to 1,000 local plans, ready for investments.
CEMR also welcomes the focus on clean heating solutions, including heat pumps and district heating and cooling, which already play an important role in the transition in many towns, cities and regions. Local governments are leading projects and investments in these solutions and help make buildings and neighbourhoods more sustainable. At the same time, CEMR stresses that support measures and new requirements must work together in a coordinated way.
CEMR also highlights the importance of efficient waste-to-energy use for waste that cannot be recycled. EU legislation should clearly recognise energy recovered from non-recyclable waste and ensure that emissions from the fossil part of waste are allocated fairly to producers and waste generators, rather than to district heating operators or energy users.
While the Commission calls for simplifying permitting procedures for clean energy projects, implementation will occur locally. Every new charging station, heat pump, district heating network, energy storage facility or grid connection depends on local planning, permits and cooperation with citizens and stakeholders. Local and regional governments are therefore not only implementing the transition; they are strategic partners in shaping the transition. Efficient permitting requires locally and regionally grounded solutions and processes with early coordination among stakeholders, rather than uniform EU-wide deadlines.
Europe’s regions also face different challenges. Solutions that work in large cities may not be suitable for rural areas, islands, or industrial regions. Recognising the skills and capacity gap at the technical and administrative level is essential. A flexible, place-based approach is key to ensure that every community can benefit from electrification.
Since Europe’s electrification targets will ultimately be delivered in its cities, towns and regions, the local and regional governments are already investing in the infrastructure needed for the transition, from electricity grids and heating networks to electric vehicle charging stations.
CEMR therefore welcomes the ambition of the Electrification Action Plan and its recognition of the opportunities offered by clean electricity and modern heating and cooling solutions. To make the Plan a success, local and regional governments must have the resources, flexibility and role they need as full partners in Europe’s energy transition.
CEMR will continue to contribute to this work in the months ahead and is awaiting the European Cooling and Heating Action Plan to be announced.
The future of the 2030 Agenda should be local, or it won’t be
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7–11 minutes
More than 15 European mayors and local leaders dominated the stage this week in New York. They run from one session to another at the UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development to defend the role of towns, cities and regions in delivering the 2030 Agenda and helping define what comes next. Through various events, mostly co-organised by the Global Task Force of Local and Regional Governments led by UCLG, European local leaders took the floor more than 50 times.
With only four years to go until 2030, the clock is ticking to implement as much as possible the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but also to shape their future. During the UN-proofed Local and Regional Governments Forum, but also the Global Task Force Local and Regional Governments Day, and the CEMR-PLATFORMA meeting with the EU Delegation in New York, mayors and local leaders gave examples and ideas on how to implement the 2030 Agenda from the ground. They all asked the United Nations (UN) to deepen local and regional governments’ engagement, stressing that SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), among many others, cannot be delivered without empowering towns, cities and regions.
Even if the Local and Regional Governments Forum is officially recognised as being part of HLPF, towns, cities and regions are absent from the final conclusions of the ECOSOC (UN’s Economic and Social Council, a platform to advance the economic, social and environmental dimension of sustainable development), responsible for the organisation of HLPF. However, the numerous UN officials who attended the various sessions all recognised the key role of local and regional governments in achieving the SDGs and defining their future shape.
High-Level Policy Forum – CEMR and PLATFORMA, New York 2026
The voice of European local leaders at the United Nations
The future is local
Wim Dries, Mayor of Genk (Belgium), Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities (VVSG): “Local and regional governments are often invited only after decisions have already been made. We need a stronger role in decision-making, adequate financing, and better coordination. We connect SDGs to budgets. The SDGs will be local or they won’t be.”
Antoine Le Solleuz, Deputy Mayor of Nancy (France), AFCCRE and Cités Unies France: “For me, SDG17 (Partnerships for the goals) is not the last SDG, it’s in fact the first one. We need real commitments to meet the SDGs by 2030. We call on the UN to recognise networks of cities and regions as partners, especially in areas such as the climate crises, to strengthen multilateralism.”
Xavier García Albiol, Mayor of Badalona (Spain), Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP): “As we look beyond the 2030 Agenda, we must build on what works. SDG localisation delivers results, but we need stronger financing, partnerships, and empowered governments at the heart of implementation.”
“Housing must be at the centre of the future post 2030 Agenda. The challenge beyond 2030 will depend on how well we deliver on the commitments we have already made. Rather than setting new goals, we need to focus on the areas where implementation is still falling short and where the response has not been sufficient. The years after 2030 will be decisive in turning these commitments into tangible benefits that citizens can clearly see and experience.”
Local leaders in New York for the High-Level Policy Forum 2026
María del Mar Vázquez, Mayor of Almería (Spain), Andalusian Fund of Municipalities for International Solidarity (FAMSI): “We have developed a local plan to localise the 2030 Agenda, with over 70% achieved so far. To face our challenges, we need: real multilevel governance, financing, and stronger cooperation between different spheres of governance.”
