On the initiative of the mayor of Gdansk, who is also CEMR’s executive president, 100 mayors of European cities launched a joint call to European governments and the European Commission. They ask them to increase their efforts to end the war against Ukraine.
They call on the mayors of European cities to join their call by filling in this form.
Project Officer – International Partnerships (U-Lead)
700 mayors and local or regional leaders from across Europe have united around Ukraine by signing the Council of European Municipalities and Regions’ (CEMR) call condemning the Russian invasion and pledging to support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.
The moral and political condemnation of Russia’s aggression has been overwhelming. Signatories include the mayors of Lisbon, Paris, Tbilisi, Cologne, Cluj-Napoca, Gdańsk and Reading as well as the chairs and vice-chairs of 25 national associations of local and regional governments.
While towns, cities and regions across Europe are symbolically lighting up their public buildings blue and yellow in solidarity with Ukraine, they are also providing concrete support by hosting Ukrainian refugees and giving financial, humanitarian and material aid to Ukrainian local and regional governments. CEMR is coordinating this response with its 60 member associations from 40 European countries.
Stefano Bonaccini, president of CEMR and of the Emilia-Romagna Region, said: “Faced with the reality of war, municipalities and regions across Europe must scale up their financial, humanitarian and material support in response to the growing needs of Ukraine’s people and local governments. This mobilisation demands greater coordination between European, national and local levels to ensure optimal efficiency and to avoid scattering our efforts.”
Ukrainian Mayors at the forefront
Ukrainian mayors and local workers are continuing to provide essential services to residents in an extremely dangerous environment. This includes distributing food and medicine, evacuation of women and children and urgent repairs to basic infrastructure damaged by Russian bombs.
“The local government continues to safeguard functioning of the critical infrastructure of our city”, said Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv and the president of the Association of Ukrainian Cities (AUC). “Public service workers are helping the humanitarian coordination centre, distributing food and delivering send and blocks for territorial defence.”
A video (with English subtitles) of comments from the mayors of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Mykolayiv gives a glimpse of the extraordinary challenges Ukrainian municipalities and their residents face today. These threats to mayors include outright kidnapping by the Russian occupiers, as has occurred to Ivan Federov, the mayor of Melitopol, and Yevhen Matveyev, the mayor of Dniprorudne.
“CEMR wholly condemns the kidnapping of democratically elected Ukrainian mayors”, said CEMR President Stefano Bonaccini. “This is part of an attempt to establish illegitimate alternative government structures in a sovereign country. All kidnapped Ukrainian elected officials must be released immediately.”
European municipalities provide financial, humanitarian and material aid
Local and regional governments across Europe are mobilising resources for their peers in Ukraine, often in collaboration with their national associations. Municipalities like Przemyśl (Poland), Tampere (Finland) and Šiauliai District (Lithuania) are together donating millions of euros either financially or in the form of direct aid. The city of Kielce (Poland) has for its part provided helmets, bulletproof vests, thermal underwear and medical supplies to its partner town Vinnitsa. These examples only scratch the surface of local action being taken.
European municipalities host Ukrainian refugees
European municipalities and regions are welcoming Ukrainian refugees. In border regions, the scale of human movement is massive with an estimated 1.5 million refugees in Poland alone. These territories will require support to host refugees in the best possible conditions.
Further afield, countless municipalities across Europe are taking action. For example, in Gent a city platform has been created for residents to register their flat to host refugees. The city of Paris is offering free transport and crèche spaces for refugees. Coordination with the national government is often taking place through our national associations.
Local government associations are crucial for mobilising and coordinating action
Associations of local and regional governments are emerging as important players in coordinating the actions of municipalities and regions. The Association of Ukrainian Cities has been sharing information on the needs of the country’s municipalities. Meanwhile, the local government associations of several European countries have donated funds to AUC. Other associations, such as in Austria and Latvia, are mobilising their networks to participate in the Operation Snowflake. This operation consists in writing to Russian mayors and council chairs to call on them to stop the war.
Coordination between local, regional and national governments is crucial to identifying and sharing the needs of people in Ukraine and maximising our impact. CEMR is mobilising and exchanging with its members on how European municipalities and regions can best respond to the war’s impact. We are working on, among other issues, support for Ukrainian municipalities and the hosting of refugees fleeing Ukraine.
Project Officer – International Partnerships (U-Lead)
It has been two weeks since Vladimir Putin launched Russia’s war against Ukraine. The Ukrainian people are the first victims. Ukraine’s mayors are on the front line mitigating the damage: organising shelters and evacuations, providing food and water and sharing essential information with residents. The European Union’s sanctions and the withdrawal of Western corporations are isolating Russia, but on the ground the bombs and battles roll on, neighbourhood by neighbourhood.
Mayors are coping with this situation with their residents and organised groups of military and territorial defence, where possible. The news we receive town by town is very hard to hear, each one becoming a fortress, while remaining connected to each other where possible through the associations of local and regional governments and the national government.
