Recovery is urgent. In cities, this is clearer than anywhere else. Entire sectors have been deeply affected by the pandemic. To meet the ambitious EU targets for digital transformation, emissions and poverty reduction, the recovery budget must be invested speedily and strategically.
Cities ability to transform, become more resilient, modernise governance and support surrounding areas is increasingly in the spotlight. The European Green Deal can only succeed with cities fully on board. Consequently, the EU has ramped up the financial opportunities for sustainable urban development. In all sectors, there is an EU programme that offers collaboration with cities.
This contrasts with the limited involvement of cities at strategic level in the EU. The renewed Leipzig Charter adopted under the German EU Presidency in 2020 made the case for the transformative power of cities. The Conference on the Future of Europe in May 2021 will open the debate about collaboration between levels of government for an effective and democratic recovery.
To address the lessons of the crisis and look towards a green, digital and just recovery, Eurocities 2021 Leipzig will examine how the EU’s strategic goals are translated and implemented in cities.
We will discuss the links between cities’ competences and their ability to drive the green, digital and just transformation. And we will demonstrate why decentralisation and empowerment of cities should be much higher on the EU’s political agenda.