The General Mayor, Ion Ceban and Deputy Mayor Ilie Ceban are taking part these days in the second global meeting of the „Partnerships for Sustainable Cities” Programme, held in Barcelona.

Representatives from more than 100 cities and cities of the world participate in the forum.

The mayor of the capital said that the Barcelona meeting continues the success of the 2023 meeting in Brussels, while also being a good opportunity for cities to take stock, to present the results of the partnerships and to come up with recommendations on the sustainability and continuity of these programmes, taking into account recent important changes in EU development policy, such as „geografizing” EU aid and launching the Strategy „Global Gateway”.

The second and final meeting is taking place at an important moment, as for many of the 57 partnerships between cities, 2024 will be the last year of implementation.

„In the EU, in parallel with this conference, important internal processes are underway, in particular the mid-term review of the NDICI programming framework and the mid-term evaluation of the new European Financial Instruments (EFI). Both processes could lead to changes in priorities and budget allocations, some of which could have direct implications for cities and local authorities in the future.

The second global meeting is also a great opportunity to celebrate the achievements of decentralised cooperation partnerships and to chart a course towards a more sustainable future for cities”, the, also mentioned Ion Ceban.

„Partnerships for Sustainable Cities” is an innovative programme, established in 2018 and supported by the EU, to foster the exchange of experience between local EU authorities and partner countries, around common challenges. It aims to promote collaboration and innovative solutions in areas such as urban planning, good governance, social inclusion and environmental sustainability, with a particular focus on resilience and fragility.

Participating municipalities can set their own priorities within a set of broad themes, such as urban governance, social inclusion, resilience to climate change and other challenges, greening cities, prosperity and innovation.