site.btaSofia, Timisoara Co-Host Cities Summit on EU Enlargement Agenda

Bulgaria's Sofia Municipality and Romania's Timisoara Municipality co-hosted the Timisoara Cities Summit on EU Enlargement Agenda on September 30, the local government of the Bulgarian capital said on Thursday.

Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev and Timisoara Mayor Dominik Fritz opened the forum that brought together mayors and city leaders from across Europe to discuss the future of the European Union's enlargement. Terziev put the role of cities in shaping European policies at the centre of the discussions and emphasized that Europe is not built only through the work of institutions but above all through the work for cities.

"Big cities are bastions of democracy, as governance, which is difficult and expensive, is the most meaningful investment in the future of our societies", he noted. He stressed that cities are the ones that continue to provide stability and services even in situations of political resistance at the national level, and called for a stronger role for local authorities in European financial models and in future development policies.

Among the key moments of the meeting was Terziev's conversation with Romanian President Nicusor Dan, who is former mayor of Bucharest.

Important for the purposes of the forum was Sofia's accession to the UNBROKEN Cities Network, which is an international initiative that supports Ukrainian cities in their reconstruction and builds bridges of solidarity and resilience across Europe.