Barbara Meyer, Mayor of the City of Saarbrücken, German Association of Cities (DST): “Cities are responsible for more than a third of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). That is why cities should be the focus of the era beyond 2030.”
Eckart Würzner, Mayor of Heidelberg (Germany), Association of German Cities (DST): “We need a step forward: empowering local governments through local development banks and stronger funding mechanisms. We see more and more discussions and support from finance ministers and development banks towards local and regional governments. It is time to ensure this happens. SDG 11 should be at the centre of the future SDGs. If you focus on city diplomacy, you can be the game changer.”
Gunn Marit Helgesen, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and President of the Norwegian Association of Local & Regional Authorities (KS): “The SDGs won’t be achieved in conference rooms. They will happen within local communities.”
Quality public services and adequate funding
Local 2030 meeting – High-Level Policy Forum in New York 2026
Jordi Castellana, Vice President of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, Spain: “Quality public services are how people experience the SDGs. Metropolitan governments need stronger multilevel cooperation and direct access to finance to deliver local change.”
Clare Hart, Vice-President of Montpellier metropole (France), Cités Unies France: “Infrastructure alone is never enough. Sustainable public services require strong local governance, skilled public institutions and trust —and maybe even caring— between our partners. This is why investing in territorial cooperation is also investing in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.”
Marek Hudak, Member of the City of Bardejov and Member of Presov Regional Council (Slovakia), Member of CEMR Young Elected Officials Committee (YEOC), Association of Towns and Communities of Slovakia (ZMOS): “Looking beyond 2030, our cities and regions face major challenges. From a Slovak perspective, strengthening decentralisation – with adequate funding, competences and responsibilities – it is essential, especially in the context of the future Cohesion Policy and the next EU budget. At the same time, innovation will be key to keeping our regions competitive and ensuring that young people can build their futures in the places they call home.”
Stronger partnerships
High-Level Policy Forum debate in New York 2026
Ander Caballero, Secretary General for External Action, Basque Government, Spain: “Major global challenges also require responses at the regional and local levels. Systemic challenges cannot be solved in silos. Strong partnerships across all levels of government, academia and communities are essential, because how we work together is just as important as what we achieve.”
Rosanna Laconi, Regional Minister of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia (Italy): “Strong partnerships, robust evaluation and inclusive governance are key to scaling local action and delivering lasting impact.”
Clare Hart, Vice-President of Montpellier Métropole (France), Cités Unies France: “It is equally important that local governments have a voice and a seat at the table here at the United Nations, a highly symbolic place where local voices are finally being heard and where we can contribute directly to shaping our future. Let’s be optimistic about the future, with cities fully engaged as partners in delivering sustainable development for all.”
“We have the imminent end of the 2030 Agenda for the SDGs, and we are not strictly on track. Local governments are responsible for delivering 70–80% of the SDGs, which makes supporting them essential to advancing the SDGs agenda. Sharing ideas is key to accelerating progress and strengthening collaboration.”
Eider Inuntziaga, Councillor for Citizen Attention and Participation, the 2030 Agenda and International Relations and Euskera, Bilbao City Council (Spain): “Localisation is a method. Our strategy embeds the SDGs in our daily work, with a methodology focused on a transformative agenda, action plans to involve communities and developing capacities. The post 2030 Agenda has to go one step ahead.”
Bärbel Kofler, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany: “Localising the SDGs means equipping municipalities with the resources they need to deliver. Through peer learning & partnerships like the Local 2030 Coalition, cities are driving innovation.”
The UN still needs to walk the talk
CEMR and PLATFORMA in New York for the High-Level Policy Forum 2026
Anacláudia Rossbach, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNHABITAT): “Localising the SDGs is the only way to close the implementation gap. Through the Local2030 Coalition, we are working together to support cities and local governments with the tools, partnerships, and platforms they need.”
Koldo Casla, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing: “The right to housing is realised locally. From social and public housing to rent control and land policies, local and regional governments play a central role in protecting human rights & ensuring no one is left behind.”
Sarah Lister, Global Director for Governance, Rule of Law and Peacebuilding, UNDP: “The last five years of the 2030 Agenda demand stronger collaboration across all levels of government. Empowering local governments while reinforcing national-local partnerships will be essential to accelerate progress on the SDGs.”
Dario Liguti, Director, Energy, Housing & Land Management Division, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE): “Local and regional governments need to be involved from the outsets in implementing solutions. The Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments makes this possible by bringing the organised voices of LRGs to the steering committee of Local 2030″
Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General: “SDGs must be built with local actors. The UN Secretary General’s Report sets out how the UN needs to work. The role of local and regional governments needs to be embedded in how we plan, finance and deliver. Let this Forum be a catalyst for shared solutions”
Lok Bahadur Thapa, President of the UN Economic and Social Council (UNECOSOC): “We need to strengthen local actions through Voluntary Local Reviews, to reinforce the value of local acceleration of the 2030 Agenda. The next phase needs to be defined by delivery, measurable actions, strong partnerships and local action.”
