Europe

Europe - Opportunities arise both in the local and transnational levels.

Europe in a Green City
Twinned towns, networks and cross-boundary projects – intercity cooperation has been developing in Europe for several decades.

An increasing number of European cities, which are home to over 70 percent of the European population, are beginning to cooperate – connecting people and sharing resources, knowledge and experience. This cooperation takes many forms: over 30 thousand towns and cities take part in “twinning” programmes, many build thematic networks, whilst others work together on specific cross-boundary projects.

The greening of towns and cities has been one of the European Union’s greatest priorities in recent years, possible partly due to the increasing number of Green politicians being voted into local councils. Improving the quality of life for citizens through environmentally and people friendly sustainable development and modernisation has become a priority of action in many European networks. These include:


 * the Climate Alliance which acts to prevent climate change and to protect the rights of the most disadvantaged communities affected by environmental disasters
 * Car Free Cities promoting environmentally friendly transport and green mobility
 * Healthy Cities encouraging a healthy lifestyle and promoting preventative health measures
 * the Slow City Network encouraging a high quality of city life, achievable through building a friendly atmosphere in cities and slowing down the pace of life.

Did You Know?

 * Over 500 regional and local councils associated in the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, are signatories of the European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life.


 * In 1985 Athens became the first European Capital of Culture, thus creating the blueprint for the EU initiative of promoting a multicultural continent. In 2000 the Polish city of Kraków and the Czech city of Prague became the first European Cultural Capitals from Central and Eastern Europe.