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

Climate-neutral territories

Host your own Covenant of Mayors satellite event

Get ready for the premier event promoting local climate action in Europe: EU leaders, mayors and regional presidents active on climate change and citizens will come together on 7 October 2021 for the Covenant of Mayors – Europe Ceremony.

This fully digital event will be a key moment to celebrate the achievements of the Covenant community and debate on how to commit, engage, act and network towards a fairer, climate-neutral Europe.

Covenant signatories and supporters can organise their own satellite events to accompany the Ceremony. This will give you the opportunity to promote the Covenant of Mayors’ 2050 vision of a Europe in which we all live in decarbonised and resilient cities with access to affordable, secure and sustainable energy.

You will be able to discuss your local or national community what is needed to step up action and may include a moment to sign the new Political Commitment to decarbonise their territory.

These events can be organised at local, regional or national level by signatories, coordinators, supporters and other members of the Covenant community. Your event should take place between September and December 2021 and have no admission fees.
Multiple types of event can be registered:

An awareness-raising action around the Covenant of Mayors’ vision to promote the 2050 Political Commitment to local leaders and local communities.
A mini-signing ceremony with local leaders and elected representatives.
A climate and energy event open to the general public, for example: an exhibition, debate or study visit.
A networking session around climate and energy issues tackled as part of the Covenant movement.
And more!

Go to this page to find more information and submit your event. Events should be submitted at least two weeks before they take place.
We encourage everyone to submit their events as early as possible to increase their visibility and promotion. A report of the event must be submitted within 10 working days after taking place.

The Covenant of Mayors – Europe Office will support you with templates, communications materials and promotion in our online calendar and social media. Events submitted before 1 October will also receive visibility in the main Ceremony.

Get involved and become part of the bottom-up movement for the climate transition and a healthy planet!

BIZARRO Pedro

Project Lead – Climate, Energy & Urban Development

GAUDRON Marine In Impact community Cohesion, Latest, Territorial development

Rural development

EU develops its vision for rural areas alongside local governments

Good news! The long-awaited EU’s long-term vision for rural areas towards 2040 was finally presented this week by the EU Commission’s Vice President, Dubravka Suica, and Commissioners for Cohesion, Elisa Ferreira, and for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski.

Today, rural areas are home to almost 30% of Europe’s population (137 million people in total) which covers 80% of the EU’s territory. However, their situation is a cause for concern: depopulation and the decline of public services are driving alienation and political discontent across our continent.

With this new vision, the EU executive aims to ensure stronger and connected rural areas through mobility and digital solutions, areas more resilient to climate change and economic crisis and prosperous rural areas through diversified economy.

With no doubt, the EU is part of the answer, but it has to involve towns and regions as drivers for long-term territorial development. Here in short is what is planned:

What place for local and regional governments?

The Commission aims to mobilise public authorities at all levels and rural stakeholders, with the launch of a Rural Pact by the end of 2021. It invites the different levels of government to design a strategy and an action plan addressing the challenges faced by rural areas.

We need to ensure that Europe’s towns and regions will be at the centre of this strategy. In this regard, the creation of a “Rural revitalisation platform” represents a great step forward as the one-stop shop for rural communities, project holders and local governments offering guidance on funding opportunities and visibility for successful projects.

According to the communication, a special focus will be put on the collection of best practices specifically for rural municipalities and regions, around sustainable multimodal mobility, energy transition and climate adaptation.

At CEMR we have advocated a change in narrative towards more positive messages that promote assets of the countryside, from a cultural and tourism viewpoint, but also through economic diversification. It is a great step ahead that EU’s vision is clearly aligned with this recommendation and that it recognises the diversity of rural areas, calling for locally designed solutions.

An EU Rural action plan to implement the vision

The Commission also proposed a Rural action plan to implement its vision around some flagship initiatives. But in terms of funding, it doesn’t propose new financing sources beyond the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), the Cohesion Policy funds, the Recovery and Resilience Facility and InvestEU. Therefore, the Commission also intends to develop a toolkit on access to and optimal combination of EU funding opportunities in rural areas, accessible to local and other stakeholders.

