Close cooperation between cities, regions, national governments and the EU institutions is essential in order to address the most important challenges facing Europe in the 21st century

We work with all levels of government to ensure cities’ interests are taken into account when EU policies affecting local and regional governments are developed.

We work closely with the main EU institutions and advisory bodies, including the European Parliament's urban intergroup.

We sit on the Urban Development Group (UDG) which unites national ministries in charge of urban affairs and we have established close links on urban matters with a number of member states which have held EU presidencies.

We maintain close links with other networks representing regional and local authorities, and together we push for a strengthening of multilevel governance when developing and implementing EU policies.

Priorities: 

Promoting city involvement in policy making and implementation:

• reinforcing our position as a partner of the EU institutions and national governments by fostering a ‘territorial dialogue’ covering relevant policy issues 

• engaging with the EU on the development of innovative processes, tools and instruments designed to enhance governance in Europe, such as the open method of coordination and territorial pacts

• encouraging research designed to improve citizens' quality of life and support sustainable urban development

Promoting international networking and cooperation among cities:

• promoting international networking and cooperation among EU cities and cities in neighbouring countries, carried out through a number of working groups that report directly to our executive committee (ExCom)

• our cooperation platform, one of our main networking events, meets annually and is open to all of our members, providing an ideal opportunity for developing exchanges and partnerships.