Green Cities Newsletter June 2025

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In this issue European Green Capital and European Green Leaf Awards   Green City Accord   Brussels bubble   Open Calls   Upcoming Events   Past events

European Green Capital and European Green Leaf Awards

Discover the applicant cities of the 2027 European Green Capital and European Green Leaf Awards The European Commission is looking for the next winners of the European Green Capital and European Green Leaf Awards. On 21 May, the 20 applicant cities for both 2027 Awards were announced. Stay tuned – the finalists will be published early July. Winners will be announced in October 2025 during a festive ceremony in Vilnius, the current European Green Capital. Winners will gain international recognition and a cash prize to support key actions across seven indicator areas.   permalink Main URL   more   Vilnius hosts the 2025 Cities Mission Conference As the European Green Capital 2025, Vilnius welcomed participants to highlight the achievements and ambitions of Mission Cities and their partners in their pursuit of climate neutrality by 2030. Organised by the European Commission and the Mission Platform, the event brought together political leaders and urban practitioners to celebrate three years of significant progress, exchange insights and inspire continued efforts toward achieving climate neutrality.   permalink Main URL   more   Guimarães, European Green Capital 2026: launching a campaign on heatwaves Guimarães (Portugal), the European Green Capital 2026, is addressing the challenges of rising temperatures and climate change while preserving its historical heritage. As part of the ‘Cities Refresh Campaign’ by the Covenant of Mayors, the city connects green and blue infrastructure to enhance natural cooling. Guimarães integrates scientific research into its urban planning through the ‘Landscape Laboratory’, which collects real-time data on temperature, green cover and biodiversity. This information guides policy decisions and ensures measurable outcomes in climate adaptation efforts.   permalink Main URL   more   Valencia and Tallinn launch a global startup challenge to combat the impact of natural disasters Former European Green Capital winners, Valencia and Tallinn, have announced the launch of the ‘Valencia DANA Project’. This initiative seeks startups with innovative solutions to mitigate the impact of natural disasters. It aims to identify startups developing solutions in areas such as emergency management, climate resilience, smart infrastructure and urban sustainability, and to help them implement their strategies.   permalink Main URL   more   Congratulations to the winners of the 2025 EU Mobility Awards Bologna (Italy) and Pěšky městem (Czech Republic) are winners of the European Mobility Week Award and the Mobility Action Award, respectively. The awards were presented at a ceremony hosted by the European Commission in Brussels, in recognition of activities conducted in both cities in 2024.   permalink Main URL   more   Treviso, European Green Leaf 2025, hosts the 'Sustainability Week' The fourth edition of ‘Sustainability Week’ took place in March in Mogliano (Italy). Centered around the theme of resilience, the programme included seminars, workshops, and discussions.   permalink Main URL   more   EU Green Week 2025 The 2025 EU Green Week Conference took place in Brussels from 3-5 June, focused on the theme ‘Circular Solutions for a Competitive EU’ and the ‘three Cs’ – clean, competitive and circular. The discussions explored how to put circularity at the heart of Europe’s economic future. The secretariat of the European Green Capital, European Green Leaf Awards and Green City Accord was also present, featuring a dedicated stand with an interactive and educational board game that offered visitors a fun way to learn about sustainable urban living.   permalink Main URL   more

Green City Accord

European Capitals of Inclusion and Diversity Award 2025 The European Capitals of Inclusion and Diversity Award recognises the efforts of cities, towns and regions to promote inclusion and create discrimination-free societies. Utrecht, (Netherlands), a signatory of the Green City Accord, was announced as the 2025 winner. Congratulations!   permalink Main URL   more   Green City Accord signatory is a finalist for the European Week for Waste Reduction Awards The jury for the 2024 European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR) has selected 15 finalists from over 12 700 actions across Europe, including Mollet del Vallès, a Green City Accord signatory and European Green Leaf 2015. EWWR recognises innovative and impactful waste reduction initiatives in public administrations, businesses, NGOs, educational institutions and citizens. Winners were announced at the EWWR Awards Ceremony on 12 June 2025 during the Circular Summit Fryslân in Leeuwarden, Netherlands.   permalink Main URL   more   City Blues: adapting urban life with nature-based solutions Led by the city of Tampere, the ‘City Blues’ project brings together cities from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Norway and Sweden to address urban flooding and stormwater management through nature-based solutions. The project implements solutions like rain gardens, bioswales, retention ponds and alluvial meadows to manage water effectively while enhancing urban biodiversity and resilience.   permalink Main URL   more   Discover the LIFE GreenMe5 project GreenMe5 is an environmental initiative co-financed by the EU's LIFE programme. The project brings together five European municipalities, signatories of the Green City Accord – Murcia, Cieza (Spain), Arezzo (Italy), Vilnius (Lithuania) and Helsingborg (Sweden) – alongside the federation of municipalities of the Murcia region (coordinator) and EuroVértice (Spain). The project's goal is to support the implementation of the Green City Accord in these cities.   permalink Main URL   more

