News & Events

Urban authorities, regions, Member States, Partner States, umbrella organisations, and other relevant stakeholders are invited to apply and join the new Thematic Partnership under the Urban Agenda for the EU (UAEU) on Compact Cities - Sustainable Urban Planning and Sprawl Mitigation.

The Partnership will bring together stakeholders from the public and private sectors, urban authorities, academia, and non-governmental organisations, with the aim of promoting dense, efficient, and sustainable urban development in response to the challenge of urban sprawl across Europe.

Curious about what the Urban Agenda for the EU Partnerships have produced in practice?
An initial mapping now offers a clear overview of the diverse types of outputs produced by the Thematic Partnerships. This curated collection highlights practical resources available to support initiatives across various fields of sustainable urban development.

As Europe’s cities navigate the transition toward climate resilience, the Greening Cities Partnership will take part in this year’s European week of Regions and Cities, with two dynamic sessions. These sessions will highlight cutting-edge tools and strategies that are shaping the cities of tomorrow. Under the theme “Cities Building Tomorrow,” participants will explore how to make green infrastructure investment-ready and how to transform data into actionable urban greening initiatives.
The European Urban Initiative will host more events to equip urban actors with the tools, knowledge, and inspiration to drive real change.

As Europe enters the peak of the 2025 tourist season, with already reporting record arrivals and over-tourism pressures mounting, this is the ideal moment to turn attention to the concrete work of the Sustainable Tourism Partnership under the Urban Agenda for the EU.

At Cities Forum 2025, more than 200 in-person and online participants joined the session “Unlocking urban potential through European Cooperation”. The session, organised by the Urban Agenda for the EU, focused on how multilevel governance and cooperation can help cities address major urban challenges.

Representatives from six different Thematic Partnerships shared concrete examples of how the Urban Agenda serves as a unique and impactful tool to promote sustainable urban development and enhance the role of cities in EU policymaking, by fostering collaboration across all levels of governance and among diverse stakeholders.

The Urban Agenda for the EU will launch a Call for partners to join the new Thematic Partnership on “Compact Cities - Sustainable Urban Planning and Sprawl Mitigation” on 27 August.
To help potential applicants better understand the topic, we interviewed Ivana Katurić, the external expert behind the Ex-Ante Assessment (EAA), the analysis that underpins this Partnership by clarifying its scope and providing focus in preparation for the upcoming call.

Dive into the full article to learn more about her insights on the topic of the new Partnership.

Urban areas across the EU increasingly face complex challenges (e.g., shortage of affordable housing, urgent climate adaptation measures, gaps in inclusive and accessible social services) that demand effective and sustainable funding solutions. Municipalities, particularly small and medium-sized ones, often find it difficult to navigate and access the intricate web of EU programmes and funding mechanisms.

On 16–17 June 2025, the Urban Agenda for the EU Partnership on Greening Cities gathered in Krakow for its 7th in-person meeting. At a key moment in its trajectory—when first outputs are being delivered and major deliverables are in sight—the Partnership came together to align on Action implementation, coordinate the development of its final outputs, and shape its upcoming advocacy and dissemination strategy.

On 16 May 2025, the Directors-General on Urban Matters (DGUM) formally endorsed the Ex-Ante Assessment (EAA) on the topic of Compact Cities – Sustainable Urban Planning and Sprawl Mitigation, marking a significant step toward establishing a new Thematic Partnership under the Urban Agenda for the EU (UAEU).

Roughly half a year into their partnership period the two newest Thematic Partnerships on Water Sensitive City and Building Decarbonisation partnerships are advancing their work.

On May 26–27, the Building Decarbonisation (BD) Partnership held its first in-person meeting in Mechelen, Belgium, bringing together stakeholders from local, regional, national, and EU levels. The gathering aimed to accelerate progress on the Orientation Paper and lay the groundwork for future collaborative actions.

On 21 May 2025, EU Ministers responsible for cohesion policy, territorial cohesion, and urban policy met in Warsaw for an informal gathering under the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The meeting highlighted the importance of integrating the territorial dimension into post-2027 EU policies and financial frameworks.