Chueca will ask today in Strasbourg for funding for those leading the climate transition

The Mayor of Zaragoza , Natalia Chueca, will advocate this Tuesday in Strasbourg (France) for European institutions to provide a direct financing framework that allows cities to carry out digital transformation and environmental sustainability projects in the coming years. In particular, she will focus on the need for this direct financing to be guaranteed to cities that, like Zaragoza, lead the way towards environmental sustainability, through the Climate Neutral Cities Mission.

“We consider it a priority to support local administrations in the modernisation and expansion of infrastructures, including digital and energy infrastructures, which are essential for economic growth, to attract talent and new investments and to make our cities more pleasant places to live and work,” said Natalia Chueca from Strasbourg, where yesterday Monday she participated in the political summit of Eurocities, the main platform of large European municipalities, which she attended together with the Minister of Finance and European Funds, Blanca Solans.

This meeting served as a preparatory meeting before today’s event with the newly elected members of the European Parliament, where mayors and MEPs will share their vision for the next mandate of the European Union to strengthen their collaboration with this institution. “Cities play a crucial role in achieving the objectives of the European Union. We are the level of government closest to citizens and are in a unique position to implement innovative policies and solutions that address global challenges,” he argued.

Approximately 70% of the European population lives in cities, with an increasingly pronounced trend towards urbanisation. To meet this demographic challenge, the Mayor of Zaragoza will call for “greater and fairer funding, in line with the increasing number of benefits and services offered to citizens”.

Another aspect that Natalia Chueca will focus on is priority support for small and medium-sized businesses, “the driving force of our economy”. She will ask for access to financing for them, promoting administrative simplification and creating specific programmes to improve competitiveness. “These priorities must be addressed in a coordinated manner to ensure that European industry remains competitive on the world stage, while moving towards a more sustainable and resilient economic model, and guaranteeing quality public services”, she added.

The Mayor of Zaragoza is the only Spanish representative of the so-called Shadow Commission of Eurocities, which aims to serve as a counterpoint to the new European Commission, so that European cities have an interlocutor to express key requests related to the objectives of Eurocities. Specifically, Natalia Chueca acts as Commissioner for Industry and Competitiveness alongside the Mayor of Helsinki, assuming the role of Vice-President.