Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona

The 6th edition of the European Metropolitan Authorities (EMA) forum took place on 11th and 12th of November in the Metropolitan Area of Porto to discuss key metropolitan issues and emphasize the importance of the metropolitan dimension at European level, very relevant in the current difficult times. A total of 21 major cities and metropolises from 13 European countries participated in the conference.

The political representatives of European cities and metropolitan areas have expressed their expectations, needs and future challenges of metropolitan areas in terms of mobility, climate neutrality, digital transformation, recovery and governance.

Ernest Maragall i Mira, Vice-President for International Relations and Cooperation Area, took part in the debate, highlighting how the AMB has responded after Covid-19, working on various investment plans to support metropolitan municipalities and has identified metropolitan-scale projects to present to the Next Generation EU.

The forum was also the time for the signing of the political declaration aimed at "How to boost climate neutral metropolitan areas: green, smart and resilient", a statement that has been widely praised by the participants. It is important to continue working together as metropolitan authorities to convey this message at European and national level.

This edition was attended by the European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Ms. Elisa Ferreira, members of the European Parliament, Portuguese ministers and other local and national representatives, which has given an added value and a way to enhance political recognition for the EMA network.

There has also been participation and support from major European and international networks such as Metropolis, Metrex and INTA.