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Twinning - 11.05.2022

Twinning has to be a part of Ukraine’s reconstruction
In a letter to the president of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, CEMR calls on the European institutions to set up an initiative to strengthen twinning for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

The letter is signed by the Mayor of Kiev and President of the Association of Ukrainian Cities (AUC), Vitaliy Klitschko, its Executive Director, Oleksandr Slobozhan, but also by CEMR's President, Stefano Bonaccini, and its Secretary General, Fabrizio Rossi.

It stresses the willingness of local and regional governments across Europe to contribute to the reconstruction of Ukrainian municipalities and cities. It also invites the institutions to define, in collaboration with CEMR and its Ukrainian association, “strategic and operational aspects of a twinning initiative to launch and implement the reconstruction of Ukrainian cities and towns »

Letter to the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.
Letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
Letter to the President of the European, Charles Michel.
Culture - 28.04.2022

Training capacity-building for European Capitals of Culture
On 12 & 13 May 2022, the final Academy Camp of the project "Capacity-building for European Capitals of Culture (ECoC)" will take place online, under the moderation of the the UCLG Committee on Culture. The project started in October 2019 with the aim at supporting capacity building and peer-learning activities for ECoC.
This final session of the project will provide the opportunity to review lessons learnt in the previous workshops as well as discussing additional topics and way forward.
The programme and registration link are available here.
RFSC - 19.04.2022

Event UNECE 7 april
At the occasion of the Regional Forum for Sustainable Development organised by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and as part of the Forum of Mayors, an event on the SDG localisation process in cities was held on 7 April.

This event allowed speakers from different bodies and countries to talk about their experiences regarding the implementation of the SDGs, mainly Mrs Sidorova, working at the Metropolitan Institute of Bratislava and Mr Dimitrov, representing the city of Veliki Preslav.

This exchange of good practices showed the usefulness of the Reference Framework for Sustainable Cities (RFSC) for different types of stakeholders, to help them implement the SDGs in their cities, where it might not always be popular.
Peer learning - 08.04.2022

Apply for the Covenant of Mayors peer learning programme: deadline extended to 15 April!
Cities and towns have until 15 April 2022 to apply for the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy's peer learning programme. The programme offers Covenant of Mayors signatories across Europe the opportunity to increase their capacity and knowledge on climate and energy challenges through peer discussions tailored to their needs.

In 2021, the Covenant Office supported 45 cities, 6 coordinators, and 4 energy agencies. This year, the Covenant of Mayors offers four programmes to respond to local needs: twinning, expert missions, peer review and technical assistance.

Find out more
Peer Learning Programme 2022/2023
Recording of the info session
Selection criteria
Report - 22.03.2022

Report : EU Dialogue, Local Solutions
Do you want to know more about the work of municipalities and local trade unions? Here is the final report of the EPSU-CEMR joint project “EU Dialogue, Local Solutions” that concluded with a final online event on 25 March. The project focused on the share of good practice examples among members regarding the implementation of three sets on EU guidelines agreed over the years by CEMR and EPSU: on gender equality, third-party violence and harassment, migration and anti-discrimination.
This project showed there exists a variety of initiatives implemented by local and national affiliates, and the joint action of local and regional governments together with trade unions is crucial to implement far-reaching actions on many different policy areas, while ensuring better working conditions for the LRGs workforce. Find the project's final report here.
Ukraine - 17.03.2022

Joint Call of European Mayors
On the initiative of the mayor of Gdansk, who is also CEMR's executive president, 100 mayors of European cities launch 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.
Housing - 04.03.2022

Europe’s Housing Crisis calls for a clear EU commitment
On 1 March, the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, together with Housing Europe, Eurocities, the International Union of Tenants, FEANTSA, and Confrontations Europe signed a declaration including a 10-point plan to call for a clear commitment to boost public investment from the EU and European Housing Ministers.

The declaration sets the ground for the informal conference of EU Ministers responsible for Housing that will take place in Nice on March 8^th. This is a call to end unacceptable levels of rising housing exclusion, and make access to decent and affordable housing for all.

The 10-point plan is declined under three main categories: a long-term investment in social, cooperative and public housing; a fair energy transition that makes green citizenship a reality for all, and more inclusive and attractive Next-Generation neighbourhoods.
EU dialogue, local solutions - 03.03.2022

EPSU – CEMR Project “EU dialogue, local solutions” 3rd national workshop
Social partners, members of CEMR and the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) gathered on 25 February during the workshop “Migration and inclusion guidelines: Spanish and Italian actions”. This third webinar focused on strategies from both countries, underlining the importance of providing key public services to migrants but also by promoting inclusion. In the moments we are experiencing, it is important to hold up to the values we stand for.

Malin Looberger concluded by highlighting that it was a privilege to share experiences and knowledge to be able to work on long term solutions that take into consideration the needs of both migrants and LRGs workers.
G7 - 02.03.2022

Urban alliance formed to support German G7 Presidency
The Association of German Cities (DST, a CEMR member), ICLEI and the Global Parliament of Mayors have launched an urban alliance to accompany the German G7 Presidency. The alliance will support the G7 Presidency programme and provide urban perspectives throughout.

The German G7 Presidency began at the beginning of 2022 and will culminate with the G7 summit on 26-28 June in Schloss Elmau (Bavaria). For more information on the urban alliance, please consult the press releases of ICLEI (in English) and DST (in German).