Local and regional governments bordering Ukraine are welcoming refugees in the best possible conditions. Further afield, countless municipalities across Europe are taking action. In Gent, a city platform has been created for residents to register their flat to host refugees. Meanwhile, the city of Paris is offering free transport and crèche spaces for refugees. Coordination with the national government is often taking place through our national associations.
Many questions continue to be asked about how to continue to support peers in Russia who oppose Putin’s regime and how to support the Russian population demonstrating against the war every day, while at the same time putting maximal pressure on Russia, and its Belarusian ally, to withdraw their troops from Ukraine immediately.
At our level, CEMR is doing what it can to support the Ukrainian people, Ukrainian local and regional governments, and all those affected by the war. In 14 days, over 700 mayors and local or regional elected officials have already condemned the Russian attack and expressed their solidarity with their peers in Ukraine by signing CEMR’s political declaration.
In addition, we are:
In the future we want to see how EU funds can be used to cope with the effects of the war in Ukraine and bordering countries and municipalities. The kinds of support needed must still be determined.
Looking ahead, CEMR is organising a task force with our members to exchange and coordinate on how to best support Ukrainian municipalities and the people of Ukraine. We will continue to provide regular updates on European local and regional governments’ actions in this crisis.
Project Officer – International Partnerships (U-Lead)
Equality between women and men is a fundamental right and a cornerstone of democracy. Yet, despite legal recognition, disparities remain in pay, representation, and everyday opportunities across Europe. Recognising the pivotal role of local and regional governments in tackling these inequalities, the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) developed the European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life in 2006.
By signing the Charter, municipalities and regions make a public commitment to promoting equality across their policies, services and institutions, and to developing Equality Action Plans that transform principles into practice.
The Charter was drafted with the support of the European Commission and has since become a reference tool for towns and regions seeking to mainstream gender equality. It encourages signatories to act not only within their own administrations but also with local institutions, organisations and citizens.
Over the years, supporting tools have strengthened their implementation:
New provisions were also added, including the need to apply a gender lens in crisis management and to address gender perspectives in digitalisation and online life. From 2023 onwards, all new signatories commit automatically to both the original Charter and the 2022 amendments.
The European Charter for Equality demonstrates how local and regional democracy is crucial for advancing fairness in daily life, whether through housing, transport, health, or political participation. By embedding gender equality into decision-making and governance, towns and regions can both safeguard rights and unlock economic and social potential.
More than a symbolic document, the Charter is a practical instrument for change, mobilising local authorities across Europe to ensure that equality between women and men is not only a principle on paper but a reality in every community.
For more information, contact:
Director – Policy & Impact
The European social partners for local and regional governments, CEMR and EPSU, have jointly expressed their strong condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, calling it a grave violation of international law and a direct threat to democracy and peace in Europe.
In a statement released through the European Social Dialogue Committee, the two organisations extended full support to the Ukrainian people, especially to workers in cities, municipalities, and local public services, who continue to serve their communities under attack.
“Our thoughts are with first responders, emergency services workers and municipal staff who are ensuring the delivery of basic services, despite the ongoing destruction,” the statement reads.
CEMR and EPSU pledged to mobilise both material assistance and technical expertise to support their peers in Ukraine and urged the EU and international community to provide shelter and asylum for those fleeing the war.
As municipalities across Europe begin to welcome displaced persons, the statement also highlights the importance of supporting local migration services and coordinating with national governments to ensure dignified reception and integration.
For more information, contact:
Project Officer – International Partnerships (U-Lead)
In a statement issued by the CEMR on 24 February 2022, local and regional leaders across Europe, strongly condemn the multiple attacks and violations of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. They express their full support and solidarity to the Ukrainian people and their peers in local and regional government.
Expressing their views on the situation, CEMR President Stefano Bonaccini, CEMR Spokesperson on International Affairs Carola Gunnarsson and CEMR Executive President Jan van Zanen said: “We will not accept that our European values and integrity be attacked again by the Russian Federation after the violation of Georgian territories by Russia in 2008. We are firmly opposed to the dismemberment of a free and democratic state in Europe.”
They call on local and regional governments throughout Europe to endorse the statement by filling out this form.
To date, CEMR collected 795 signatures from 23 European countries.
The full statement:
We, local and regional leaders across Europe, strongly condemn the multiple attacks and violations of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. We express our full support and solidarity to the Ukrainian people and our peers in local and regional government. We will not accept that our European values and integrity be attacked again by the Russian Federation after the violation of Georgian territories by Russia in 2008. We are firmly opposed to the dismemberment of a free and democratic state in Europe.
The escalation of violence, repeated bombings and attacks on Ukrainian cities and territories are a serious threat to the preservation of peace and democracy across Europe. We call on the Federation of Russia to cease its attack, to leave the national territory of Ukraine, to respect all international treaties and fundamental principles of international law and to recognise the full sovereignty of Ukraine over all its territories, including Donbas and Crimea.
