News & Events

Genoa hosted the 30th Sustainable Tourism Partnership meeting, and it could hardly have felt more appropriate as the setting for the discussions that unfolded among the Members during the one-and-a-half-day gathering.

The Urban Agenda for the EU Partnership on Greening Cities has released two practical tools to help cities finance and maintain urban green infrastructure. A new Financing Guide and the Repository of Innovative Financing Mechanisms support local authorities in identifying barriers, exploring funding and financing options, and building more sustainable pathways for long-term urban greening.

The Cities of Equality Partnership has launched a survey to assess how equality criteria are embedded in EU funding decisions, and where they fall short. The survey is open until 15 May 2026 and contributions are sought from managing authorities, intermediate bodies, programme designers, evaluators, and recipients across all EU member states.

On 22 and 23 April, 2026, the Compact Cities Partnership held its first in-person meeting in Leiden, bringing together local, regional, national, and EU-level stakeholders to shape a common approach to compact urban development across Europe. The meeting marked an important milestone in consolidating the Partnership’s direction, advancing discussions on the Orientation Paper, and strengthening collaboration among partners.

Hosted by the Municipality of Leiden (NL), one of the Partnership coordinators alongside the West Regional Development Agency in Romania, the event took place at PLNT Leiden and provided a dynamic setting for both strategic discussions and peer exchange. Over the course of two days, participants focused on clarifying thematic priorities, structuring the work of the Partnership’s working groups, and defining the next steps toward a shared roadmap.

The Building Decarbonisation and Water Sensitive City Partnerships of the Urban Agenda for the EU invite you to join the public consultation for their draft Action Plans and provide your insights and feedback on the proposed Actions.

Both consultations will run from 16 April until 28 May 2026 at 16:00 pm CEST.

On 22 April in Copenhagen, the European Commission will host its first Technical Dialogue on balanced tourism management, bringing together city representatives, experts and EU services to work through how tourism is governed in practice across European destinations.

The first session of the Cities of Equality Exchange Series on Participatory Governance took place on 23 March 2026, bringing together local governments, civil society organisations and practitioners to explore how inclusive participatory processes can improve urban accessibility. The online event was co-organised by ICLEI Europe and EUI external expert Ian Graham as part of the Urban Agenda for the EU Cities of Equality Partnership.

On 19–20 March 2026, the Urban Agenda for the EU Building Decarbonisation Partnership held its second in-person meeting in Vaasa, Finland, bringing together 15 participants from 15 organisations to advance its actions to decarbonise Europe’s building stock.

The nine ongoing Thematic Partnerships of the Urban Agenda for the EU convened in Brussels on 24 March for a Synergy Meeting. 72 participants from across partnerships, European Commission Directorates-General, and the European Urban Initiative (EUI) Secretariat came together to reinforce existing synergies, identify new areas of cooperation, and explore how different initiatives can better align across partnerships, EU institutions, and broader policy frameworks.

How can cities become sustainable, inclusive and beautiful at the same time? Across Europe, the Urban Agenda for the EU Partnerships are helping translate the New European Bauhaus (NEB) vision into concrete urban action through integrated, place-based approaches.

Three partnerships, Building Decarbonisation, Greening Cities and Water Sensitive City, provide a closer look at how NEB values are being applied on the ground.

The Urban Agenda Partnership for the Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees gathered in Paris from 10 to 12 March 2026 for its sixth Plenary Meeting, hosted by the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and attended by 25 participants from 17 member organisations.

What makes a tourism destination truly sustainable?
Is it the number of visitors it attracts or the quality of experience it creates for both residents and travellers?