EU Regions and Cities Week 2021 - UDiTE

With local authorities confronted by a maze of EU & national funding opportunities in part with roll out of the recovery programmes and now the European Structural & Investment Funds 2021-27 UDITEs Chief Executive members and Members and participants at the French nation congress of SNDGCT  met with the EU Committee of the Regions, industrial leaders from VEOLIA and European associations CEMR & CPMR to discuss how local authorities can make the most of these financing opportunities to realise the ecological transition.

Watch the workshop now on YouTube 

With the European Union about to enter a critical phase in terms of the roll out of the recovery programmes,  new Structural Investment Funds, and now the “Fit for 55” package that is seeking to cut emissions by 55% by 2030 and reaching a net zero balance by 2050 local authorities need to be on the starting blocks now for this next programming period. Fit for 55 is a major new pillar of the Union's climate action and growth strategy for the next 10 years. Are you aware of the Social Climate Fund, and the Just Transition Fund yet?  Significant risks lie ahead for local authorities as an over centralisation of these funds by national administrations could threaten the balanced territorial cohesion and social fairness of the green transition for our communities.  Added to that mix, we have the French Presidency of the European Union kicking off on 1st January 2022 and the Conference on the Future of Europe concluding in Marseille in April 2022. Our expert speakers shed light on the Green Deal, Fit for 55, the Recovery Programmes and the helped the participants make the upcoming financing opportunities to drive recovery locally and make the steps towards the ecological transformation. In a second session, a speaker from the OECD addressed the meeting and spoke about their new OECD Regional Recovery Platform.