High level Conference "Municipalities for Sustainable Growth" to gather together over 350 representatives of municipalities and national ministries from the Eastern Partnership countries in Kyiv, Ukraine

22 October 2018

On 22-23 November, the Ukrainian capital city will be hosting a large-scale regional Conference, organized jointly by the two major EU-funded Initiatives for the Eastern Partnership countries – the Covenant of Mayors and Mayors for Economic Growth . The main focus of the event will be the role of Local Authorities in identifying and addressing the complexities of sustainable development, economic resilience and climate action.

The Covenant of Mayors currently accounts for over 350 signatories committed to EU's climate and energy goals - the highest number of signatories outside the EU. Similarly, since 2017 Mayors for Economic Growth has mobilised over 260 Local Authorities in the EaP to commit to the implementation of smart local economic strategies aiming at GDP/per capita growth and more employment opportunities. Under both initiatives, EU supports 48 pilot projects with €32 million for implementation of the signatories' commitments.

The conference "Municipalities for Sustainable Growth" will give an opportunity to take stock of the implementation progress of both initiatives, explore the climate, energy and economic development nexus, and discuss future perspectives of EU support to sustainable growth at local level.

Over 350 representatives of local and national authorities, associations of local authorities and other stakeholders from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine will participate in the event. Representatives from EU institutions and EU Member States will also take part.

The agenda of the Conference will be soon available in our Calendar.