Taking meaningful, measurable and sustainable action on climate change is the defining struggle of our time and a policy challenge of unprecedented scale for European and global policy-makers alike. As countless examples from recent years have shown, local governments can take the lead in climate action and realize ambitious action plans for a sustainable future. Cities are well equipped to enact policy change, are usually faster to act than their national governments, and less constrained by pressures from the fossil fuel industry.
Driven by this recognition, in February 2020 over 35 city majors from all across Europe signed a letter to the Presidents of the European Parliament, Commission and Council. The mayors underlined the importance of prospective direct funding to cities and urban areas and urged Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Council President Charles Michel and EP President David Sassoli to facilitate better access of cities to EU funding in the post-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework. The European Green Deal can only succeed if the EU puts regulatory and financial mechanisms in place that provide the necessary means for local authorities to act. If that will be the case, our cities can move fast to prepare, submit and implement much-needed projects on the ground.
Since then, and with 
the additional hindsight of the COVID19-crisis and its economic and social fallout, our conviction on this matter has only strengthened. Being on the frontlines of both urban climate mitigation and post-crisis recovery efforts, we believe that EU should increasingly embrace cities as strategic partners when transitioning towards an environmentally and socially just future. In the position paper co-developed by Budapest, Warsaw, Bratislava and Prague, we further specified our proposals and identified specific instances both as regards to existing EU-law and prospective new legislation that could create the legal basis for such direct green funding for cities across the EU. It outlines the measures we regard necessary to ensure proper EU-level financial support so that cities can drive forward Europe's green transition and advance the priorities of the European Commission. Not only do we propose the expansion and re-design of already existing programs, but also some new and ambitious measures.
The popularity of the proposal is proven by the number of supporters; 33 cities from Barcelona to Vienna have already expressed their endorsement.
If your city wants to join the list of signatories, you can contact us at international@budapest.hu
Supporting Cities:
Budapest
Bratislava
Prague
Warsaw
Vienna
The Hague
Tallinn
Athens
Strasbourg
Barcelona
Milan
Kosice
Riga
Terrassa
Białystok
Oulu
Vantaa
Almere
Arezzo
Pesaro
You can reach the following documents by clicking on the links.
