Brussels, 28/11/013 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 27 November, Commissioners Siim Kallas (transport), Neelie Kroes (digital) and Günther Oettinger (energy) announced that that they would be launching an “Invitation for Smart City and Community Commitments” in spring 2014. This will involve communities improving the daily lives of their inhabitants through the optimal use of transport, telecommunications and energy technology and infrastructure. The three commissioners announced that they would be taking part in a conference, which will bring together local authority officials, business leaders and representatives from civil society to discuss implementation of the smart city action plan, presented by the Commission last October. Stakeholders will be asked to comply with the recommendations contained in this action plan in their own initiatives. The Invitation for Smart City and Community Commitments will benefit these stakeholders through greater European visibility, opportunities for cooperating on subjects of mutual interest and investment programme implementation, said the Commission. Commissioner Kallas asserted that “the Smart Cities initiative is a great opportunity to make changes happen for less congestion and better business opportunities in our cities. We need to keep up the momentum and move from plan to action now”. To achieve this end, the Commission is expected to earmark €200 million for Smart Cities in 2014-2015 through the Commission's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. (MD/transl.fl)