EU programme “Partnerships for Sustainable Cities”

brought together the beneficiary municipalities in Brussels for its first global meeting

The first global meeting under the auspices of the European Union programme

“Partnerships for Sustainable Cities” was held in Brussels on 7 and 8 March. This programme is an initiative launched by the European Commission in 2018 for the purpose of encouraging the cities worldwide to collaborate and develop sustainable solutions for urban challenges. The objectives of the initiative are to improve the quality of life in cities, to promote sustainable development and increase economic competitiveness.

Chișinău Municipality, as a beneficiary of the EU-funded project “MOVE IT like Lublin”, was represented at the meeting by the deputy mayors of the capital city, Olga Ursu and Ilie Ceban, as well as by the Project Manager Octavian Lungu.

They had the opportunity to share with the colleagues from 56 partnership projects the Project results and the experience of collaboration with the local authorities of Lublin (Poland), as well as other initiatives of the municipality relating to the sustainable development of the cities.

The representatives of the participating cities discussed the challenges and opportunities in the sustainable development of the cities and identified the best practices for improving urban infrastructure, decreasing carbon emissions and improving people’s quality of life. Similarly, the importance of collaboration between the cities and the European Union to support the sustainable development of the cities and share best practices was underlined.

The „MOVE IT like Lublin” project – Initiative for the sustainable development of public transport in Chișinău municipality, funded by the European Union, is implemented on the basis of a partnership between Chișinău Municipality and Lublin Municipality, Poland. The project will be implemented till 2025 and will offer support to transform the public transport services in the city into a more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable transport system. The project envisages the improvement of urban transport policies at a municipal level, increase of the institutional capacities of Chișinău Municipality in accordance with the European Union practice in the area of urban mobility, and increase of the quality of public transport management in Chișinău by means of sustainable innovative solutions and technologies. Additionally, a modern Traffic Monitoring Centre will be created in Chișinău within the project, and a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan will be developed for Chișinău. The project will also digitalise such operations as electronic tickets and web applications for public transport, reflecting the best practices applied in the cities of the European Union, including Lublin.

The total budget of the project amounts to €3,500,000, of which €3,325,000 are the contribution of the European Union in form of a grant, and €175,000 are allocated by Chișinău Municipality.