“The next phase of SDG implementation must be defined by delivery – moving from commitments to measurable action, strengthening partnerships across all levels of government, and ensuring solutions reach the communities where they are needed most. The success of the 2030 Agenda will ultimately be measured not by the ambitions we express, but by the realities people experience in their daily lives. That is why local leadership is indispensable.”
To strengthen the role of local and regional governments in the 2030 Agenda and the post‑2030 framework, CEMR and PLATFORMA, together with UCLG, will continue working closely with local leaders and with actors across the multilateral system. They will also keep producing knowledge, including reports like the one presented this year at the HLPF (European Territories Localise the SDGs), which shows how essential towns, cities and regions are to delivering the SDGs.
The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), representing 110,000 local and regional governments and 1,000,000 elected representatives across Europe, sends a letter to the Commission President amid continuous reports of a possible weakening of Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO)
Brussels, 13 July 2026 – The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), Europe’s largest association of local and regional governments, has sent a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warning of the serious consequences that could result from any move to weaken or eliminate the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO), following persistent reports about a possible internal restructuring.
In a letter sent on behalf of 110,000 local and regional governments and 1,000,000 elected representatives across Europe, CEMR stresses that such a move would not be a simple administrative change but would represent a major political shift in the relationship between the European Union and the cities, towns and regions responsible for delivering many of the EU policies on the ground.
“Should DG REGIO be substantially weakened or its role reduced, this would send a profoundly negative political message to Europe’s local and regional governments: that they no longer have a central place in the Union’s institutional architecture”, writes Christoph Schanudigel, CEMR President and President of the County of Karlsruhe (Germany).
CEMR warns that weakening DG REGIO would undermine the expertise, territorial knowledge and long-standing partnerships that have made cohesion policy one of the EU’s most effective instruments for promoting development, competitiveness and solidarity across Europe.
The organisation also cautions that a reduced role for DG REGIO could weaken the European Commission’s ability to maintain direct contact with the Managing Authorities responsible for implementing EU funds, many of which are regional and local governments.
Rather than reducing DG REGIO’s role, CEMR argues that current challenges require stronger territorial capacity within the European Commission. In its letter, the organisation stresses that DG REGIO’s role will become even more important as the Commission prepares its proposed National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs) for the post-2027 EU budget. It also points to recent Commission initiatives on islands, coastal communities, outermost regions and eastern borderregions as evidence of the growing importance of place-based policymaking.
For these ambitions to succeed, Europe needs a strong institutional anchor capable of maintaining dialogue with regional and local governments and ensuring that territorial realities are reflected in EU policymaking.
The letter also recalls that local and regional governments are responsible for implementing up to 70% of EU legislation and are indispensable to the Union’s effectiveness, democratic legitimacy and capacity to deliver results for citizens.
CEMR is calling on the European Commission to clarify its intentions regarding DG REGIO and has requested a meeting with President von der Leyen and relevant Commissioners to discuss the future of the EU’s territorial agenda.
The letter, which was also addressed to Raffaele Fitto, Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms; Piotr Serafin, Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration; and Ilze Juhansone, Secretary-General of the European Commission, was sent at this stage as, according to Politico, Valère Moutarlier, deputy director-general at the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, who is overseeing the review of the Commission’s restructuring process, is expected to weigh in later this month. The final restructuring proposals are expected to be presented by Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin to von der Leyen and the College by the end of 2026.
With less than four years remaining to achieve the 2030 Agenda, a new CEMR–PLATFORMA report highlights a clear message from local and regional governments across Europe: sustainable development will only succeed if cities, towns and regions are placed at the centre of decision-making, financing and implementation.
Published by the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) and PLATFORMA at the occasion of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), the 2026 edition of the report European territories localise the SDGs: Cities at the core of the implementation examines how local and regional governments are contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and what is needed to accelerate progress during the final stretch to 2030.
The study is based on a survey of 23 respondents from 17 countries, including associations of local and regional governments from 15 EU Member States and two non-EU countries.
Local action is essential for global goals
The report comes at a pivotal moment. As both the UN New Urban Agenda and the Urban Agenda for the EU reach their tenth anniversary, local and regional governments are reaffirming their indispensable role in translating global ambitions into concrete results on the ground.
From mobility and housing to climate resilience and social inclusion, towns, cities and regions are responsible for many of the policies that directly affect residents’ daily lives. According to the report, SDG implementation is not primarily a technical matter but a political one, requiring trust, resources and authority to be devolved to the territorial level.