There is a need for more consistency between various EU policies and their impact at the local level. This is why we welcome the introduction of a “Rural proofing” mechanism to analyse any potential impact that EU policies may have on rural jobs, growth and sustainable development as part of the Better Regulation Agenda.

As of now, all EU policies will be reviewed through a rural lens, the Commission is creating a rural observatory in 2022 to better understand and analyse economic, social and demographic trends in rural areas.

Citizens support local decision making

A recently published Eurobarometer shed light on citizens’ concerns around the situation of rural areas. Some of the results resonate clearly with CEMR’s recommendations to revitalise the countryside:

– 79% of EU citizens support the EU giving consideration to rural areas in public spending decisions

– 65% think that the local area or province should be able to decide how the EU investment in rural areas is spent

– 44% mentioned transport infrastructure and connections as a key need of rural areas

Nest steps

By mid-2023 the Commission will take stock of the achievements and highlight remaining gaps and funding needs. In 2024, it will come up with recommendations for the upcoming Commission’s budget (2028-2032).

For CEMR also our work will continue. Save the date for our session “Rural connections” on 14 October (11.30 – 13.00) during the European Week of Regions and Cities. We will discuss how to achieve the vision’s objective through mobility and digital innovation.

GAUDRON Marine

Advisor – Territorial Cohesion & Local Finances

THOMAS Carol In Impact community Society, Latest, Local democracy

Horizon Europe

How local governments can take part in the EU’s €95-billion research programme

Horizon: this evocative word summarises the hopes for the European Union’s science and innovation funding programme, the biggest in the world. All places are deeply concerned by the possibilities and transformations enabled by innovation.

That’s why EU officials and local and regional governments met yesterday (29 June) to discuss how local and regional governments can better take advantage of the Horizon Europe programme to implement innovative projects in their territories.

Horizon is armed with a whopping €95.5 billion for the 2021-2027 period, with municipalities, counties and regions being eligible for many of its projects either as a contractor or as the entity physically hosting projects on their territory.

There are however obstacles to local and regional governments’ participation, notably lack of awareness and of local capacity to engage in the projects. Associations of local and regional governments can play a crucial role in overcoming these challenges. More generally, Horizon should be adapted to every national situation and the diversity of local conditions.

The new Horizon programme: great opportunities for local governments

Magda De Carli, Head of Unit in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD), provided an overview of the many new EU funding opportunities for local innovation.
“The role of regions and local authorities is there both as direct beneficiaries or as the entity where the activity is taking place“, said De Carli. “What is next is to take on board this opportunity and make the most of it.“

The regulation stipulating how Horizon will be run includes many references to local and regional governments and has been drafted in harmony with the rules for cohesion policy, the primary EU funding programme targeting territories.

Local and regional governments are heavily involved in Horizon Europe’s new “missions”, thematic areas where research will tackle major societal challenges. Municipalities and regions are strongly implicated in the mission “adaptation to climate change” and will receive support to comply with the EU’s Climate Law. Local governments and communities will also cooperate closely in the mission “soil health and food” and municipal authorities are naturally central to the mission “climate-neutral and smart cities”.

Municipalities and regions also feature prominently in other areas. Regions are major beneficiaries of European Innovation Ecosystems, a programme promoting the scaling up and interconnection of local innovation ecosystems. Cities and local communities are also involved in the research cluster “civil security for society”, which deals with protection against cybercrime and natural or man-made disasters.

Beyond Horizon, local and regional governments will also be able to mobilise cohesion spending for innovation in their territories. For instance, SMEs that have been awarded an EU Seal of Excellence quality label will be eligible for cohesion funding without violating state-aid rules. In the previous seven-year budget period, cohesion funding provided €40 billion to research and innovation.

Good practices from Norway: advocacy and mentoring

The event was an occasion to share experiences from local and regional government associations on how to promote engagement with Horizon. While Horizon is an EU programme, it also has beneficiaries in non-EU countries.

This became clear with the intervention of Jon Anders Drøpping, Manager for Research and Development in the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS), which covers all of Norway’s 356 local and 11 regional governments. The EU is a major source of innovation funding in Norway, accounting for around a third of research and innovation resources open to competition.

