Brussels, 15/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - Vitoria-Gasteiz, the capital of the Basque country in northern Spain, is the European Green Capital for 2012. The title has been awarded each year, since 2010, to a town recognised as being at the forefront of an environmentally-friendly lifestyle. Deeming Vitoria-Gasteiz to be a source of inspiration for other towns, the European Commission awarded it the title on Thursday 15 December at a ceremony organised at the European Parliament during the plenary session of the Committee of the Regions. Vitoria-Gasteiz thus takes over from Hamburg, which held the title in 2011 (in 2010, it was Stockholm). Janez Potocnik, European Environment Commissioner, Mercedes Bresso, President of the Committee of the Regions, Holger Lange, State Secretary for the Environment at the Ministry for Urban Development and Environment of the town of Hamburg, and Javier Maroto Aranzabal, Mayor of Vitoria-Gasteiz, attended the ceremony. The town in question is of average size but stands out due to its good practices in urbanism, green areas (10 million square metres of parks and green areas), and recycling, mobility and water consumption. It thus sets an example for sustainable urban development. (AN/transl.jl)