The publication places particular emphasis on SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities, one of the goals under review at the 2026 HLPF. It argues that sustainable urban development cannot be achieved without strong local democracy, effective multi-level governance and meaningful involvement of subnational authorities in national and international decision-making processes.
Six recommendations to accelerate SDG implementation
Drawing on the experience of local and regional governments, the report puts forward six recommendations addressed to the United Nations, the European Union and national governments.
Among its key messages, the study calls for:
Reinforcing multi-level governance as a political priority for the 2026–2030 period.
Placing the subnational level at the centre of SDG implementation, including stronger participation of local and regional governments in global review processes and improved access to development finance.
Reaffirming the importance of the UN New Urban Agenda as the main global framework for sustainable urbanisation.
Ensuring that cities and towns remain central to Europe’s sustainable development agenda through stronger alignment between EU and UN urban policy frameworks.
Recognising the role of territories in the upcoming EU Multiannual Financial Framework 2028–2034, with more accessible and place-based funding for municipalities and regions.
Accelerating the localisation of the SDGs by fully involving local and regional governments in the design and implementation of sustainable development policies.
A contribution to the global SDG debate
Beyond policy recommendations, the report showcases good practices from across Europe and explores how local and regional governments are advancing the goals under review in 2026 (SDG 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, and SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals). It also includes a dedicated focus on housing and the outcomes of discussions linked to the World Urban Forum, reflecting growing concerns about affordability, inclusion and sustainable urban growth.
As the international community approaches the final years of the 2030 Agenda, the report sends a strong and consistent message: the SDGs will be achieved — or missed — at the local level. Empowering towns, cities and regions with the necessary political mandate, resources and partnerships is therefore not optional, but essential.
Sustainable Development Goals – European local leaders at the UN table
A delegation of more than 15 European local leaders is heading to New York next week for the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) organised by the United Nations. There, thanks to the coordination of the Global Task Force of Local and Regional Governments (GTF) led by UCLG,they will take the floor at several high-level events to defend the key role of towns, cities and regions in localising the 2030 Agenda, but also designing its future shape. This includes, among others, the UN Habitat and Local2030 coalition annual event (14 July), UCLG Local and Regional Government Day (15 July) and CEMR-PLATFORMA breakfast meeting at the EU Delegation (16 July).
Under the theme “Transformative, equitable, innovative and coordinated actions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for a sustainable future for all”, this year HLPF will concentrate on the review of a crucial goal for local and regional governments: SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). It will also focus on SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), where local and regional governments play a key role.
Mayors and councillors will present the CEMR-PLATFORMA annual study: European Territories Localise the SDGs |Cities at the core of the implementation. With examples from 23 associations of local and regional governments, the report highlights concrete local actions supporting the SDGs under review in 2026, while stressing the need for stronger multilevel governance, financing and partnerships to accelerate progress towards the 2030 Agenda.
A special focus on housing and territorial inequalities underlines that achieving sustainable development requires empowering towns, cities and regions, sharing good practices, and ensuring that no community is left behind.
A large delegation of European local leaders
Among CEMR members and PLATFORMA partners’ local leaders attending HLPF this year are:
Rosa del Amo, Third Deputy Mayor of the City of Badalona (Spain), Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP)
María del Mar Vázquez Agüero, Mayor of the City of Almeria (Spain), Andalusian Fund of Municipalities for International Solidarity (FAMSI)
Óscar Bleda, Councilor of the City of Almeria (Spain), Andalusian Fund of Municipalities for International Solidarity (FAMSI)
Wim Dries, Mayor of the City of Genk (Belgium), President of the Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities (VVSG)
Xavier García Albiol, Mayor of the City of Badalona (Spain), Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP)
Clare Hart, Vice-President of Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole and President of the Crisis Group of Cités Unies France (CUF)
Gunn Marit Helgesen, President of the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and President of the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS)
Marek Hudak, Member of the City of Bardejov and Member of Presov Regional Council (Slovakia), Member of CEMR Young Elected Officials Committee (YEOC), Association of Towns and Communities of Slovakia (ZMOS)
Eider Inuntziaga, Councillor for Citizen Attention and Participation, the 2030 Agenda and International Relations and Euskara of the City of Bilbao (Spain), CEMR Spokesperson on Local Democracy, Relations and Euskera
Antoine Le Solleuz, Deputy Mayor of the City of Nancy, President of the Lebanon Country Group of Cités Unies France (CUF)
Michael Maas, Mayor of the City of Pirmasens, German Association of Cities (DST)
Barbara Meyer, Mayor of the City of Saarbrücken, German Association of Cities (DST)
Giorgos Papanastasiou, Mayor, City of Agrinio (Greece) and second Vice President of the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece (KEDE)
André Viola, President of the Aude Departmental Council (France), Cités Unies France (CUF)
Dirk Wurm, Mayor of the City of Augsburg, German Association of Cities (DST)
Eckart Würzner, Mayor of the City of Heidelberg, German Association of Cities (DST)
When Bart Somers talks about local government, one idea keeps coming back: it is the level where you can really make a difference.