KS has strongly lobbied at both national and EU level to make sure local governments can compete for research funding. Municipalities and regions are now an integral part of the country’s national strategy for participating in Horizon Europe.

Applying for Horizon projects is often a challenging undertaking, particularly for smaller municipalities. That is why KS organises a mentorship programme, over a period of 18-24 months, in which local governments learn how to structure an application, get administrative and political support and participate in a consortium. The programme works like a skills and talent development scheme and as a professional network for mutual learning.

Participants in KS’ membership programme made five applications for the last batch of Horizon 2020 projects – the EU’s previous research programme – under the European Green Deal. Norwegian local and regional governments in general participated in around 50 Horizon 2020 projects.

National associations: the key to engaging municipalities and regions

Other associations also gave their perspectives on Horizon Europe. Aleksandra Vukmirovic of the Standing Conference of Town and Municipalities of Serbia (SCTM) noted that municipalities in her country are also eligible for some Horizon funds. She stressed the need to encourage local governments to participate and find partners, as well as to provide technical assistance. She also pointed out that during implementation of the Horizon Europe specific characteristics of local governments in pre-accession countries should be taken into account.

Several participants highlighted the need to provide local and regional governments with practical examples of the kinds of projects Horizon has funded. This would give local officials more concrete ideas as to what is possible and motivate their administrations to seize opportunities.

Looking to the future, CEMR hopes to establish a long-term collaboration with the European Commission’s DG RTD to organise regular exchanges with our member associations to improve local and regional governments’ access to innovation funding.

THOMAS Carol

Senior Adviser, Governance, Gender Equality, Local Democracy

TONHAUSER Boris In Impact community Climate, Impact community Climate, Impact community Society, Impact community Society, Latest, PLATFORMA, PLATFORMA, Publications

European territories localise the SDGs

Hot off the press: “European Territories Localise the SDGs”

Read full study

From global to local: PLATFORMA and CEMR are proud to present the 2021 edition of our regular series of publications on how municipalities, regions and their associations are making the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) a reality on the ground.

Entitled European Territories Localise the SDGs: Continuity and Change in Times of COVID-19, this 46-page report is jam-packed with data, infographics, charts and best practices on how local and regional governments are working on the SDGs in Europe and beyond.

Based on data from 39 local and regional government associations in 29 countries, the study provides a succinct overview of the often-diverse situation across the European continent.

Local governments: key to monitoring and cooperation on the SDGs

The report’s findings are clear: an increasing number of local and regional governments and their associations in Europe are taking the lead in implementing what is still seen by many others as ‘just’ a global agenda. Those on the forefront however know how the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs can transform their daily work, policies and public services with inclusive approaches.

Indeed, 15.4% of associations are now more involved in the SDGs than in 2019. Today, over 3/4 associations have sound knowledge of the SDGs and 1/3 use them as a guiding reference.

The SDGs offer a shared vocabulary and goals, enabling local governments to interconnect with other governments and players, ultimately forming links between citizens and the world. Local governments and their associations have a particularly crucial role in promoting cooperation on and monitoring of progress on the SDGs.

84% of associations are involved in some way in national SDG coordination mechanisms. What’s more, around 4/5 associations have taking action on the SDGs’ international dimension and considers that the SDG framework helps development of partnerships with peers (i.e. decentralised cooperation activities around the 2030 Agenda).

The report also highlights the essential role of local government associations have played during the COVID crisis. This has included sharing information with municipalities and regions, capacity-building, advocating for financial support and participating in national consultations.

Recommendations to realise the 2030 Agenda from the bottom-up

We have long known that the ambitious goals of the 2030 Agenda need to be implemented from the bottom-up. The local level is ideal for experimentation, innovation and acceleration of work on the SDGs. However, the right conditions need to be in place to realise this potential.

