Julije Domac meets with European Commissioners’ Cabinets

On the 5th of February, Julije Domac President of FEDARENE, along with the Directors of the other European networks of the Covenant of Mayors met with the cabinets of the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Executive Vice-President Timmermans (European Green Deal), Commissioner Simson (Energy) and Commissioner Ferreira (Cohesion and Reforms) to discuss how Europe’s local authorities may contribute to the successful roll-out of the Green Deal.

The meeting discussed the mechanisms by which cities can contribute to the mobilization and success of the Just Transition program, which recently included the islands. At the EU level, a Permanent Secretariat for the Islands was established to facilitate and speed up the implementation of this program regarding sustainable development and energy transition. During the meeting, Julije Domac stated that:

Every policy and every implementation should be lowered to the local level, to the city or municipality level, from which everything starts. Today, when we have a framework at EU level, it is important to make national governments aware of all policy options; that the EU Green Deal is no longer a matter of climate protection but a key answer to how to secure economic growth; how to maintain global competitiveness, and how to meet demographic goals and maintain the Union’s political stability. I am convinced that cities and regions will be able to do their part, especially with considerable support from both our EU networks and our energy agencies.

One of the important topics of the talks was the willingness of cities and regions to open the door to private capital, to participate in the creation of financial instruments in the new programming period, and not to seek solutions only in EU funds grants.