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TARAN Stanislav
In Bridges of Trust, Latest, Projects and Programmes

Release of Ukrainian Mayors

Mayors in Ukraine - News 2023

CEMR stands behind Ukraine and calls for the release of captured mayors

On the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the Russian aggression in Ukraine, the Council of European Cities and Regions (CEMR) demands the release of five abducted Ukrainian mayors. 

In a statement released by CEMR’s Secretariat, the CEMR president Gunn Marit Helgesen strongly condemns the violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty: “One year after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, let me reiterate my steadfast support for our Ukrainian peers, especially for the detained local leaders.” 

Gunn Marit Helgesen reminds us of the abduction of Ukrainian local government representatives: “Over the past year, 35 Ukrainian mayors have been abducted and five are still being held by Russian forces. Targeting local elected representatives is an attack on the very foundations of our Europe, a Europe rooted in respect for the rule of law and freedom. There can be no free Europe without a free Ukraine”.

In light of the anniversary, CEMR also released a declaration (EN, FR, UA) reiterating its full support of Ukraine and its people. The organisation denounces the violence targeting innocent civilians, but also the local and regional elected representatives that are being held captive: “We reaffirm our full commitment to supporting the Ukrainian people and local and regional elected representatives in their path to victory and reconstruction.” CEMR therefore joins the international community that firmly supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and calls upon the Russian Federation to stop its illegal war.

Financial and humanitarian help

In the last year, CEMR and other partner organisations have continuously shown their support for Ukraine. To do so, they have taken many actions. Amongst them is the mobilisation of humanitarian aid. One of the partner organisations, the Association of Towns and Communities of Slovakia (ZMOS) allocated €50,000 in humanitarian aid. ZMOS also sent thousands of packages of various medical supplies, such as bandages, plasters, gauze compresses, and disinfectants, as well as thousands of packages of personal hygiene kits and emergency sleeping bags.

Other members of CEMR, municipalities and regions, Non-Governmental Organisations, and citizens have offered their financial help, too. One of the smallest municipalities in Estonia, the municipality of Tõrva, transferred €10,000 from its local budget and collected more than €2,000 euros from citizens to support their twin city in Ukraine – Baranivka. 

Welcoming refugees

The municipalities also helped by taking in refugees from war-torn Ukraine. CEMR and European municipalities and regions have coordinated their efforts to assist them as effectively as possible. Providing housing, opening schools to Ukrainian children, navigating the administrative processes and teaching the refugees new languages proved to be essential. 

The city of Tbilisi made public transport free for all Ukrainian citizens, along with all municipal services and cultural, sports and educational centres. In addition, the municipality organised a blood donation campaign. 

Helpful initiatives and partnerships 

Showing support by maintaining existing partnerships and creating new ones was another step taken by some European municipalities. Within the Bridges of Trust initiative, the district municipality of Ukmergė in Lithuania signed a partnership agreement with the Ukrainian Korosten municipality to strengthen their relationship.

The mayor of Korosten Volodymyr Moskalenko praised the partnership: “Each of our conversations comes down to the question ‘How can we help you?’” According to him, “the city has found true friends”. 

What about the future? 

Because the Russian attack has left many Ukrainian cities in ruins, reconstruction is going to be key in the coming years. Some efforts are already underway, but as most of them are organised on a regional level, CEMR is asking its members for support and further help for Ukraine. 

By fully supporting CEMR’s flagship partnership initiative with Ukrainian municipalities that are currently implemented with the support of the U-Lead with Europe programme, other local associations can help with the rebuilding process in Ukraine and further develop international cooperation at the municipal level.

BIZARRO Pedro
In Latest, Projects and Programmes, Reference Framework for Sustainable Cities

Global Goals for Cities network for sustainability and development

RFSC - News 2022

It’s finished! The Global Goals for Cities pilot network is complete!

Across Europe, the 19 cities in the network visited each other, learned from each other and developed their integrated action plans together, to better implement the Sustainable Development Goals in their strategic urban planning.

