Porto affirms that cities must have a greater say as regards the European Union recovery

The vice-Mayor of Porto City Hall, Filipe Araújo, who also leads the Environment Forum of the EUROCITIES network, participated in the online Conference on the Future of Europe, on 25 May, upon invitation by the Friends of Europe, to discuss the role of cities and citizens as key components regarding the European recovery.

The first of its type, the Conference on the Future of Europe offers a series of citizen-led debates that gather people from across Europe, in an open and inclusive forum, to exchange views and ideas on how to build a strong common path forward, by addressing the fundamental challenges and pinpointing the key priorities. This format enhances local power and the principle of subsidiarity, in the context of the Next Generation EU and the Recovery and Resilience Plans that will boost the economic recovery within the European Union.

One of the components under discussion, during the conference, was the many investments and innovative solutions that enable to reach a more sustainable and resilient recovery, based on local economies, despite the fact that cities are not being called on to intervene in the development of national recovery plans.

Another key issue under discussion was the Green Deal, which sets numerous initiatives and policies, by the European Commission, with the main objective of making Europe climate neutral in 2050. The debate panel highlighted the importance of cities as the sites where 65% of CO2 emissions are produced, resulting in 85% of the EU’s GDP.

If it is true that cities feature enormous challenges, it is also true that there are lots of opportunities and it is abundantly clear that it will not be possible to achieve a European commitment without the solid involvement of cities.

Dario Nardella, the Mayor of Florence, Italy, and the current President of EUROCITIES, and Flavie Boukhenoufa, vice-Mayor of Rennes, in France, also attended the event.