Brussels bubble

European Commission launches a water resilience strategy The European Commission has unveiled a water resilience strategy, which aims to improve water management across the EU while boosting innovation and competitiveness. With global water demand projected to surpass supply by 40% by 2030, Europe must take action to secure water availability and quality, as well as to effectively manage water-related crises.   permalink Main URL   more   The Covenant of Mayors launches #CitiesRefresh Campaign Steadily rising temperatures, as highlighted in the recently released State of the Climate Report 2024, are impacting Europe’s livability and people's well-being. Cities and towns must #HitRefresh in the face of extreme heat. The Covenant of Mayors has launched the #CitiesRefresh campaign, encouraging cities to implement nature-based solutions and redesign urban spaces to mitigate heat risks.   permalink Main URL   more   New EU Ecolabel guides for green public procurement of graphic and tissue paper The European Commission has released two new practical guides to assist public authorities in the green procurement of paper products, focusing on graphic paper and tissue paper items. These guides provide clear criteria aligned with the EU Ecolabel, covering aspects like sustainable fibre sourcing, reduced emissions and energy efficiency. By adopting these guidelines, public buyers can streamline procurement processes, ensure environmental compliance and support the transition to a circular economy without incurring additional costs. A third guide, targeting printed paper, stationery and paper carrier bags, is under development.   permalink Main URL   more   Circular economy in EU cities and regions The 2025 OECD report provides a comprehensive analysis of how EU cities and regions are advancing circular economy practices. It draws on a survey of 64 cities and regions, insights from 10 place-based policy dialogues and desk research. The report is accompanied by policy recommendations to accelerate a territorial approach to the circular economy, supporting place-based policies that align with EU goals.   permalink Main URL   more   New dashboard shows progress towards zero pollution in EU regions and cities To support the EU’s Zero Pollution Action Plan, the European Commission launched the EU Zero Pollution Dashboard on 3 March. This tool monitors and compares pollution levels and the performance across European regions and cities. It showcases best practices and facilitates knowledge exchange among local authorities. Don’t forget to take the survey and provide your feedback on the dashboard.   permalink Main URL See also ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/zero_pollut...   more

Open Calls

LIFE call for proposals The 2025 LIFE calls for proposals were published on 24 April. The calls were presented at the EU LIFE info days in May. All cities from the European Green Capital, European Green Leaf initiatives, and Green City Accord signatory cities are invited to take part, as several calls are related to the field of sustainability, climate change, and nature conservation.   more     Apply to the call for transfer networks URBACT invites cities and urban professionals to participate in the 2025 ‘Call for Transfer Networks’, open from 1 April to 30 June 2025. This initiative aims to facilitate partnerships among cities interested in adapting and implementing one of the 116 URBACT Good Practices within their local contexts. Cities from the EU’s 27 Member States, partner states, cities from countries benefiting from the EU’s Instrument for Pre-Accession, as well as from Ukraine and Moldova, are invited to apply.   more     Call for applications: C3's free advisory programmes The Circular City Centre (C3), led by the European Investment Bank and co-funded by the European Commission, is now accepting applications for its free advisory programmes. These programmes aim at supporting cities in their transition to a circular economy. For more information on how to apply, please visit the website.   more

Upcoming Events

Urban Mobility Days in Vilnius The European Commission’s 2025 Urban Mobility Days will take place from 30 September to 2 October in Vilnius, Lithuania – the 2025 European Green Capital. The conference provides an ideal opportunity to discuss, network and exchange ideas on key urban mobility issues in Europe. The event will focus on three main themes: urban nodes, cycling and public transportation.   more     European Mobility Week European Mobility Week will take place from 16-22 September. This initiative is part of the European Commission’s awareness campaign to encourage a shift towards sustainable urban mobility practices, promoting public transport, active mobility, and other environmentally friendly transport options. The theme for 2025 is Mobility for Everyone.   more     Smart City Expo World Congress This year’s Smart City Expo World Congress will take place in Barcelona from 4-6 November. The event brings together a network of influential business, government and industry leaders to create a new urban status quo rooted in sustainable, efficient and human-centred technologies and practices.   more     European Week of Regions and Cities 2025 The countdown to the European Week of Regions and Cities 2025 has begun, with applicants currently being evaluated. The 23rd edition of #EURegionsWeek will take place from 13-15 October.   more

Past events

Successful Cities Forum 2025 in Kraków, Poland The Cities Forum 2025, a crucial EU event for urban practitioners and policymakers, took place in Kraków, Poland, from 17-19 June. It gathered ideas for the development of the EU policy agenda for cities, and discussed key urban challenges, such as housing, digital transformation, social inclusion and urban mobility.   more     EURESFO – European Urban Resilience Forum The 12th European Urban Resilience Forum took place on 25-27 June in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. EURESFO serves as a platform for representatives from local and regional institutions to discuss initiatives, strategies, and actions focused on urban resilience, climate change adaptation and disaster management.   more     European Sustainable Energy Week 2025 European Sustainable Energy Week took place on 10-12 June in Brussels and online. The event provided members of the clean energy community the opportunity to hear from high-level speakers and engage in a week of discovery, collaboration and exchange.   more     Third Cohesion for Transitions Conference in Brussels The third Cohesion for Transitions (C4T) Conference took place on 24-25 June 2025 in Brussels and online, bringing together Member States and regions to help them learn how to best use EU funds for sustainability. Attendees shared their good practices in working groups and got advice from experts.   more     Financing masterclass for European Green Capital, European Green Leaf and Green City Accord cities and supporters A dedicated financing masterclass for European Green Capital and Green Leaf cities, as well as for signatories and supporters of the Green City Accord took place on 18 June.   more     Recording of the Copernicus support to the Green City Accord On 5 June, the Green City Accord hosted a webinar to explore the potential of Copernicus, the Earth Observation component of the EU’s space programme. Issues discussed include the capability of Copernicus to assess canopy cover and green areas in urban areas and the possible applications of the Global Human Settlement Layer database.   more

If you have any questions on the Awards, please contact the Secretariat: info@europeangreencapital.eu The European Commission is committed to personal data protection. Any personal data is processed in line with the Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. Please read the privacy statement.