To ensure the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the 17 goals it sets, cities are key players. With more sustainable cities, we can ensure a better planet. This is why URBACT and CEMR supported the creation of the Global Goals for Cities pilot network, aiming to accelerate progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. In this network, 19 cities were selected and showed their commitment to localizing the SDGs.

Our 19 cities also organised or participated in national and international events to present and share their experience and results.

To better understand how cities contribute to the SDGs, cities used the Sustainable Cities Reference Framework among other URBACT tools, allowing them to analyse gaps and priorities in their local strategies, identify the best actions to progress on the selected objectives and thus help build their integrated action plans and integrate the SDGs into their long-term urban strategies.

Finally, the network has developed a learning toolkit on the Global Goals for Cities*, available online, so that cities can better locate and implement the SDGs in their local strategies.

TARAN Stanislav
In Bridges of Trust, Call, Latest, Projects and Programmes

Call for Tender

Bridges of Trust Branding - News 2024

Looking for external expertise to develop partnerships in France and Spain

CEMR is looking for an external expert external expertise to create and develop partnerships between Ukrainian municipalities and local governments in France and Spain.

Deadline to apply: 07 March 2023

For more information, have a look at our call for tender.

THOMAS Carol
In Impact community Society, Latest, Local democracy

Youth Matters

Youth Matters - News 2022

Youth Matters: A Step-by-Step Booklet for Building a Strong Youth Council

Youth councils enable young people to better understand democracy and take an active part in it. Unfortunately, many cities do not have a long tradition in this area and may even struggle to create and operate a youth council. Therefore, the Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs (Bufdir) and the Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS) decided to jointly organize a workshop for young counsellors and, from this, to create a brochure for an almost “turnkey” youth council.
The youth councils of Karasjok, Alta and Hammerfest came together in the summer of 2022 to learn more about how to organize effectively, train their recruits and participate more actively in local governments.
The organisers felt it was important to exchange their different experiences so as not to have to start from scratch. Bufdir decided to focus on the participation of young people in public affairs because this is enshrined in the rights of the child and Article 104 of the Norwegian Constitution.


Don’t neglect young people
The workshop received the approval of Karasjok Deputy Mayor John Nystad. He emphasizes the importance of having a youth council in his municipality and hopes to cooperate more with young people in his municipality in the future. Mr Nystad believes that for young people’s wishes to become reality, local politicians must fully support them. The main thing is not to neglect issues that concern young people, he thinks.
During the workshop, the youth councillors shared their knowledge and exchanged advice on how to run a youth council. They advised speaking up more, contacting public administrators, following the calendar of political meetings in their municipality, and cooperating with “adult” politicians.
They also reminded us not to forget diversity and representativeness when it comes to recruiting new committed members. As Deputy Mayor Nystad said, everyone has the right to express themselves. Therefore, raising issues cooperatively with other residents keeps everyone better satisfied.

We never stop learning

Henriette Alexandra Mielonen, a member of the newly established youth council in Karasjok, expressed her satisfaction with the workshop: “It was informative.” She acknowledges that they didn’t know much about running a board before, but meeting more experienced members from other organisations helped them enormously.
“It’s always helpful to understand how others approach work,” she says; it was the old Alta council that gave them a lot of ideas. “We didn’t know we could contact the media if we were unhappy,” she adds.
But as Ms Mielonen reminds us, we never stop learning. This is why the Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS) has produced a new brochure summarizing the learnings from the workshop. They think this brochure could help other youth councils and make their experience easier.


The brochure is available in Norwegian and English.

TARAN Stanislav
In Bridges of Trust, Latest, Projects and Programmes

Bridges of Trust Initiative

Mayors in Ukraine - News 2023

“Bridges of Trust” will help rebuild 30 Ukrainian municipalities affected by the Russian war

On 15 February 2023, the “Bridges of Trust” initiative kicked off its second phase with a hybrid event in Brussels. Until September 2023, 10 associations of local and regional governments from the EU member states will facilitate 30 new municipal partnerships for the reconstruction of Ukraine. The initiative is supported by the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), the Association of Ukrainian Cities (AUC) and U-Lead.
 
