EU missions : 100 climate-neutral and smart cities.
Date: 2022-04-28
Institutions: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
Subjects: EU energy policy, EU research policy, carbon neutrality, innovation, regional and local authorities, smart city

MEET THE CITIES

28 April 2022

OBJECTIVES 
OF THE EU CITIES 
MISSION

  100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030

  Ensure that these cities act as experimentation and innovation hubs to 
put all European cities in a position to become climate-neutral by 2050

SELECTED CITIES

  100 EU cities

  12 cities from countries associated to Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and 

innovation programme (2021-2027).

Cities from every 
Member State

Capital cities

Small, medium, 
large cities

Frontrunners and 
less prepared cities

BENEFITS  
FOR CITIES

   Tailor-made advice and assistance from the Mission Platform (managed by the 

NetZeroCities consortium)

  Unlocking additional funding and financing opportunities through a Mission label

   Research & innovation funding opportunities for cities to join large innovation 
actions, pilot projects and demonstrations (total budget from Horizon Europe for 
2021-2023 is €360 million)

  Support through a national coordination network 

  Networking opportunities, learning and exchange of experiences among cities 

  Support with involving citizens in decision-making 

  High visibility – raised political profile and attractiveness for investment and 

skilled workers

 EU MISSIONS100 CLIMATE-NEUTRAL AND SMART CITIESEU CITIES

DENMARK
Aarhus
Copenhagen
Sønderborg

NETHERLANDS
Amsterdam
Eindhoven & Helmond
Groningen
Rotterdam
The Hague
Utrecht

BELGIUM
Antwerp
Brussels Capital Region
La Louvière
Leuven

IRELAND
Cork
Dublin

SPAIN
Barcelona
Madrid
Seville
Valencia
Valladolid
Vitoria-Gasteiz
Zaragoza

PORTUGAL
Guimarães
Lisbon
Porto

FRANCE
Angers Loire Metropole
Bordeaux Metropole
Dijon Metropole
Dunkerque
Grenoble-Alpes 
Metropole
Lyon
Marseille
Nantes Metropole
Paris

LUXEMBOURG
Differdange

GERMANY
Aachen
Dortmund
Dresden
Frankfurt/Main
Heidelberg
Leipzig
Mannheim
Munich
Münster

AUSTRIA
Klagenfurt

ITALY
Bergamo
Bologna
Florence
Milan
Padova
Parma
Prato
Rome
Turin

SWEDEN
Gävle
Gothenburg
Helsingborg
Lund
Malmö
Stockholm
Umeå

CROATIA
Zagreb

SLOVENIA
Kranj
Ljubljana
Velenje

MALTA
Gozo

FINLAND
Espoo
Helsinki
Lahti
Lappeenranta
Tampere
Turku

ESTONIA
Tartu

LATVIA
Liepāja
Riga

LITHUANIA
Taurage
Vilnius

POLAND
Krakow
Łódź
Rzeszow
Warsaw
Wrocław

CZECH REPUBLIC
Liberec

SLOVAKIA
Bratislava
Košice

HUNGARY
Budapest
Miskolc
Pécs

CYPRUS
Limassol

BULGARIA
Gabrovo 
Sofia

ROMANIA
Bucharest
Cluj-Napoca
Suceava

GREECE
Athens
Ioannina 
Kalamata
Kozani
Thessaloniki
Trikala

CITIES 
FROM ASSOCIATED
 COUNTRIES 

ALBANIA
Elbasan

BOSNIA AND 
HERZEGOVINA
Sarajevo

ICELAND 
Reykjavík

ISRAEL
Eilat

MONTENEGRO
Podgorica

NORWAY
Oslo
Stavanger
Trondheim

TURKEY
Istanbul 
Izmir

UNITED KINGDOM*
Bristol
Glasgow

* The United Kingdom is expected to become associated to  Horizon Europe and will therefore have the same rights and obligations 
as other associated countries.

NEXT STEPS

Cities will start working on their Climate City Contracts 

Including climate action 
plan and investment 
strategy

Innovative city 
governance and citizen 
engagement

Involvement of EU, 
national and regional level

Climate City Contracts are drawn up by cities, involving citizens and partners, and set 
out their plans to achieve climate neutrality by 2030. The contracts are a clear and highly 
visible political commitment, but not legally binding.

EU MISSIONS

As well as the Cities Mission, there are four other EU missions addressing global 
challenges in the areas of: 

adaptation to 
climate change

restoring our 
ocean and waters

healthy soils

cancer

Get in touch

Cities Mission newsletter

Contact 

Web page

#MissionCities

#EUMissions 

#HorizonEU 

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2022

© European Union, 2022

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PDF

ISBN 978-92-76-51965-2

doi:10.2777/191876   

KI-01-22-329-EN-N