On 26 and 27 September, Riga City Executive Director Jānis Lange represented Riga at the Prague Summit of Cities which takes place as part of the programme of events organised under the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
On 26 September, the first day of the Prague Summit of Cities, such topics as the practical assistance European cities can provide to war-torn Ukraine and war refugees taking refuge in Europe, and also the funding offered to cities by the European Union were discussed at the Pact of Free Cities Summit.
The Pact of Free Cities is a cooperation agreement signed in 2019 between Warsaw, Prague, Budapest, and Bratislava, but other cities can join as well. During the summit, new cities joined the Pact of Free Cities, including Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.
The 11th Direct Dialogue between EU capitals and the European Commission took place in Prague on the second day of the Prague Summit, with the participation of the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans. The focus of the meeting this year was on climate policy and action plans at local government level. Cities implementing the most advanced EU policies in the field of renewable sources, carbon neutrality, and energy self-sufficiency shared their experience in Prague. Such matters as solutions to the energy crisis in EU capitals and how to increase the use of renewable energy sources in cities, promote environment-friendly mobility, save energy and support residents during the winter season were also among discussion topics at the summit.
The summit brings together mayors and local government representatives from Warsaw, Prague, Budapest, Bratislava, Riga, Kyiv, Helsinki, Stockholm, Gdansk, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Paris, Ulm, Tirana, Vienna, Vilnius, Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin, Nicosia, Sofia, Barcelona, Tallinn, Ljubljana, London, Mykolaiv, Stuttgart, Mannheim, Zagreb, Florence, and Los Angeles.
Author: Edīte Matuseviča, Project Coordinator at External Communication Division of Riga City Council Communication Department,
e-mail: edite.matusevica@riga.lv.