For more information on this event, read the press release.

BIZARRO Pedro
In EU Covenant of Mayors, Latest, Projects and Programmes

Conference on local solutions for a global crisis

Covenant of Mayors Event - News 2023

“Cities on the frontline of the energy crisis”: A conference to bring local solutions to light

With the rising prices of energy, the majority of the world felt the consequences of the Russian aggression in Ukraine. The local authorities especially have been the first in line to deal with the crisis. To reflect on that matter, the Covenant of Mayors will organise a conference.

“Cities on the frontline of the energy crisis” will be held in the heart of the European district in Brussels on the 30th of March. The goal of the event is to gather the cities and their representatives to discuss how their efforts in changing the energy infrastructure can help in the future. Investing more in green and local energy might be crucial, especially in the light of the climate change.

Local solutions to a global crisis
So far, it has been the households and small and medium businesses that have suffered the most from the energy crisis. The rising prices and inflation have significantly impacted their way of living. However, moving from overconsumption towards a more sustainable future not only battles the ecological problems but is also a way to show support to Ukraine. Getting rid of dependence on Russian gas has been the main target of many leaders in coordination with the REPowerEU Plan.

Because the mayors and their local governments are the closest to the citizens, the Conference of the Covenant of Mayors 2023 will give these authorities the opportunity to proudly display their responses to current events. At the same time, it will offer a chance to reflect on what the European institutions and national governments can do to help the people more. 

The future of European energy
Those participating in the event can expect to meet and chat with high-level representatives from European cities and their institutions. Among those who have confirmed their attendance is the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans and the EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson. They will talk about how European institutions and state governments can assist local and regional attempts to reduce Russian gas dependency and energy consumption in the future.

Mayors and representatives of several European cities will join the moderated panel discussions on the agenda. The focus will be on the challenges the local authorities had to encounter, energy savings in the context of REPowerEU, and reflections on the first winter since the beginning of the energy crisis. The government representatives will also discuss their (immediate) reactions towards the crisis, the measures they have implemented, their impact on citizens and, most importantly: What can be done next.

Register for the conference before March 23rd here.

ROSSI Fabrizio
In Latest

Tragedy in Türkiye

Tragedy in Türkiye - News 2023

Earthquake: CEMR expresses its support to the Turkish association TBB

With the devastating earthquake striking Turkey and Syria, the CEMR President and Secretary General addressed a letter to the President of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey (TBB), Fatma Sahin, and its Secretary General, Hayri Baraçli. 

The quake struck at 4 am local time at a depth of about 18 km near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, whose mayor is Fatma Sahin, also Vice-President of the CEMR.

The co-signed document states: “It was with emotion that we learned the terrible news of the earthquake at the Turkish-Syrian border today. On behalf of CEMR and its members, we wish to express our support to your association at this difficult time. We share our deepest condolences with the families of the victims and with the Turkish people for the loss of their loved ones.”

CEMR and its member associations will continue to closely monitor the situation and are ready to provide support and assistance to the Union of Municipalities of Turkey (TBB).

GAUDRON Marine
In EU budget, EU budget, Impact community Cohesion, Impact community Cohesion, Latest, Publications, Territorial development, Territorial development

Safeguarding local investments 

Investing in Europe - News

Why EU economic governance reform must protect municipalities’ ability to invest 

Read full position paper

The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) has warned that the upcoming reform of the EU’s economic governance framework, including the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), could risk undermining the investment capacity of municipalities and regions across Europe. 

Local and regional governments are responsible for almost half of all public investments in the EU. These investments are essential to deliver on European priorities such as the green transition, digitalisation, and resilient infrastructure. However, the proposed introduction of net expenditure ceilings risks unintentionally penalising local governments, who generally borrow only for long-term investments in capital assets. 

Reform and its implications 

The European Commission has announced plans to simplify the SGP by replacing certain rules, including the medium-term objective (MTO), with a new system of net expenditure ceilings. While CEMR welcomes the move away from the MTO, which had previously constrained local investment through deficit limits and reduced transfers from central governments, it raises serious concerns about the impact of the new ceilings. 