The report formulates 5 key recommendations:

Increase EU and national funding for SDG localisation
Promote mutli-level governance, multi-stakeholder partnerships and policy coherence
Local and regional governments and their associations should continue peer learning within and outside Europe
National governments should increase recognition and support for SDG localisation (notably to monitor progress)
Strengthen human resources and capacities on SDG localisation

The report and its key findings will be presented on 29 June at the 12th Annual Meeting of Cités Unies Frances (CUF), on 8 July during a PLATFORMA-CEMR dedicated webinar taking place in the context of the the UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF, registration form) and at other local government events.

More information:

CEMR and PLATFORMA, European Territories Localise the SDGs: Continuity and Change in Times of COVID-19 (Also available in French)
PLATFORMA-UCLG Learning module 4 on Decentralised Cooperation and the SDGs

For more information, contact:

TONHAUSER Boris

Director – PLATFORMA

THOMAS Carol In Impact community Society, Latest

ESPON

CEMR taking part in a study on COVID’s territorial impact and local responses

CEMR is partnering with ESPON – the EU research programme on territorial development – to study the territorial impacts of COVID-19 and policy answers in European regions and cities. We will collect information through a survey of our members and gather relevant case studies from our experts.

The resulting study will seek to identify the patterns of COVID’s spread and emphasise both the importance of local governments in assessing the pandemic’s impact, as well as the role of their associations.

THOMAS Carol

Senior Adviser, Governance, Gender Equality, Local Democracy

TONHAUSER Boris In Latest, PLATFORMA

Sustainable Development Goals

Hot off the press: “European Territories Localise the SDGs”

From global to local: CEMR and PLATFORMA are proud to present the 2021 edition of our regular series of publications on how municipalities, regions and their associations are making the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) a reality on the ground.

Based on data from 39 local and regional government associations in 29 countries, the study provides a succinct overview of the often-diverse situation across the European continent.

Local governments: key to monitoring and cooperation on the SDGs

Indeed, 15.4% of associations are now more involved in the SDGs than in 2019. Today, over 3/4 associations have sound knowledge of the SDGs and 1/3 use them as a guiding reference.

84% of associations are involved in some way in national SDG coordination mechanisms. What’s more, around 4/5 associations have taking action on the SDGs’ international dimension and consider that the SDG framework helps development of partnerships with peers, namely for decentralised cooperation activities centered around the 2030 Agenda.

Recommendations to realise the 2030 Agenda from the bottom-up

The report formulates 5 key recommendations:

Increase EU and national funding for SDG localisation
Promote mutli-level governance, multi-stakeholder partnerships and policy coherence
Local and regional governments and their associations should continue peer learning within and outside Europe
National governments should increase recognition and support for SDG localisation (notably to monitor progress)
Strengthen human resources and capacities on SDG localisation

The report and its key findings will be presented on 29 June at the 12th Annual Meeting of Cités Unies Frances (CUF), on 8 July during a PLATFORMA-CEMR dedicated webinar taking place during the UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF, registration form) and at other local government events.

TONHAUSER Boris

Director – PLATFORMA

OKKALI AKTAS Ayben In About CEMR, Latest

Policy Committee

Local leaders gather for a busy political agenda

Europe’s local leaders met on Friday (18 June) to take stock of CEMR’s activities and orient its political work. There was a busy agenda as the Policy Committee dealt with a wide range of issues.

CEMR’s highest decision-making body discussed action on migration and integration, and adopted positions on rural development and the European Commission’s 8th Environmental Action Plan. The elected officials also discussed the evolution of human rights, gender equality and local democracy in Europe, culminating in the adoption of a declaration in support of municipalities signing the Charter for Equality, regardless of the national situation.

The leaders also discussed CEMR’s participation to the Conference on the Future of Europe – a great event debating how to reform the European Union – in collaboration with the European Movement International (EMI). This would notably involve the organisation of local citizen dialogues, with several CEMR members having expressed an interest in organising such events.

The next Policy Committee meeting is planned for January 2022.

COVID-19’s impact on local cultural activities

The meeting kicked off with two simultaneous debates during breakout sessions, one on COVID-19’s impact on local cultural activities and the other on our long-term vision on rural development.

Local leaders and experts on cultural policy discussed the state of the cultural sector, which has been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Catherine Magnant, deputy director in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, provided an overview of the sector and of EU support measures.