Firmly convinced of local democracy and city diplomacy, based on the values of peace that unite our municipalities across Europe since 1951, we stand by the Ukrainian municipalities, cities, hromadas, districts, raions and their representative associations. They are in the front line to protect the population and provide basic services to offer them good quality living conditions and daily survival. The destruction of infrastructure by the belligerents jeopardises the efficient and safe maintenance of basic public services provided by Ukrainian local and regional governments to their citizens.
As European local and regional governments, representing 60 national associations across 40 European countries, including Ukraine, we will continue to work to support them in their efforts. Not only are we ready to support our peers in the country with the materials and expertise they may need in the days and weeks to come. Municipalities and regions will probably have to face soon the human consequences of such a tragedy for Europe, probably resulting in a flow of humanitarian refugees. Coordination with our national governments will be essential.
As the European section of UCLG, let us hope that city diplomacy will soon unite us all again!
Project Officer – International Partnerships (U-Lead)
European local and regional governments have expressed their strongest condemnation of Russia’s repeated attacks and violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. They reject any attempt to dismantle a free and democratic state in Europe, stressing that these acts threaten peace and democracy across the continent.
Solidarity with Ukrainian Communities
Mayors, councils, and regional leaders stand firmly with their peers in Ukraine, municipalities, hromadas, districts, and their associations, who remain on the frontline providing essential services to citizens under the constant threat of bombings and destruction of infrastructure.
Commitment to Support
Local and regional governments across Europe, representing 60 national associations in 40 countries, commit to offering Ukrainian communities the materials, expertise, and assistance needed to face the ongoing crisis. They also prepare to respond to the humanitarian consequences, including the likely arrival of refugees, in close coordination with national governments.
City Diplomacy for Peace
Rooted in a tradition of local democracy and city diplomacy since 1951, European municipalities reaffirm their belief in peace and cooperation. They call on Russia to cease its aggression, withdraw from Ukraine, including Donbas and Crimea, and respect international law.
Looking Ahead
Despite the violence, local leaders remain convinced that diplomacy between cities can once again be a powerful force for unity, peace, and rebuilding across Europe.
For more information, contact:
Project Officer – International Partnerships (U-Lead)
In a declaration adopted on 14 February 2022, the Council of European Municipalities and Regions condemns unprovoked Russian military build-up on the Ukrainian border towns and regions and continued threats against Ukraine in recent months.
We express our deep concern over the current developments around Ukraine, which pose new threats to Ukraine and regional peace, security, and democracy.
Indeed, faced with the tense security situation, Ukrainian local governments are affected and obstructed from creating democratic development of their cities and regions, from proper functioning of local public services, and from taking care of their citizens. Furthermore, due to the tense security situation, implementation of decentralisation and public administration reforms could be restricted, which is categorically unacceptable.
We express our solidarity with the people of Ukraine, local and regional governments, especially in the East of the country, who have suffered greatly since 2014 as a result of the war, and are now living under daily threats of the military offensive against Ukraine while simultaneously continuing to innovate and reform the country.
We reaffirm our full and unwavering support for the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine and all Eastern neighbourhood countries within their internationally recognized borders. These principles are enshrined in international agreements of which Russia is a signatory, form the basis of European security, and cannot be revised.
We welcome the European Commission’s recent emergency macro-financial assistance package to Ukraine. We urge the EU institutions and national governments to be united, speak with one voice, and strengthen assistance to the Ukrainian local governments. They are in direct contact with the citizens and continue to provide all public services under the threat of conflict and energy blackmail.
CEMR, with Europe’s municipalities and regions, will continue to support Ukrainian local and regional governments and their associations. We will continue supporting the development of Ukraine through its contribution to decentralised cooperation, the growth of city-to-city and region-to-region ties.
To know more about how local government works and operates in Ukraine, discover its country profile in our TERRI Report.
Project Officer – International Partnerships (U-Lead)
Do you want to set up a town twinning or a network of towns? The EU’s CERV programme (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values) can provide up to 30,000 euros for town twinnings and financing with no upper bound for networks of towns.
You have until 24 March 2022, 17:00 CET, to send your request for funding. The results will be shared between June and July 2022 after evaluation of the proposals.
An information session will be held on 8 February between 10:00 and 12:00 (in English). The session aims to explain the content and conditions of the call for proposals, as well as giving participants space to ask questions. You can else get directly in touch with your national CERV contact point.
Project Lead in Twinning & Partnership
The Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa (CoM SSA) is looking for a contractor to provide support in the organisation of capacity building and advocacy events and the coordination and editorial of two project publications:
– Local Climate Action Advocacy in Sub-Saharan Africa
– Capacity-building for Local Government Associations: lessons learned
The bids, and any other communication related to the tender, shall be sent to the e-mail address application@ccre-cemr.org with COMSSA in the subject. Interested consultants shall submit their bids no later than by 22 February 2022 – 12h00.
Check the full Terms of Reference.
Project Lead – Climate, Energy & Urban Development
