Municipal policies to tackle the crisis and their application at EU level will be discussed during the three days of the summit entitled, “Networked Local Governments for a New Europe”, which will bring together representatives from 260 cities in Barcelona.

The meeting, as part of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union, is being promoted by the Provincial Government of Barcelona and the Committee of the Regions, and will be opened by the Third Vice-president of the Spanish Government, Manuel Chaves, the President of the Generalitat de Cataluña (regional government of Catalonia), José Montilla, the Mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu, and the President of the Barcelona Provincial Government, Antoni Fogué.

The aim of the European Summit of Local Governments is to analyse the different models of governance, the public investments and the policies of European local governments, taking into account the close relationship between authorities and citizens. As a backdrop to the discussions: the economic crisis and the new European agenda. The concept of Multilevel Governance, on which the Committee of the Regions has developed a white paper, will be an important issue in this meeting.

The meetings will define an agenda that will be based on the three areas of the Treaty of Lisbon: economic cohesion, which affects competitiveness and the knowledge economy; social issues, to confront demographic changes; and territorial matters, which affect public services and infrastructures, as the President of the Barcelona Provincial Government, Antoni Fogué, made clear at the presentation of this meeting.

The final document will also analyse the role that local governments should have in the new European governance structure and will define the importance of cooperation between European and non-European territories, added Fogué.

The working meetings will take place in Barcelona from 22 to 23 February, while a series of offsite sessions will be held in nine Catalonian cities on 24 February.