LIFE GreenMe5 politicians discuss the benefits of the green cities agreement one year after the project's launch.

The initiative's partners took advantage of this meeting to review the progress of the project focused on improving their cities in terms of water, air, noise, waste, nature and biodiversity.

The partnership of the European Union-co-funded project, called GreenMe5, under the LIFE program, has met to host a meeting between politicians representing the public institutions (city councils) involved in the project: Murcia, Cieza, Arezzo, Vilnius, and Helsingborg.

In addition to representatives from the partner countries, the event featured Alfonso Alcolea, a technician from the European Commission's Directorate-General for the Environment in Brussels, who moderated this political debate on the implementation of the Green City Accord, one year after the project's launch, led by the Federation of Municipalities of the Region of Murcia.

Politicians from the partner cities, committed to this environmental pact, explained how it is influencing their political agenda and, above all, what benefits their communities are reaping.

During his presentation, Alfonso Alcolea outlined the new European Commission's environmental objectives, the key events that will take place in 2025, and the new cities joining this pact.  

On behalf of the Murcia City Council , the Councillor for European Projects, Mercedes Bernabé, highlighted the importance of the project and its role in Murcia's transformation into a smart and sustainable city. "We must continue working together in this direction, in this way, to create greener, healthier, and better places to live," she said.

Francisco Martínez , the Cieza city councilor responsible for the European Projects portfolio , commented that “the municipality has internalized the mandate and the needs of the Green City Agreement, and is committed to applying this learning and taking the steps to make the city more livable, healthy and sustainable.”

From Arezzo , the mayor's chief of staff, Gianni Rossi, commented that, “ signing the Agreement helps the city gain a better understanding of its environment, and how the Green City Agreement can impact the territory, and its capacity to improve its governance during the process.” For his part, Alessandro Forzoni, a technician with the Arezzo administration, explained some of the actions they are carrying out, such as door-to-door collection to guarantee recycling, a key measure since the recycling rate has increased from 35% to 65%.

Alexander Svensson , president of the Helsingborg Department of Urban Planning and Technical Services , described some of the activities they have undertaken to implement the Green Deal and integrate it into the municipality's agenda in a practical way. “We have protected 58 hectares in new nature reserves and invested significantly in infrastructure for sustainable mobility, including cycling, and also in a second express bus line that runs entirely on green electricity.”

Anton Nikitin , Vilnius's Head of Sustainability , outlined the city's commitment to more sustainable mobility, stating that they are significantly renewing their public transport system, including the addition of new trolleybuses. "We are planning to expand public transport by 2028, providing more frequent service, and are therefore acquiring new electric vehicles," he said. He also explained that they have expanded infrastructure for cycling, with very positive results. "Cycle use has increased from 1,5% in 2017 to 5% in 2024," he noted.

For his part, Manuel Pato , director of European Projects at FMRM, encouraged the politicians participating in the meeting to "continue with the same enthusiasm and working to achieve the objectives that will transform territories into sustainable cities, since, without the commitment of the political class to raise awareness among citizens, there is no possible path," he said.