Unveiling the Cities Forum 2025: Empowering cities, shaping Europe’s future
Organised under the motto “Empowering cities, shaping Europe’s future” the event promotes the vision of cities as engines of growth, innovation, and sustainability in Europe. It will invite participants to provide their views, challenges, recommendations and practices for urban development, while collecting inputs for contributing to the European Union’s reflections and ambitions for supporting cities in the future.
What to expect?
The event, co-organised by the European Commission (DG REGIO) and the European Urban Initiative (EUI), will gather stakeholders from all over Europe to meet and discuss on how to deliver sustainable and integrated urban development, support multi-level governance cooperation, and reflect jointly on the policy agenda for cities of the European Union. The event will promote EU initiatives and successful approaches supported by the EU Cohesion policy, which is investing around EUR 24 billion through integrated development strategies over the 2021-2027 programming period.
The 2025 edition of the forum will bring together up to 800 participants, including local and regional authorities, policymakers and urban practitioners. Discussions will centre on some of the most pressing challenges cities face today, including housing, digital transformation, social inclusion and urban mobility. The event will provide a platform for dialogue, knowledge sharing and capacity building, to address urban challenges collaboratively.
Be ready for three days of a dynamic and engaging agenda, including:
- High-level discussions on urban policies and initiatives in the EU and beyond
- Interactive workshops on recent developments for sustainable and integrated urban development in the EU, through policies and practical solutions
- Project visits to discover how Kraków has been achieving its sustainable urban planning and growth
- Exhibition spaces and networking opportunities.
Interested in how cities of all sizes can make meaningful progress towards sustainable urban development? The Cities Forum 2025 is the place for exploring this and much more!
Stay tuned!
Further information about the agenda, speakers and registration process will follow soon. Follow the latest news and join the conversation via #CitiesForum.
Background
About the Cities Forum
The Cities Forum is a biennial major event of the European Commission about the urban dimension of Cohesion policy. It brings together key urban stakeholders from European, national, regional and local levels. The event is co-organised by the Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) and the European Urban Initiative (EUI), under the responsibility of the EUI Entrusted Entity, the Region Hauts-de-France.
About the European Urban Initiative
The European Urban Initiative (EUI) is a key instrument of the European Union supporting the reinforced urban dimension of Cohesion policy for the programming period 2021-2027.
Within this context, the EUI encourages cities to innovate by funding the testing of new solutions to tackle multifaceted urban challenges of EU relevance and supports the capacities of all urban areas across Europe. It provides evidence for policymaking and sharing knowledge on sustainable urban development, including via the Urban Agenda for the EU.
The EUI is managed by the European Commission – DG REGIO via indirect management. The European Commission has designated the Region Hauts-de-France (France) as Entrusted Entity, for the implementation of the EUI. EUI is operationally managed on a daily basis by the EUI Permanent Secretariat, located in Lille (FR).