European Urban Initiative: New call for innovative actions to answer pressing urban challenges in local contexts

The call aims to support cities of all sizes across Europe, with a particular focus on small and medium-sized cities, in testing locally innovative solutions to pressing urban challenges.

This fourth edition of the call introduces an updated support framework, reflecting the continued commitment of the EUI to strengthening cities' capacity to design and deliver innovative responses to complex urban challenges. It aims at enhancing the transformative power of EU cities to innovate and respond to current challenges for the resilient, sustainable and inclusive urban life by turning ambitious and creative ideas into practice that can be tested in the local context in real urban settings and daily municipal operations.

Urban authorities are therefore invited to propose solutions (whether products, services, or processes) that are new to their specific context, even if such solutions have already been practiced - tested or tested to some extent - elsewhere in the EU or beyond. Cities will be invited to submit project proposals aligned with the priorities of the EU Agenda for Cities across the following thematic policy areas:

1. Competitiveness, digitalisation, innovation and investment

2. Social inclusion and equality

3. Security, safety and preparedness

4. Affordable, sustainable, decent-quality and inclusive housing and buildings

5. Climate action, environment and clean energy

6. Mobility.

These thematic policy areas are often closely interconnected, reflecting the EU's commitment to fostering sustainable, integrated and inclusive urban development. Testing measures linked to more than one of these themes, in an integrated manner, is therefore possible.

The call is open for urban authorities and for associations or groupings of urban authorities comprising at least 25 000 inhabitants. Each selected project can receive up to EUR 2 million. The European Regional Development fund will co-finance 80% of the project costs.

The deadline to submit proposals is 15 June 2026. For more information on the call and on how to apply, please consult the EUI webpage here.

Raffaele Fitto, Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms:

"Through this call, the EU aims to support cities in testing small-scale local innovative solutions to pressing urban challenges. Urban challenges are complex. This Commission is committed to strengthening the capacity of cities to design and deliver innovative responses. Our vision is clear: Empowering every city and town in Europe to reach its full potential, including all communities."

Xavier Bertrand, President of the Hauts-de-France Region - Entrusted Entity for the European Urban Initiative:

"By redefining its scope of intervention, the 4th Call for Proposals, launched by the European Urban Initiative on 25 February, fully reflects our commitment to financially supporting cities and groupings of municipalities in testing innovative solutions locally and strengthening their capacity to address complex urban challenges.

Now open to Cities and groupings of municipalities with more than 25,000 inhabitants, projects may receive up to EUR 2 million in European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) support, representing 80% of the total project budget.

As key drivers of territorial innovation, European cities and groupings of municipalities see their leading role recognised and supported in responding to urban challenges as close as possible to the needs of our citizens, thereby giving full meaning to cohesion policy."

Background

The European Urban Initiative is the instrument supporting the reinforced urban dimension of Cohesion Policy in the 2021-2027 period. Over that period, EUR 24 billion from the European Regional Development Fund will be invested in priorities defined in close involvement with EU cities, based on their own sustainable urban development strategies, and an even bigger share of the funds in all five Cohesion policy objectives is likely to be invested in urban areas.

Within this Cohesion Policy context, the EUI provides cities or their groupings funding to test transferable and scalable innovative solutions on urban challenges of EU relevance, based on calls and themes defined by the Commission. Three calls have already taken place, in 2022 in support to the new European Bauhaus, in 2023 on 'Greening Cities', 'Sustainable tourism' and 'Harnessing talent in shrinking cities', and in 2024 on 'Energy transition' and 'Technology in cities'.

The EUI builds on the Urban Innovative Actions, the Commission's initiative launched in the 2014-2020 programming period, and it has an even stronger focus on innovation led by cities themselves, Cohesion policy relevance and replicability to other cities.

Beyond innovation, the EUI supports the capacities of all cities and urban areas across Europe. It provides evidence for policymaking and sharing knowledge on sustainable urban development, including via the Urban Agenda for the EU.

The EU Agenda for Cities

The EU Agenda for Cities is a strategic policy framework for sustainable and integrated urban development. It aims to improve EU policies affecting cities, strengthen dialogue between local and EU levels, and facilitate access to EU support, recognising the crucial role of cities of all sizes in driving growth, innovation, decarbonisation and social inclusion.

More details on the EU Agenda for Cities and thematic areas proposed as Call 4 topics are available in the official Communication on the EU Agenda for Cities (December 2025).