March illustrated once again the diversity of topics we cover at @eurocities.eu: #MFF #climate #mobility #tourism #integration #democracy

On Wednesday, I was happy to attend the Meeting of the Directors General Urban Matters in Copenhagen, organised by the Danish Presidency of the European Union.

This week, we launched the new Eurocities Pulse on Climate Resilience in Cities at the Eurocities Environment Forum hosted by the City of Malmö eurocities.eu/latest/europ...

This Monday, @magnusbrunner.bsky.social, Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, met with the Eurocities Shadow Commissioners for Migration Simona Bieliune, Deputy Mayor of Vilnius, and Rutger Groot Wassink, Deputy Mayor of Amsterdam, as well as with Yves Pascouau, Deputy Mayor of Nantes.

The first Eurocities mission after the summer break brings a delegation of Mayors from Athens, Barcelona, Budapest, Sofia, Timisoara, Utrecht and Zagreb to Istanbul to support the illegally arrested Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

Very interesting paper by Ben Rogers and Aiysha Qureshi analysing how city leaders and academics develop strategic collaborations that go beyond conventional models of “knowledge exchange” to the co-production of knowledge and policy innovation.

As we say at Eurocities, a better Europe starts in cities. A more democratic Europe starts in cities. In their recent publication, Dorian Dreuil and Marinette Valiergue, associate researchers at Fondation Jean-Jaurès, provide many examples of democratic innovations spread in cities.

According to the 2025 Eurocities Pulse Mayors Survey, climate action remains by far the highest priority for European mayors (lnkd.in/e85bGFNY). eurocities.eu/head-of-clim...

Hurry up and join us at the Eurocities Annual Conference in Braga! Can’t wait to meet our members for inspiring and impactful discussions! Thanks in advance to Mayor Ricardo Rio and his team for hosting us! eurocities.idloom.events/Eurocities_A...

While we face a strong backlash, it is crucial to create a strategic alliance between the @ec.europa.eu and European Mayors to support an ambitious policy for climate and environment.

It was great to contribute to the recent ISPI - Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale Report “Global Cities and the Challenge of Hybrid Work” coordinated by Tobia Zevi, Deputy Mayor of Rome.

This year again, Eurocities has been an active partner of the Urban Future Conference. Together with my colleagues, we were delighted to engage with inspiring city leaders from all over Europe, to make new connections and to meet good friends!

This morning, I was delighted to participate in the first meeting of the Local Europe Working Group set up by Barcelona’s Mayor Jaume Collboni and the City’s Commissioner for European Affairs Mar Jiménez with the support of CIDOB and the Fundació Catalunya Europa.

Alongside a meeting of the Local Europe Working Group set up by the City of Barcelona, I took the opportunity to meet the Eurocities team located in Barcelona who enjoy an amazing workplace offered by the city.

Alongside the Eurocities Social Affairs Forum hosted by the City of Amsterdam, I had an excellent discussion with Hester van Buren, Deputy Mayor of Amsterdam in charge of Finance, about our expectations regarding the revision of the EU directive on public procurement.

I was delighted to welcome Lal Denizli, Mayor of Çeşme, and a delegation of the City of Istanbul at the Eurocities Office to discuss about the current situation in Türkiye and the support our network could continue to offer to Ekrem Imamoglu, the illegally arrested Mayor of Istanbul.

I was honoured and delighted to moderate a panel with city leaders during today’s event on short-term rentals co-organised by MEP Pierfrancesco Maran and Laura Ballarin Cereza.

On #EuropeDay 🇪🇺, I was honoured and delighted to open the virtual summit on democracy and innovation in cities, co-organised by the Metropolitan Municipality of Istanbul and Eurocities!

European cities are ready to work with the @ec.europa.eu to convince scientists and researchers to ‘choose Europe’. Beyond academic freedom offered by our universities and research institutions, it is crucial to promote the quality of life in sustainable, inclusive and vibrant cities.

This year, Eurocities’ Annual Conference takes place in Braga from 4-6 June. I am looking forward to seeing you there! Register here: eurocities.idloom.events/Eurocities_A...

Last Wednesday and Thursday, I was delighted to participate in the Eurocities Digital Forum hosted wonderfully by Christine Bost, President of Bordeaux Métropole, Delphine Jamet, Deputy Mayor in charge of digital transformation, and their team under the theme “Digital rights at the heart of cities”.

Last Tuesday, I was happy to moderate the first panel discussion of the joint final event of MOVE21 and SCALE-UP, two EU-funded Horizon 2020 projects promoting urban mobility and multimodal transport solutions across Europe to which Eurocities contributed. Photo: Rikke Dahl Monsen, City of Oslo

On Monday, it was a privilege to participate in the opening panel of the “All we need is home” event organised by Tobia Zevi, Deputy Mayor of Rome. What a better place for this conference than Rome, a city that has stood for centuries as a model for urban development, resilience and transformation?

Launched 18 months ago, the Eurocities Academy is boosting its training offer to transform city leaders and civil servants into change-makers in and for their cities. Our high-quality training programmes are shaped by direct practice, recognised expertise, and peer learning.