The cultural sector makes up 4% of EU GDP and employs 8 million people but many institutions have seen a collapse in revenue as visitorship plumetted. Cinemas, museums and music venues all saw revenue losses of 70-80%.

“This is a personal tragedy for the artists and a problem for the economy, at a time during the pandemic where culture is essential to our mental health and well-being“, said Magnant. “So it is very important that we try to help this sector recover.“

The EU took a number of measures to support the industry. Employment contracts could now be made flexible. Funding is being provided with the Creative Europe programme being boosted by 60% (now worth €2.44 billion for the 2021-2027 period) and cultural funding also being provided within other EU programmes.

The session’s moderator, Flo Clucas (councillor for Cheltenham, United Kingdom), and the participants all agreed that the cultural sector represents more than just an economic industry, but is also a way of making the most of each territory’s heritage and of bringing people together at a time when the pandemic has sharply isolated people.

Long-term vision on rural development

Ahead of the publication of European Commission’s long-term vision for rural areas, local and regional leaders discussed the impact of COVID-19 on rural and remote areas. While rural areas were initially spared during the pandemic, they were often less prepared to deal with the disease due to comparative lack of infrastructure and healthcare services. At the same time, rapid digitalisation of daily life may offer new opportunities the countryside.

Lord Mayor of Sala Carola Gunnarsson described how the COVID crisis and teleworking had changed the situation for rural areas in Sweden. Many people had moved out of the capital Stockholm, a novel development, thanks to teleworking. People move to the countryside for the lower cost of living, contact with nature and higher quality of life. This gives new opportunities to revitalise rural areas by taking advantage of their assets.

Mayor of Soria and CEMR Vice-President Carlos Martínez Mínguez emphasised the importance of providing equal opportunities and equal access to public services, notably through public investment. Europe’s recovery and resilience plan represent an opportunity not to be missed, as lack of action in this area has led to public alienation in the form of rising euroscepticism. He proposed that we move to a new governance model in which local and regional governments take more responsibility for these policies and have more influence among national and international players.

Many members of the Policy Committee joined the debate to share similar challenges as well as shed light on the specificities of rural areas and urban-rural linkages in each country. Most of the interventions mentioned access to quality broadband and mobility opportunities as key issues, also pointing to the major role of national and European high-speed road and train networks in shaping territories. These issues will be at the heart of the session CEMR organises during the European Week of Cities and Regions.

For further information in this topic, check out CEMR’s long-term vision for rural areas: “Making ‘no one left behind’ a reality”.

OKKALI AKTAS Ayben

Officer – Statutory Affairs & Event

BENNIS Hamza In Digitalisation, Impact community Labour, Latest

Digital Decade

Europe’s Digital Decade: 3 challenges for the EU to succeed

The digital transformation is having a major impact on our societies, everyday life, economy and the way public administrations function. With its communication “Europe’s digital decade”, the European Commission outlined its vision for the digitalisation of our societies, notably by setting targets in areas such as education, business, infrastructure and government.

These unprecedented targets do not come alone. The EU’s €672.5 billion Recovery and Resilience Facility has indeed fixed that at least 20% of national recoveryplans be dedicated to digital transition.

We aspire to a society in which we make use of technology’s potential and safeguard the public interest. Making all public services available online will be a crucial challenge for local and regional governments.

The webinar “Are we ready for a Local Digital Decade?”, organised by CEMR and its associations, shed light on some of the challenges that the EU has to take into account to succeed in its digital strategy.

The transition to e-government requires investments

New technology rarely comes cheap and the digitisation of local public administration can put pressure on local finances. “Sufficient attention is not paid to the financing of the renewal or maintenance of existing and active services,” said Kaimo Käärmann-Liive from the Association of Estonian Cities and Municipalities (AECM). The Recovery and Resilience Facility however represents a good opportunity to invest in our territories.

Equally important is that local and regional governments can count on public officials who have the knowledge and technical skills to adapt well to the digitisation of services. The EU should ensure financial support and adequate platforms to share best practices and development of digital skills within municipalities and regions, for example through the new Digital Europe Programme.

