"I am glad to inform you that I intend to propose to my colleagues in the Commission the reutilisation of unspent funds in the European Economic Recovery package for sustainable energy developments at regional and local level. (…) A minimum of 115 million € is available, which could increase until the end of the year. Based on recent successful programmes, those amounts would constitute a fund that would be used with the aim of maximising leverage factors.’’
This is what Commissioner Oettinger announced on 4th May at the 2nd Covenant of Mayors Ceremony organised at the European Parliament in the presence of Messrs Zapatero, Barroso and Buzek.
The city network Energy Cities –which has been playing an important role in this
process congratulates the Commissioner on this first step, a step that the 1,700 cities engaged in the Covenant of Mayors had been eagerly waiting for. Energy Cities relayed their expectations in previous press releases (29th March and 4th May).
The Covenant of Mayors has demonstrated its capacity to influence EU priorities by involving all levels, from cities and citizens to provincial, national, regional and European levels, in achieving the EU energy and climate objectives. This unprecedented process shows that Europe knows how to mobilise intelligence in a practical way. As Mr Barroso noted “What you are doing is unprecedented, and the eyes of the world are watching, with great interest’’.
“We are just starting the journey. We need to develop and implement ambitious action plans’’ Commissioner Oettinger concluded. Energy Cities can only agree with this and will make proposals to this end very soon.
See the speeches by Mr Barroso and Mr Oettinger and the press release from the Covenant of Mayors
Download this press release in PDF
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