European Week of Regions and Cities 2025 – Strengthening Policy Alignment and Stakeholder Engagement
From the 13th-15th October, members of the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly (EMRA) Planning Team attended the European Week of Regions and Cities 2025 in Brussels, the EU’s largest annual gathering on regional and urban policy. The event brought together policymakers, practitioners, researchers and local leaders from across Europe under the theme “Shaping Tomorrow, Together”, focusing on cohesion, growth, inclusion and the future of Europe’s cities and regions.
Participation in this year’s programme provided valuable insights as EMRA looks ahead to the forthcoming review of the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES), particularly in strengthening the alignment of national, regional and local policy with European priorities, and in deepening stakeholder engagement.
Over the course of the event, EMRA attended and participated a series of sessions that reflected key regional development themes including:
EU Agenda for Cities – Shaping Europe’s Urban Future. With 75% of the EU’s population living in cities and a projected growth to 78% by 2050, the EU Agenda for Cities is being prepared to identify challenges and opportunities. Affordable housing is a critical issue across the EU and its first Affordable Housing Plan is being developed. The panel comprised of City Majors representing large and small city regions. All cities are seeking sustainable urban development and to address a range of interconnected challenges and support place-based approaches to addressing the challenges. The mayors highlighted the importance of direct dialogue between these dynamic cities and national governments to understand regional needs, shape the policies which affect cities and support regional Smart Specialisation Strategies. A simplified approach/ framework to European funding was supported by the Mayors.
Housing for the Common Good: Sustainable Housing Governance in European Cities and Regions. This session focused on innovative governance models to deliver affordable and inclusive housing. Cllr. Dermot Lacey of EMRA participated as a panel member, highlighting the critical role of local democracy in achieving housing for the common good. He reflected on the importance of political will at all levels (EU, National, Regional and Local), effective multi-level governance, appropriate resourcing and adequate skills to address the housing crisis.
Cities Leveraging Data for Impact – Showcasing Real-Life Success Stories. This session delved into how municipalities are harnessing open data and analytics to deliver better services and measurable urban outcomes and drive sustainable urban transformation. The workshop focused on practical use-cases from Dublin and Warsaw to illustrate how data-driven insights can shape services, mobility and resilience.
Regional Innovation Scoreboard (RIS) Information Session – Shaping Europe’s Future: Measuring and Comparing Regional Innovation. This information session discussed the indicators for the 2025 EU RIS which is an interactive tool. Ireland and EMRA are strong innovators or innovation leaders. While a lot of regions have shown strong performance over the last 20+ years, there are different levels of innovation capacity and city regions perform better in terms of innovation across Europe. Tailored strategies are required to optimise spillover potential from neighbouring regions. Some innovation ecosystems enable strong performance even in regions distant from major cities. This connects rural, declining, ageing areas with innovation hubs. The RIS indicators inform the strengths and areas for improvement within the EU.
Bankable Public Green Infrastructure and Services: A Practical Approach. This session examined innovative models for financing nature positive actions and interventions in cities in order to deliver sustainable public infrastructure and services. The use of data to demonstrate Return on Investment from investment in nature, cross-sectoral partnerships and practical indicators for monitoring were identified as key for bankable projects which are feasible, just, and attractive to investors.
How much Nature do we need in our Cities? Turning Data into Urban Greening Action. This session considered the requirements of Art. 8 of the EU Nature Restoration Regulations and how data tools can increase green infrastructure (GI). GI is required to support climate resilience, health, climate neutrality, heat, flooding and biodiversity loss. The ESPON-GILL project is seeking to quantify the current and future demand for green infrastructure at local level to better inform urban planning and investment decisions. In Roeselare (Belgium), a data-driven policy which is human focused is being developed. It considers the impacts of climate change and funding needed in GI to maintain the status quo or improve resilience and this approach is informing investment. ICLEI (a network of local governments) highlights that funding is needed in the EU Budget for implementation of the Nature Restoration Regulations. Both public and private funding will be required to deliver green infrastructure for mutual benefits.
A Dialogue for Enhanced Cross-Border Cooperation to Shape the BRIDGEforEU Regulation. This session addressed emerging EU policy frameworks to support stronger cross-border collaboration. The BRIDGEforEU Regulation supports development and growth in border regions with a core objective to address legal, administrative and political challenges. Sharing of experiences, health, quality of life of residents and public transport are key areas of focus, providing insights for cross-border collaboration on this island of Ireland.
Cities and Regions shaping Global climate action ahead of COP30. The next UN Climate Conference will take place in Brazil on 10th November 2025. The decisions at the conference will influence EU and national policies which will be implemented at regional and City level. Current policies put the world on track for a 3.1°C rise above pre-industrial levels over the course of the century. Europe must send a clear, ambitious message which signals its action to the rest of the World. Citizen engagement is critical to climate resilience measures and need to be engaged in a Just Transition. A new Social Climate Fund commences in 2026 and consultation on National Social Climate Plans is ongoing. Townhall COPs are being held around Europe seeking widespread citizen representation, to consider measures, support education and training, identify the challenges of vulnerable groups and to engage participation.
Let’s build the future in cities together accelerating the climate transition through impactful U!REKA European university collaboration. Helsinki is developing its energy resilience with the aim of becoming a Climate Smart City. The City Council owns 63% of the land with every 6th person living in a city-owned apartment so they have moved to cleaner district heating. Carbon Neutrality Guidance has been published require all new buildings to have strict energy efficiency measures. An Energy Renovation Team supports private homeowners to retrofit their homes. The City of Ghent is seeking to re-wild, increasing green infrastructure and the permeability of surfaces. 75% of land is in private ownership so communities must be involved in supporting long-term strategies. To deliver climate action and Smart Cities, a collaborative approach between Cities and universities is needed, with local government having access to research to inform its policies.
From strategy to action: practical training on land suitability analysis (LSA) for sustainable development in functional urban areas. The World Bank considered how the application of a multi-criteria land suitability analysis of a spatial development strategy for an area in Poland, could support decision-making, determining whether proposed areas for development were the best location, having regard to a range of Geographical Information System data. It involved plot level data gathering analysis (e.g. soil quality, development restrictions such as Protected Areas, landslide susceptibility, ownership structure, flooding, etc.) and technical feasibility (access to water and wastewater, transport infrastructure, etc.). The multiplicity of potential map outputs needed to be combined into a single map which could rank plot suitability for development associated with a specific land function (e.g. residential and mixed uses, industry, logistics and warehousing, tourism and recreation). This approach is applicable in large and small regions for both strategic planning, regeneration sites, housing, etc. The LSA is a valuable communication tool and particularly important for guiding an investment strategy and enabling strategic development areas.
Together with our Irish National Contact Point, the Planning Team also visited the European Urban Initiative (EUI), URBACT and EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change exhibition stands to explore current European urban programmes, funding opportunities and available research.
Finally, the team visited the Irish Regions European Office (IREO) at the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the EU, and met with members of the Irish Delegation to the Committee of the Regions (CoR). EMRA extends sincere thanks to the IREO and the CoR Delegation for their warm hospitality and for driving regional engagement at EU level.