He has been mayor of Mechelen in Belgium for 26 years — a tenure that ran in parallel with a national political career that took him through parliament, a ministerial post, and the leadership of a political party. Somers has spent much of his career moving between the two levels of politics. He never doubted which one he wanted to keep.
“The real strength of politics in the 21st century is situated on the local level, where you really can make a difference.”
A love for the city, a case for the local level
Somers was born and raised in Mechelen, and that attachment to the city is part of why he stayed. But it is not the whole story. Early in his career, he became convinced that the local level was where politics could achieve the most — a conviction he carried with him even while sitting in national government and parliament, where he pushed colleagues to lean on local leverage far more than they typically do.
*Bart Somers, Mayor of Mechelen in Belgium – interview on 29 April 2026
Climate action recognised at street level
That belief runs through Mechelen’s climate work too, recently recognised with the EUCovenant of Mayors Award for its heat decarbonisation success, which served as inspiration for other cities and towns across Europe. At a moment when some EU institutions appear to be easing off the pace of the green transition, Somers sees the local level as where the urgency is most visible and most actionable.
“At the local level, you can see with your own eyes what the impact of climate change is, and sometimes it’s really devastating. So, you feel the urgency to do something about it.”
Mechelen has been recognised for its large-scale roll-out of heat networks combined with heat storage to provide green heat to densely populated areas, while maximising the potential of local, renewable and residual heat sources.
The jury of the EU Covenant of Mayors Award applauded Mechelen’s comprehensive planning and concrete implementation steps of this specific project. The implementation of Mechelen’s heat plan is driven by strong local stakeholder mobilisation through a Heat Coalition of over 25 key organisations, from district system operators, energy cooperatives and government bodies to social housing corporations and local businesses. The jury praised Mechelen’s vast engagement and outreach efforts to get everyone on board with their heat plan, as well as their focus on supporting vulnerable communities facing energy poverty.
International, European and national frameworks matter, he says, but it is within them that cities do the concrete work: getting people onto bicycles instead of into cars and shifting investment away from fossil energy and into solar power.
*Mechelen, city centre and city hall
Refugees, and a city that remembers
Mechelen’s response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine was, for Somers, emotional as much as political. He had visited Maidan in 2014, as a member of parliament, while the uprising against Ukraine’s government was unfolding. Standing behind Ukraine afterwards felt like the only option for a city that, in his words, embraces human rights and European values.
“They are fighting our fight. They are sacrificing lives to protect also my country.”
Convincing the city to act was not difficult, he says, partly because Mechelen carries its own history of displacement. During the First World War, 90% of the city’s residents became refugees; Somers’ own grandfather spent three years in a refugee camp in the Netherlands, from the age of 14. It is a story many families in Mechelen share, and one that shaped how naturally the city opened its doors this time.
Safety and inclusion, hand in hand
Somers has built his reputation on combining an inclusive approach with a firm stance on the rule of law — a combination he says is often misunderstood. Asked about his most difficult decision as mayor, he points to the work of convincing people that safety and inclusion reinforce each other rather than conflict.
“Safety and inclusion go hand in hand, it strengthens each other.”
The people who most need a safe city, he argues, are not the ones in comfortable, middle-class neighbourhoods, they are mothers raising children in more vulnerable areas, where danger is closer to home. That conviction, he says, has helped Mechelen become a city where people from different backgrounds live together well.
A message to Brussels: trust the local laboratory
Asked what he would tell national and EU leaders, Somers is direct: solving today’s crises requires the local level. Cities and towns hold people’s trust, sit close to citizens, and can move fast and pragmatically in ways higher levels of government often cannot.
“We not only need a top-down policy, but we need a bottom-up policy. The place where you can reinvent democracy, where you can find real answers for the challenges of today and tomorrow, is at the local level.”
His advice is to treat that local level as a laboratory: a place to experiment and build strength that, in turn, feeds back into national and European politics.
CEMR is launching a call for proposals for the design and production of the Bridges of Trust Partnerships Award 2026 trophies.
The Bridges of Trust community brings together Ukrainian towns and cities and their European counterparts, fostering cooperation, resilience, recovery, decentralisation and mutual learning. The Bridges of Trust Partnerships Award 2026 will recognise outstanding municipal partnerships and celebrate their contribution to Ukraine’s European integration journey.
To mark these achievements, CEMR will award five municipal partnerships as Bridges of Trust Ambassadors 2026 and is looking for a creative professional or organisation to design and produce the trophies presented during the award ceremony.
What are we looking for?
Artists
Designers
Craftspeople
Studios
Creative agencies
Other qualified professionals
The selected contractor will design and produce ten trophies (two per awarded partnership), inspired by the Bridges of Trust identity and symbolising the connection between partner municipalities.
