At the high-level EU-China Forum on Wednesday 18 July, the Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Crețu, launched the 'Competitive Start-Up' fund to finance a pilot project between European and Chinese cities in the framework of the International Urban Cooperation (IUC) programme.
“I am pleased to announce the launch, under the International Urban Cooperation Programme, of a Competitive Start-Up Fund for short term actions within the city pairings”, the Commissioner said.
Since 2017, the IUC programme has supported innovative regional and local projects, for instance to tackle climate change. More specifically, it consists of a mechanism for the exchange of experience and knowledge between cities by setting in place timely working groups on various themes. Another objective is to create economic opportunities for SMEs.
The twinned cities selected are: Granada and Kunming (working theme: smart cities and biotechnology), Barnsley and Liuzhou (employment and skills), Nice and Haikou (health and smart cities), Reggio Emilia and Weinan (links between cities and country, sustainable agriculture and smart cities), and Rome and Yantai (social inclusion and smart cities). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)