News & Events

It was a full house at Sala Mirador in the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona — a fully booked event with more than 100 engaged participants, including representatives from key local stakeholders, city officials, and experts from across Europe. The energy in the room reflected the urgency of the debate: Can cities continue to absorb the ever-growing influx of tourists without sacrificing their own liveability? How can urban tourism evolve beyond the endless cycle of growth, regulation, and management?
On the side of the Sustainable Tourism Partnership in-person meeting in Barcelona, members of the Partnership along with local stakeholders and experts tackled these questions in a vibrant debate, part of a series of debates organised by the City of Barcelona and the Provincial Council of Barcelona.

The Cities of Equality Partnership hosted an online session on 5 February titled “Public spaces and citizen participation. Highlights and recommendations from a JRC research project”, bringing together experts, policymakers, and urban practitioners to discuss key insights from an ongoing research initiative led by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC).

On 31 January 2025, the Building Decarbonisation Partnership under the Urban Agenda for the EU (UAEU) officially launched its activities with a successful first meeting, gathering over 40 representatives from cities, regions, and key stakeholders committed to advancing the decarbonisation of buildings across Europe.

The Urban Agenda for the EU Partnership on Greening Cities invites cities and financial sector actors to participate in two newly launched surveys aimed at identifying barriers, opportunities, and innovative approaches to funding and financing urban nature restoration and green infrastructure. Your responses will directly influence recommendations for future EU policy, support and funding & financing frameworks on this topic.

The Water Sensitive City Partnership was officially launched on 30 January 2025, with a first online meeting. The meeting was attended by over 40 participants, including representatives from local, regional, and national authorities, European umbrella organisations and EU bodies.

In 2024, the UAEU Thematic Partnerships made significant progress, and two new Partnerships - Water Sensitive City and Building Decarbonisation, were formally validated at the end of the year. The Partnerships are prepared to tackle key challenges in the year ahead.

The Partnership on Innovative and Responsible Public Procurement is proud to present the Draft Action Plan 2025-2028, a collaborative initiative within the framework of the Urban Agenda for the EU. It aims to bring together different stakeholders, including cities, regions, and national governments, to promote innovative and responsible practices in public procurement.

The Urban Agenda for the EU Partnerships demonstrate the power of coordinated efforts across governance levels to address complex urban challenges and create sustainable solutions.

Founded in 2017, the Urban Agenda Partnership on Innovative and Responsible Public Procurement has evolved over the past eight years into a significant European network. Recently, the Partnership published the final report of its 2022-2024 Action Plan, highlighting the successful completion of all planned initiatives.

The Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees (IMR) Partnership of the Urban Agenda for the European Union convened for its first in-person meeting of its second phase in Brussels on 5 December 2024. This meeting provided an opportunity to explore synergies with the Cities of Equality Partnership and align efforts to tackle challenges linked with social inclusion in urban areas through an intersectional approach.

On November 27th, the EUI Permanent Secretariat organized a meeting with the authors of the “Inception Report on Innovative Financing Schemes in European Cities” to promote a debate and offer valuable recommendations to UAEU Partnerships on how to implement innovative financial schemes for delivering their solutions.

The EU Directors-General Responsible for Urban Matters (DGUM) meeting took place on November 27th in Budapest, Hungary. The event provided an opportunity to review progress on ongoing initiatives under the Urban Agenda for the EU (UAEU). Representatives from the Hungarian Presidency, EU Member States, and the European Commission participated in the discussions.