Cities Forum 2025 - Capacity-Building for European cities: Inspiring examples and new opportunities

The European Urban Initiative secretariat introduced the session by outlining the EUI’s Capacity Building offer. This was followed by presentations from beneficiaries of the City-to-City (C2C) Exchange, who shared their experiences. Since the speakers had experience as peer reviewers, the link to the Peer Reviews was highlighted, emphasising the benefits of engaging in both roles. The session featured two presentations from past C2C Exchanges, followed by interactive workshops that allowed participants to explore funding tools and green transition strategies.

Exchange 1: Drama (EL), Correggio (IT), Lorqui (ES).

Topic: Urban greening and funding for sustainable projects.

Lorqui aimed to develop an EU-aligned Green Plan and looked to peers for strategies to mitigate urban heat and flooding. The exchange focused on practical tools and funding mechanisms. Key learnings included: citizen tree inventory app (Drama), biodiversity-friendly areas and quarry reclamation (Correggio), air quality alert systems (Drama), and innovative funding sources like EUI, LIFE, and Horizon Eu-rope. The exchange was praised not only for technical insights but also for the strong human connection it created. The cities have continued collaborating through follow-up EU projects (e.g., CERV, Twinning).

Exchange 2: Genoa (IT) – Prague (CZ).

Topic: Sustainable and cultural tourism.

Genoa partnered with Prague to improve tourism resilience and diversify its offer. Prague shared best practices, including inclusive tourism tools, respectful tourism campaigns, and the use of digital technology. As a result, Genoa plans to adopt collaborative gov-ernance models, integrate the night-time economy into planning, and promote alternative routes like the Genoa Forts Trail. The cooperation between the two cities is ongoing, with further projects in development.

Participants then split into two groups:

Funding Workshop – “Wheel of Fortune”. Participants explored how different types of urban challenges could be addressed through EU funding, national/local budgets, and innovative/private funding (e.g. Bloomberg Philanthropies). Most groups successfully matched challenges with at least one funding source in each category.

Green Workshop – “Green City Carousel”. Focused on sharing practical green solutions and approaches inspired by the exchanges, encouraging participants to reflect on their applicability in their own cities.

The session reinforced the value of City-to-City Exchanges in supporting local implementation of EU urban priorities through peer learning and collaboration:

• Accelerating local action: Exchanges enabled cities to gain hands-on insights and apply new ideas, from green infrastructure to sustainable tourism;
• Advancing EU priorities: The exchanges addressed key areas of the EU Green Deal and Urban Agenda, such as nature-based solutions, climate adaptation, and sustainable tourism.
• Practical tools and funding: Cities identified useful innovations (e.g. digital apps, biodiversity strategies, alternative tourism routes) and explored relevant EU funding opportunities (e.g. Horizon Europe, LIFE, EUI).
• Human connection drives impact: Strong personal relationships fostered trust and laid the groundwork for continued collaboration, often through new EU projects.

The session included a matchmaking corner with a ‘Give and Take’ canvas, enabling participants to post needs and offers, potentially leading to future City-to-City (C2C) exchanges. Upcoming opportunities with the EUI were presented: Access to Funding event in Rotterdam (30 September – 2 October) with registration open; EU Week of Regions and Cities in Brussels (October); national events planned for Semester 2 in Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, with more Member States early 2026; Peer Review call opening in October. The C2C Exchange call remains permanently open for applications.

To gather participants' input to the EU’s future agenda for cities, a Slido question asked: “What are the biggest challenges your city faces in accessing and effectively utilising Cohesion Policy funding for green transition projects?” Main challenges identified in-cluded:

• Limited administrative and human capacity: Many municipalities lack skilled staff, tech-nical expertise, English proficiency, and the resources needed to manage complex green projects. Bureaucracy and low public sector salaries further hinder recruitment and innovation.
• Political and strategic obstacles: The green transition is often deprioritised in favour of more immediate crises (e.g. energy costs, demographic decline). Political will and lead-ership are sometimes weak, with outdated mindsets limiting progress.
• Challenges in project development: Preparing and managing transformative projects is complex and demanding. Many cities lack the tools and capacity to build a strong pro-ject pipeline or navigate funding applications.
• Low public support and engagement: Misinformation and scepticism towards the Green Deal reduce citizen buy-in, which is crucial for effective implementation.
• Lack of coordination and support: There is often poor collaboration between public and private sectors, and insufficient support from national governments. Additionally, some functional areas are not eligible for funding.