Access City Award 2021 information webinar

Are you interested in applying to the Access City Award 2021, the EU Prize for cities accessible to persons with disabilities and elderly people?

Cities discussing community sponsorship programmes for refugees

The global number of displaced persons keeps rising. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has identified more than 1.44 million refugees in need of resettlement in 2020. However, current national pledges will serve fewer than 1% of these refugees. Against this background, community sponsorship programmes are met with increased interest.

Cities discuss the impact of COVID-19 on Roma inclusion

Glasgow signs a strong pledge on minimum income

Glasgow signed a strong pledge on minimum income in June 2020. This is the second pledge from Glasgow, reaffirming the city's commitment to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights, after the first pledge submitted in February 2019 on housing and assistance for the homeless (ESPR principle 19).

Take part in EUROCITIES survey: How are cities fighting child poverty?

The COVID-19 crisis has strongly affected children, especially children in precarious family situations, who were affected in terms of schooling, physical and mental health and well-being, and even nutrition (lacking the school lunches). Home-schooling has deepened the inequalities in education and training.

Madrid signs a strong pledge to gender equality

Madrid signed a strong pledge to gender equality in June 2020. This is the third pledge from Madrid, reaffirming the city's commitment to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights, after the first two pledges in autumn 2018 on principle 4 'active support to employment' and principle 11 'childcare and support to children'.

Cities coming together for gender equality

Full gender equality is far from being achieved. On the contrary, the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential of setting back previous progress. It has had a disproportionate impact on women by: increasing the burden of their unpaid work at home; worsening their employment and economic standing; exacerbating the rates of domestic violence against women. The challenges at hand are clear across cities in the EU. This is why cities came together and discussed ways to counter discrimination and...

Riders on the storm

In these challenging times, I feel we are “riders on the storm”, like the Doors sang. The deconfinement measures seem to have brought life progressively back to normal and the numbers look better. However, I think “there’s a killer [still] on the road” and the storm is not over. Actually, I believe the pandemic has only exposed the many storms we were riding on already pre-COVID and made them both more visible and worse.

An EU recovery powered by cities

Cities have been the hardest hit by the crisis. During the pandemic, cities have dealt with unprecedented urban challenges. It is where the need to tackle poverty, inequality and discrimination is the most urgent. At the same time, local public budgets have been eroded due to declining tax revenues and sharp increase in demand for social services and income support. With many local businesses, shops and cultural venues facing bankruptcy, unemployment is increasing.

Mayors call for a new pact between the EU and cities

“If we get it right in cities, we will get it right for Europe” Cities want to play an active role in Europe’s recovery after the corona pandemic. Mayors of major European cities offered a ‘new pact between the EU and city leadership’ to overcome the impacts of the crisis. In meetings with the European Commission’s Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans and Commissioners Paolo Gentiloni and Johannes Hahn on Friday, the mayors proposed to involve city governments more in the EU recovery...