The trophies should visually reflect the values of Partnership, European Ukrainian cooperation, solidarity and trust, and resilience and reconstruction.
How to apply
Applicants should submit:
A portfolio showcasing relevant work and experience
A short concept proposal
Visual references, sketches or mock-ups
A proposed timeline for design, production and delivery
In Gdańsk, the Ukraine Recovery Conference confirmed the importance of local and regional governments in Ukraine’s recovery and EU accession
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6–9 minutes
The Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2026), co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine, took place in Gdańsk on 25 and 26 June 2026. Being one of the largest international gatherings dedicated to bolstering international support for the country’s reconstruction, as well as catalysing investments for Ukrainian businesses and local governments, this edition brought together more than 5,000 participants.
Heads of state, ministers, donors, and international organisations converged in the Polish city to address the most relevant challenges to Ukraine’s future: energy, critical infrastructure, logistics, and, for the first time, security capabilities.
The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) participated in the URC2026 representing the secretariat of the European Partnership Hub (EPH), which facilitates the Bridges of Trust (BoT) Community. Two years after the launch of the Matchmaking Platform at URC 2024, and one year after, the launch of the European Partnership Hub (EPH) – hosted by CEMR – at URC 2025 to facilitate the BoT Community actors active in international municipal cooperation with Ukraine, CEMR was present at URC 2026 with a dedicated booth showcasing the collective efforts of the BoT Community and best practices in international municipal cooperation with Ukraine.
CEMR contributed to the local and regional dimension of the conference and thus carried a specific voice, that of local and regional governments. CEMR President Christoph Schnaudigel represented the organisation throughout the two days conference together with Olha Pikula, CEMR Spokesperson on Enlargement and Deputy Mayor of Mariupol City Council, and Oleksandr Vasylenko, Head of the Cherkasy District Council and First Vice-President of the Ukrainian Association of Rayon and Oblast Councils (UAROR).
A joint statement and a call for coordination
On the eve of the conference, the European Alliance of Cities and Regions for the Reconstruction of Ukraine gathered its 100 members to endorse a joint statement setting out concrete priorities for donor action and Ukraine’s EU integration. As a founding member of the Alliance, CEMR contributed directly to this collective effort. Oleksandr Vasylenko, represented CEMR during the political-level Alliance meeting.
In his statement, he emphasised: “The Bridges of Trust Community, facilitated by the European Partnership Hub and supported by U-LEAD with Europe, is a successful example of practical cooperation and joint efforts of various actors across Europe. All of these actors deliver tangible results in partnership building and capacity development demonstrating the diversity and potential of municipal cooperation.”
The statement recognises that Ukrainian towns, cities and regions have been at the core of the country’s resilience since the start of the full-scale invasion, providing emergency response, maintaining infrastructure, and acting as operational hubs for humanitarian assistance, all whilst preparing for a sustainable future. It calls on institutional partners to treat local and regional governments as strategic partners and integral decision-makers in reconstruction governance, and urges donors to allocate ring-fenced, transparent funding for local and regional development, including direct access to finance and dedicated technical assistance.
Critically for CEMR and the EPH, the statement underlines the potential of municipal cooperation with Ukraine and calls for a reinforcement of existing coordination structures, including the Alliance itself and the BoT Community facilitated by the EPH, and to foster links between local needs, funding opportunities, and the tools already established to support peer-to-peer partnerships such as the Matchmaking Platform.
Niels Annen, State Secretary in the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, recognised in his intervention the significant increase of international partnerships with Ukrainian municipalities in the last years: “We have moved in the right direction, and we call for the permanent operationalisation of this coordinated effort.”
Together with Muriel Lacoue-Labarthe, Special Envoy of the President of the French Republic for Ukraine’s Recovery and Reconstruction, he announced the launch of a new funding line for multi-partner cooperation involving municipalities from Germany, France, Poland and Ukraine.
Meetings and exchanges at the European Partnership Hub booth
The EPH booth was more than a presence at the conference. Positioned alongside partners from the Committee of the Regions, Eurocities and the Polish Association of Cities, it became a point of convergence for Ukrainian and European partners, hosting a series of exchanges that moved between the political and the technical, the bilateral and the collective.
CEMR President Christophe Schnaudigel met with Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, Mayor of Gdańsk, for a focused conversation on the next Multiannual Financial Framework and the persistent need to ensure that local and regional governments have a genuine seat at the European table. The discussion touched on the importance of coordinated messaging across CEMR, the Committee of the Regions, and city networks, with Ukraine’s recovery and the potential of municipal partnerships running as a thread throughout.
