Launch of the national Mirror Mission Cities Hub in Romania (M100) & CapaCITIES Workshops

Between 18-19 December, representatives of the European Commission, national and regional authorities, cities and associations of municipalities, academia, support organisations and urban communities from Romania and Europe are coming together in Cluj-Napoca to debate the progress of the Horizon Europe “Mission for 100 smart and climate-neutral cities by 2030” implementation at national level.

For two days, the European national platforms supporting the Mission Cities implementation in their contexts will exchange on their challenges regarding the transition to climate neutrality and on the driving factors towards their sustainability in a changing world.

On the first day, 18 December, the attendees will participate in the launch of the Mission Mirror Cities Hub Romania (M100). M100 is governed by a Coordination Committee involving the Ministry of Investments and European Projects (MIPE), the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalization (MCID), the Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration (MDLPA), the Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests, and the Ministry of Education.

UEFISCDI will ensure the secretariat for the Coordination Committee formed of delegates from all the mentioned ministries, led by the state secretary from MIPE, Ovidiu Cimpean. This Coordination Committee includes representatives from the three selected Romanian Mission Cities: Cluj-Napoca, District 2 – Bucharest and Suceava.

The M100 national hub aims to support the implementation of the “100 Climate-Neutral Smart Cities by 2030” Mission objective to facilitate access to European funding sources for climate change mitigation actions and accelerate efforts to limit global warming. In this context, M100 will have two objectives: to support the three Romanian cities selected under the EU Mission – Cluj-Napoca, Suceava and Bucharest – District 2, in implementing green transition projects and identifying funding sources; and to launch a Mirror Mission, using EU-level tools to assist 10 other Romanian cities on the path to climate neutrality.

To this end, M100 will launch a call for applications to select the 10 cities that will be part of the Mirror Mission and achieve climate neutrality by 2035.

On the second day, CapaCITIES will organise a series of workshops for the project consortium partners and other European and Romanian stakeholders, aimed at capacity building on mobilizing finance for climate neutral cities – investment planning in cities, redirecting public funding, attracting private finance and on accelerating learning through Transition Lab Forums.

Additionally, cities from Romania and beyond will have the opportunity to exchange on Cluj-Napoca’s journey towards the EU Mission Label and the climate city contract (CCC) preparation in a dedicated workshop.

During these two days, in an exhibition area, participants will review the CapaCITIES learning portfolio, providing feedback on how to further develop it to respond to the needs of the authorities and cities.

Social experiences and site visits in Cluj-Napoca will immerse the participants in city’s climate-neutral projects and lifestyle.

CapaCITIES is a support action for national and regional authorities in 15 European countries to advance their governance structures and strengthen dedicated support for cities to achieve the climate-neutral Cities Mission.

The project is funded under the EU Missions programme of Horizon Europe.

Presentations held during the event:

Access the programme here.

Find out practical information on how to get to Cluj-Napoca from the travel kit.