Joint move by large European cities to directly manage part of Covid funding

Mayors from large European cities are heading a joint movement calling for direct control of part of the Covid funding. Between them, the cities have sent a letter to the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, to bring big cities into the debate on the best way to allocate the funds from the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility.

29/10/2020 12:00 h

Ajuntament de Barcelona

The initiative was promoted by the Mayor’s Offices for Barcelona and Milan, with Paris, Berlin, Budapest, Prague, Warsaw, Bratislava, Hannover and Lisbon all adding their weight to it.

The letter notes the disproportionate effects of the pandemic on the population and makes the case for cities playing an active role in managing the crisis. It calls on European institutions to recognise municipalities as key allies in the fight for a resilient future and urges the governments of EU member states to include cities in the plans for the European recovery.

The cities are asking for at least 10% of the funding to fall under local control, enabling it to be managed more efficiently, and for the proposals to be accepted by the European Parliament.

The letter also warns of the need to speed up the payment of the fund to maximise efficiency.

Tags associated with the news item