Workshop “Urban Recovery Watch: Cities in the Implementation of the Next Generation EU”

The Next Generation EU funds provide a once-in-a-generation opportunity for a just green and digital transition in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic recovery. With 75% of European citizens living in cities and subnational governments currently implementing 70% of EU legislation, cities are the arena where the success of these recovery measures will be decided. 

The Global Cities Programme of CIDOB (Barcelona Centre for International Affairs) is carrying out a multi-year project in partnership with Eurocities and with the support of Barcelona City Council to provide policy analysis and recommendation to bolster the empowerment of subnational governments in the implementation of the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). The research aims to distil key learnings that can enhance the knowledge of and capacity to harness the urban dimension of the recovery process. 

Last year the pioneering CIDOB Report “Cities in the EU Recovery Process: Localizing the Next Generation EU” mapped the degree of participation of local governments in the design of several National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRPs). Comprising a broad spectrum of experiences across Europe, along with the intricacies of each national context, the analysis highlighted the fundamental need to strengthen multilevel governance arrangements and devise participatory mechanisms that encompass all the stages of the public policy process, allowing local governments to play a key role in their national recovery strategies. 

This year, in partnership with Eurocities, the CIDOB Monograph “Urban Recovery Watch: Empowering Cities in the EU Green and Digital Transition” will present the findings of a second in-depth research project. Urban Recovery Watch will examine from a national perspective the RRF funding received by cities, the way in which funding has been invested, and the governance mechanisms in place to structure this work. It will further include case studies of specific cities active in the local implementation of the Next Generation EU instrument. The CIDOB Monograph will include country-specific chapters on Finland, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. The publication will also incorporate two cross-chapters on metropolitan areas and the capital cities of the Visegrád Group (i.e. Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia). 

In the framework of the Brussels Urban Summit (BUS), CIDOB Global Cities Programme and Eurocities organize a workshop to discuss the preliminary results of Urban Recovery Watch, to be published in autumn 2023. In addition to the editors of the publication, three of the experts in charge of developing the monograph’s analysis will be invited to present their ongoing research and engage in discussion with the audience present at the BUS and in particular the members of Eurocities. By holding the workshop during the BUS, the experts will be able to gather feedback and insights from the many city officials participating. This will help framing the comparative analysis of the research project in a way that is useful for cities and guide the experts towards concrete recommendations. 

The workshop will be an opportunity to present evidence of the first phase of implementation of the recovery funds and to debate the potential implications for the future of EU funding for cities. It will also be an opportunity to assess concretely how the ongoing investments can promote a just green and digital transition in European cities.