The European Commission's Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) – in coordination with the European Union's International City Partnerships programme – is accepting applications for cities to cooperate with one another to tackle key policy issues. All interested European cities are encouraged to apply.

The project aims to develop partnerships between European local authorities, and those in Canada, South Africa, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Through collaborative methods, gathered knowledge will be shared, transferring best practices and lessons learnt amongst cities. Along the way, the project will strive to facilitate business cooperation and local economic development, including towards low-carbon development.

The information gathered via the project will be used to tackle challenges faced by cities, with a focus on circular economy; air quality; energy transition; and integration of migrants and refugees.

In addition, a selection of regionally-tailored topics will be discussed:

• EU-Canada partnerships will look at urban policy cooperation for inclusion of migrants and refugees
• EU-South Africa collaborations will explore integrating circular economy and nature-based solutions, in particular looking at these solutions' contributions to just energy transitions.
• EU-Asia cooperations will tackle circular economy and air quality.

All cities working on these topics are encouraged to apply. This is an opportunity for ICLEI Europe Members to strengthen their commitments to advancing work and sharing knowledge in these areas.

To learn more about the application process and selection criteria, please click here.