No territory should be left behind

EU digital ambitions must take into account rural, less populated and remote areas. “The GDPR created a lot of bureaucracy and administrative costs, and small municipalities are struggling to implement it”, said Michael Schmitz, an advisor at German County Association (DLT). The same goes for 5G, which aims to cover of 80% of territory. We should make sure that it “should not be targeted to only populous places.” In fact, “the 80% target is not ambitious enough since private telecommunication companies in Germany have argued that we can cover 99% of the territory.”

A proper data management is key

Cities need to manage local data but this is a very complex undertaking. A study published by the Association of German Cities (DST) called “Urban Data ” reveals that data management requires cooperation, transparency and dialogue. Sharing data across sectors is important as you need expertise within the local reality. There is a need to fit the legal and infrastructural frameworks, and reorganise powers and competences.

The accessibility, security, availability and usability of services must be guaranteed so that they can be used by all in a non-discriminatory manner. The notion of “intersectionality” is therefore essential to understand how several factors of discrimination can add up and enable us to empower the most disadvantaged citizens.

This webinar was part of a series organised by CEMR for its members that aims to provide them with key knowledge, insights and capacities to engage local government in the digital transformation.

BENNIS Hamza

Officer – Employment, Digitalisation and Public Services

GRIFFON Axelle In Energy, Impact community Climate, Latest

Summit Poznan 2021

Connecting Nature Enterprise

As the world looks to build back better after the pandemic, innovators are leading to the way towards sustainable business models inspired by nature. That’s why the city of Poznan is hosting the Connecting Nature Enterprise Summit, an online event bringing together mayors, business leaders and policymakers from across Europe, with the support of the European Commission.

The summit will explore the challenges and opportunities of embracing nature-based solutions. Hosted on a virtual platform with panel discussions, presentations, workshops, capacity building sessions and plenty of opportunity to connect with other participants. Get inspired, naturally!

Dates: 29-30 June 2021
Website and programme
Registration
Languages: English and Polish

GRIFFON Axelle

Advisor – Environment and mobility

PALA Francesco In Impact community Society, Latest

Africa-Europe partnership

Connecting young local leaders

Europe and Africa face more and more common challenges, there is a growing need for greater cooperation and solidarity, starting with the local level. Many of these challenges are long-term and intergenerational, meaning young people are deeply affected. And indeed who better to talk about the world of tomorrow than the youth?

That’s why we are holding the “Africa-Europe partnership: Connecting young local leaders!” event gathering young local and regional elected officials, youth organisations, representatives and partners from Europe and Africa to tackle one big question: how should African and European young local leaders organise their collaboration?

The event will explore how local leaders can structure their future dialogue and provide input to major events such as the African Union-European Union summits and Africities. The session will build upon previous work begun in Abidjan and Marrakesh in 2018.

The event will take place over two days on 23-24 June 2021. During the opening session, inspiring young leaders will share their reflections on a future for Africa-Europe relations that takes into account the needs and wishes of young people in an increasingly connected world.

The following day, we’ll discuss the future of this partnership during a practical working group session and gather ideas to structure the dialogue and address common challenges together from a local perspective.

So don’t hesitate to come along to build the foundations of a partnership that will shake up Europe-Africa relations as we know them!

Dates: 23-24 June
Agenda
Registration link

PALA Francesco

Advisor – Young Elected and Partners Engagement

Latest558

Climate-neutral territories

Host your own Covenant of Mayors satellite event

Rural development

EU develops its vision for rural areas alongside local governments

Horizon Europe

How local governments can take part in the EU’s €95-billion research programme

European territories localise the SDGs

Hot off the press: “European Territories Localise the SDGs”

ESPON

CEMR taking part in a study on COVID’s territorial impact and local responses

Sustainable Development Goals

Hot off the press: “European Territories Localise the SDGs”

Policy Committee

Local leaders gather for a busy political agenda

Digital Decade

Europe’s Digital Decade: 3 challenges for the EU to succeed

Summit Poznan 2021

Connecting Nature Enterprise

Africa-Europe partnership

Connecting young local leaders

Useful Links

Language

Resonance

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