Join me at the OECD Urban Days to discuss jointly the future of cities! Together with UN-Habitat and Housing Europe, Eurocities co-hosts the session on "Confronting the Housing Crisis in Cities". www.oecd-events.org/oecd-urban-d...

This Wednesday, I was delighted to participate in the third Eurocities Cities Social Summit hosted in the European Parliament!

Excellent discussions between the European Commission’s EVP Raffaele Fitto and a Eurocities delegation composed by our President Burkhard Jung, our Vice President Mathias De Clercq and our Shadow Commissioners for Local Europe Jeanne Barseghian, Mayor of Strasbourg, and Ricardo Rio, Mayor of Braga.

@jaumecollboni.bsky.social, Mayor of Barcelona:

@annehidalgo.bsky.social, Mayor of Paris:

European mayors stand side by side with the Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, a longstanding, committed and inspiring member of the Eurocities network. eurocities.eu/latest/democ...

Thrilled to discover that one of the section headlines in this morning‘s @politico.eu Brussels Playbook is fully aligned with what we défend at Eurocities: „All politics is local“ 😉 Thanks @nicholasvinocur.bsky.social & @zoyashef.bsky.social! I hope it will become a recurrent section…

Welcome to Georgi Stamov, new officer representing the City of Sofia in the Eurocities Executive Committee! I am looking forward to working together to further strengthen your city’s involvement in and for our network.

Meeting representatives from our member cities is one of the most stimulating part of my job as Eurocities’ Secretary General. It is crucial to listen to their needs and expectations, to keep them updated about the evolutions within the EU institutions and to engage them in our advocacy work.

Mayors from 9 European cities met with EU Commissioner Dan Jørgensen & MEP Irene Tinagli yesterday to demand bold action on social and affordable housing. 🔗More here eurocities.eu/latest/mayor...

During the B40 Summit in Sofia, I had excellent discussions with Ahmet Aras, the Mayor of Mugla, about the opportunities offered by Eurocities.

Last week, @philippeclose.bsky.social, the Mayor of Brussels, welcomed Vitaliy Klitschko, Mayor of Kyiv.

Inspiring discussions between Satya Rhodes-Conway, Mayor of Madison in the USA, and the mentors and mentees of the Eurocities Women Leaders Mentorship Programme!

Last night, I was happy to moderate a session at the Palladio Foundation on how European cities work together to influence European policies and to share the experience of Eurocities.

As negotiations to end Russia’s war in Ukraine gather pace, city leaders from Ukraine and the rest of Europe jointly affirm that peace talks must involve both the government of Ukraine and the EU to ensure an outcome that defends respect for the rule of law, fundamental rights and democratic values.

Excellent discussion with Katarina Niewiedzial, Commissioner for Integration and Migration for the City of Berlin, about joint projects and advocacy in the area of integration and the political context. I am looking forward to further strengthening Berlin’s involvement in the Eurocities network.

Last week, Eurocities’ Shadow Commissioner for Industry and Competitiveness Juhana Vartiainen, Mayor of Helsinki, handed the new policy paper on the EU’s multi-annual financial framework prepared by the Local Alliance to Commissioner @piotrserafin.bsky.social. eurocities.eu/wp-content/u...

Last week, it was great to attend the opening ceremony of Vilnius City Municipality as European Green Capital 2025! youtu.be/X75kPQ9Yuks?...

Last Friday, I was delighted to participate in the 14th Direct Dialogue between EU Capital Mayors and the @ec.europa.eu hosted by @rafal-trzaskowski.bsky.social, the Mayor of Warsaw, within the Polish presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Excellent discussion with Simona Bieliūnė, Deputy Mayor of Vilnius, alongside the Vilnius Green Capital 2025 Launch event!

To give a bit more insights about how the ideas in his report to the European Council “Much more than a market” (lnkd.in/ebk-fqmg) emerged, Enrico Letta published this inspiring book sharing key moments of his trip throughout 65 cities all over Europe. www.odilejacob.fr/catalogue/sc...

I was delighted to be interviewed for the series of podcasts “The Century of Cities”! It was great to reflect with Greg Clark and Jennifer Dolynchuk on the role of cities within the context of the European Union and to share Eurocities’ strategy and activities. www.thecenturyofcities.com

Delighted to intervene in the roundtable “European integration and the city” organised by @sciencespo.bsky.social on 30 January together with @lamiaelaaraje.bsky.social, Matthew Baldwin and Carlo Maria Colombo. www.sciencespo.fr/ecole-urbain...

I started the new year with Jacques Attali’s inspiring book on the history & future of cities. Beyond a well-documented worldwide history of cities over the last 10,000 years, the books summarises the key challenges & opportunities for cities & draws scenarios for the future. @simmonte.bsky.social

Increasing our visibility in national media is one of the targets of Eurocities’ new 2030 Strategy “A stronger network for stronger cities” adopted during our General Assembly in Primăria Municipiului Cluj-Napoca in June.

Just in time before the Christmas break, Eurocities publishes 2 new job offers. If you want to join a dynamic & international team where we trust in people, & value constructive exchanges and collaborative work, you should take a closer look at the job descriptions in 2 key areas of our activities.