Zaragoza strengthens its European leadership in sustainability within the EU Urban Agenda

Zaragoza has consolidated its leadership in sustainability and urban transformation within the framework of the European Union’s Urban Agenda. Blanca Solans, the Councilor for Finance and European Funds of the City Council, and Elena Navarro, the Director General of European Funds, will participate in the Cities Forum 2025, held in Krakow, Poland, from June 17 to 19. This biennial event is the most important in the urban sphere in the EU and brings together institutional and technical representatives from across the continent to analyze the future of urban development within the new 2028-2034 financial framework.

During the summit, the Executive Vice President of the European Commission, Raffaele Fitto, presented the outlines of the future European Urban Agenda, which is expected to be adopted by the end of this year. Fitto emphasized that the new plan will focus on adapting EU policies to local realities, with particular attention to challenges such as access to affordable housing, the development of vulnerable communities, and territorial cohesion. The goal is to ensure that citizens perceive a direct and tangible impact of European policies on their daily lives.

Minister Solans took advantage of her participation in the forum to share with the Vice President the experience of Zaragoza and other major Spanish cities in implementing European funds from the Next Generation EU plan. In her remarks, she expressed concern about the lack of flexibility, poor coordination, and excessive bureaucratic burden in managing these resources, which jeopardizes compliance with the established implementation deadlines. Solans defended the need to open a channel of dialogue with the EU institutions to improve these aspects and facilitate more effective and realistic management.

EUROCITIES NETWORK

This same concern was shared by Mathias De Clercq, president of the Eurocities network, which brings together major European cities and acts as a direct contact with the European Commission. Zaragoza is thus seeking to garner support within the network to promote improvements in fund management mechanisms and ensure that cities can respond swiftly to current and future urban challenges. The Zaragoza delegation argued that the role of cities is key in implementing the major transformations promoted by the European Union.

In this context, Zaragoza City Council has submitted two strategic documents to the Commission with proposals for the future EU Urban Agenda: the “Cities – New Policy Agenda & Development Declaration” and the “Position Paper of the Cities Mission Advisory Group“. Both texts contain concrete proposals and demands based on Zaragoza’s experience and were developed in collaboration with other European cities committed to sustainable, inclusive, and digital urban development.

These contributions will be evaluated by the European Commission in the design process of the new Urban Agenda, which will set the roadmap for European urban policies starting in 2028. With its active involvement and leadership in this process, Zaragoza is positioning itself as a leading city in innovation, sustainability, and urban management on a continental scale, thus strengthening its visibility and influence at the European level.