A particularly significant exchange took place between CEMR President Christoph Schnaudigel and Oleksandr Vasylenko, Head of the Cherkasy District Council and First Vice-President of the Ukrainian Association of Rayon and Oblast Councils (UAROR). The two sides explored future prospects of cooperation, covering institutional ties, peer-to-peer exchanges, and support for local self-government. The conversation also engaged with a structural question that matters enormously for Ukraine’s governance: the clarity of competences assigned to rayons and oblasts as the country pursues rebuilding and decentralisation.
CEMR President Christoph Schnaudigel also met with Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Kyiv, Ukrainian Deputy Minister Oleksii Riabykyn, and Olha Pikula, CEMR Spokesperson on Enlargement and Deputy Mayor of Mariupol City Council, alongside representatives of the BoT Community and partner organisations.
The Director General of Expertise France, one of the key actors within the BoT Community, also visited the EPH stand. The exchange focused on the value of mapping and evaluating existing partnerships, and on the EPH’s role as a coordination structure that helps avoid duplication and fragmentation among international actors. Within the framework of the Global Gateway, the EPH was put forward as a model for building coherent, multi-stakeholder engagement in partner countries.
On the technical side, CEMR’s Director of Projects and Programmes Durmish Guri met with Astrid Kohl, newly appointed Programme Director of U-LEAD with Europe. The meeting was an opportunity to reflect on the results of this partnership: what began as a project has grown into a genuine community of actors committed to Ukraine’s recovery, decentralisation, and EU accession. That trajectory owes much to the sustained support and long-standing cooperation of U-LEAD with Europe, without which the BoT Community and the EPH would not be what they are today.
URC 2026 has shown a strong commitment to the local and regional dimension in the reconstruction of Ukraine, by the organising City of Gdansk as well as by the various associations and networks represented. Side events and exchanges at the EPH booth provided insights into the practical work of municipal partnerships, their opportunities and challenges. CEMR will use this feedback to improve the services of the EPH even further and to shape the future of municipal cooperation with Ukraine with partners from the BoT Community.
CEMR will continue working with its members and partners to ensure that local and regional governments remain central actors in shaping Ukraine’s future, as the institutions closest to the people that reconstruction is ultimately for.
About the next Ukraine Recovery Conference 2027
At the end of URC 2026 in Gdańsk, Estonia announced it will take over as host of the next Ukraine Recovery Conference, to be held in Tallinn in 2027, succeeding Poland’s role as organiser. The Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia, Kristen Michal, confirmed the news, framing support for Ukraine’s reconstruction as directly tied to European security, and said Estonia intends to build on the momentum generated in Gdańsk. The Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Margus Tsahkna, described Ukraine’s rebuilding as Europe’s largest economic project of the coming decade, spanning infrastructure, democratic institution-building, and EU integration. Estonia also plans to draw on the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) cooperation format to pool regional expertise and resources in organising the 2027 conference.
For CEMR and the EPH, this transition sets the horizon for the next phase of municipal cooperation with Ukraine, building on the commitments and coordination structures reinforced in Gdańsk.
In a new position paper, the Local Alliance – a coalition of CEMR, ACR+, Climate Alliance, Energy Cities, Eurocities, FEDARENE, ICLEI Europe, and POLIS – calls on the EU to seize the revision of the Governance Regulation to make National Energy and Climate Plans (NECP) truly implementable, investable, and grounded in local realities.
Cities, towns and regions across Europe are already acting — renovating buildings, deploying renewables, transforming mobility systems. Yet the EU’s climate planning framework has not caught up. National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) continue to be drafted largely without the involvement of the local and regional governments that will ultimately deliver them.
The revision of the Governance Regulation, expected from the European Commission in the last quarter of 2026, is therefore a critical opportunity — one the Local Alliance is determined not to miss.
A structural disconnect
A wealth of local data, investment pipelines and climate plans already exists across Europe — from Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans to Climate City Contracts and local heating strategies. Yet this territorial knowledge rarely feeds into NECPs, creating duplication, fragmentation and missed investment opportunities.
Meanwhile, the multi-level dialogues already required under Article 11 of the current Regulation have largely remained disconnected from real implementation decisions or remained tick-the-box level only.
The result is a dangerous two-speed dynamic: high ambition at European and national levels, too little attention to what happens on the ground.
The Local Alliance’s answer: connect what already exists
The position paper calls for the revised Regulation to be built around four mutually reinforcing elements:
a permanent multi-level dialogue platform in each Member State to align all levels of government around NECP preparation and monitoring, taking into account national governance structures and needs;
a territorial chapter in each NECP drawing on existing local plans to show where and how national objectives will be delivered;
territorially informed sectoral pathways linking national targets across buildings, transport, heating, renewable energy, and circular economy with the local realities that determine whether delivery is actually possible;
and investment strategies that take account of local investment and capacity needs.
This is not a call for more bureaucracy. It is a call to make what already exists work together — reducing consultation fatigue, cutting administrative duplication, and turning NECPs from reporting exercises into genuine frameworks for implementation and investment.