Applying net expenditure limits to municipalities would create three major risks: 

  • Higher administrative burdens arise because local governments do not use the net expenditure concept in their accounting. 
  • Political mismatches, since local electoral cycles rarely align with national fiscal programming. 
  • Cuts in public investment, as postponing infrastructure projects, are often the only quick adjustment available under tight expenditure ceilings. 

This is even though local government debt levels are prudent in every EU Member State, and are already strictly monitored under national rules. 

The solution: exclude local expenditure 

CEMR is therefore calling for the exclusion of local government expenditure from the definition of net expenditure ceilings in the reformed SGP. Much like cyclical unemployment spending is excluded, removing local investment from these calculations would ensure municipalities can continue to provide essential services, maintain infrastructure, and invest in the future without being penalised by centralised fiscal targets. 

At a time when Europe urgently needs stronger local action to address climate, digital, and social challenges, weakening municipalities’ ability to invest would be counterproductive. Protecting local public investment within the EU’s economic governance reform is not just about budgets, it is about safeguarding Europe’s capacity to deliver on its ambitions. 

Read the position paper here 

For more information, contact: 

GAUDRON Marine
In Impact community Cohesion, Impact community Cohesion, Latest, Publications, Territorial development

Cohesion policy funds 2021-2027

European Town - News

Cities and municipalities in the driving seat for EU Cohesion Policy funds?

Read full study

What is the common feature between the trolleybuses in Otsravian metropolitan area (Czech Republic), the local food businesses in Ljubljana Urban Region (Slovenia) and the traditional dance festival in Saint-Gervais-d’Auvergne (France)? They all benefited from the European Cohesion Policy through integrated territorial investments (ITI) or community-led-local development (CLLD).
 
Behind the term “EU Cohesion Policy” we can find a variety of programmes and fundings such as the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF) or the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) although the latter is now directly attached to the Common Agricultural Policy.
 
In practice, these funds reach thousands of towns, cities and regions, as well as other beneficiaries through the intermediation of “Managing Authorities” which can be national Ministries or Regions. But there are two lesser-known dimensions of these funds which are directly  implemented on the ground: the so-called ‘ITI’ and ‘CLLD’
 
ITI and CLLD
 
Integrated Territorial Investments (ITI) and Community Led Local Development (CLLD) are the main mechanisms used to implement European Cohesion Policy funding in an integrated and place-based manner. Using these tools to implement Cohesion Policy funds is a guarantee that local governments and local stakeholders will be closely associated in the design, implementation and monitoring of the EU funds they receive.
 
They can allow the use of different funds in an integrated way. For instance, a rural municipality interested in a social inclusion project could combine ESF and EAFRD in a single, comprehensive project.
 
On paper ITI and CLLD are great tools for local and regional governments… But how do they translate in practice?
 
In 2015, we delved into the analysis of the use of the ITI  in different Member States. A few years later, with the start of the new programming period 2021-2027, we reiterated the experiment to understand how these tools were used in practice in the previous period and what the lessons learned and changes in their implementations. Click here to read the full study.
 
To do so, CEMR reached out to some of its member associations to gather feedback on the implementation and planning of ITI and CLLD tools from the perspective of cities and municipalities.
 
Highly appreciated tools, but some difficulties in implementation remain
 
Overall, the many feedbacks we received were quite positive. ITI and CLLD are considered great instruments thanks to their adaptability to local needs and specificities. They empower local authorities, and by doing so help raise their capacities in managing EU funds. But they also strengthen multi-level dialogue between the local authorities and the Managing authorities (either the Ministry or the Region). Hence reinforcing the trust between the different governance levels.
 
All is not yet rosy either: some challenges remain for fully tapping into the potential of these tools such as the administrative burden still inherent to Cohesion policy funds in general. In CEMR’s new analysis, we also identified some recommendations to improve the uptake of ITI and CLLD in the current and future programming period.

Read the study here

For more information, contact:

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