European local leaders meet in Tangier to champion Europe’s priorities in the global UCLG network
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The City of Tangier hosted the 2026 United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) World Congress and World Summit of Local and Regional Leaders from 22 to 26 June 2026, bringing together local and regional leaders from across the globe to shape a shared vision for the future of their communities. The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), as the European section of UCLG, was present throughout the event, with two particularly significant days marking their contribution to the global programme.
Strengthening Europe’s voice in the global arena
Fabrizio Rossi, Secretary General of CEMR at the UCLG Congress 2026.
On June 23, CEMR convened the Assembly Track session “From Local Action to Global Impact: Strengthening Multilevel Governance from a European Perspective”. The session brought together local leaders from across the continent to chart European priorities for the 2026–2029 UCLG mandate, explore how local action can feed into global agendas through the Local Social Covenant, and strengthen the role of towns, cities and regions as genuine political partners in global governance.
Participants in the first two panels included Councillors and CEMR spokespersons Carola Gunnarsson and Eider Inuntziaga, as well as Shona Morrisson, Tiit Terik, and André Viola, Deputy Mayor Ursula Sautter and Regional President Marta Prates. Mayor Jan van Zanen, who served as UCLG President until this UCLG Congress, delivered the closing remarks, anchoring the session’s conclusions in a firm commitment to Europe’s role in shaping the next UCLG mandate.
New study on EU Delegations and local governments
On June 24, the third day of the Congress, PLATFORMA and CEMRannounced the publication of an upcoming study on how EU Delegations engage with local and regional governments across the globe — the first update to their landmark 2021 report, due to be released in July 2026. Preliminary findings were presented at the session, highlighting opportunities for cooperation as well as ongoing challenges.
By offering a snapshot of how EU Delegations engage with cities, towns, regions and their representative associations under the NDICI–Global Europe framework and the Global Gateway initiative, the session contributed to the broader reflection on EU development policy ahead of the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028–2034.
Mindcraft project presentation at the UCLG Congress 2026.
This study is produced in the framework of the Mindcraft project, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and supported by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
Advancing gender equality: the Feminist Municipal Movement
On the same day, the first-ever UCLG Women’s Assembly hosted women mayors, governors, and local leaders to advance gender equality and strengthen the Feminist Municipal Movement globally. CEMR’s Spokesperson on International Affairs, Councillor Carola Gunnarsson, reflected on eight years of progress within UCLG on gender equality — from the earliest proposals to embed gender activities in the UCLG workplan to the organisation’s broader commitment to becoming a Global Feminist Municipal Movement.
Gunnarsson was frank about the work that remains, in particular regarding female representation in upcoming leadership elections.
Gunnarsson stated: “Now it is time for us to strengthen our efforts to support and help all local governments to become Feminist Municipal Movements. Then we can see a real change and also give women and girls the rights to flourish and society the possibility to grow stronger and better for everyone.”
The UCLG Congress in Tangier reaffirmed the central role of European local and regional governments in the global municipal movement, and CEMR’s commitment to ensuring that local voices — in all their diversity — are at the heart of international decision-making.
Renewal of UCLG governance
During the UCLG Congress in Tangier, the governance bodies of the global organisation were renewed.
Members of the new UCLG co-presidency elected during the World Congress in Tangier.
The World Congress was also the occasion to renew the UCLG’s statutory bodies, including the election of its Presidency. The Mayor of Konya, Uğur Ibrahim Altay, was elected President of UCLG, while Mr Jan van Zanen, Mayor of The Hague, was elected as one of the five Co-Presidents. CEMR warmly congratulates the new UCLG Presidency.
The Mayor of Konya elected as UCLG President during the World Congress in Tangier.
The new UCLG co-presidency was also appointed during the Congress and is composed of Bheke Stofile, President of SALGA; Aysen Nikolaev, Head of the Sakha Republic; Jan van Zanen, Mayor of The Hague; Cristian Zamora, Mayor of Cuenca; and Berry Vrbanovic, Mayor of Kitchener. Fatimetou Abdel Malick, was appointed President of the Standing Committee on Gender Equality and will also serve as Co-President of UCLG.
The Tangier Outcome Document
The Tangier Outcome Document charts the path towards a renewed social contract grounded in care, solidarity and universal local public services.
UCLG has adopted the Tangier Outcome Document, a renewed political commitment pledging local and regional governments worldwide to universal, rights-based public services. It frames housing, food, health, culture and care not as commodities – but as public goods essential to equality, democracy and peace, and lays out priority areas including housing justice, local finance reform, climate justice, food systems and conflict prevention.
It also introduces the concept of “New Essentials”; services like care, digital rights and democratic AI governance — as part of the next generation of local public provision. To back the commitments, UCLG will also be setting up new bodies, among them a Housing Justice Academy, a Women’s Council for Equality, an Intergenerational Council, and a Global Facility for Innovation in Local Public Services.
