European Metropolitan Authorities
Budget
€25 — €0
EP Access
0
accredited persons
Staff
1
0.25 FTE
EU Grants
None
Mission & Goals
European Metropolitan Authorities (EMA) is a forum for leading politicians from Europe’s main metropolitan cities and metropolitan areas that is working since February 2015 when we had the first EMA Forum. EMA has 55 European cities and metropolitan areas participating in their activities. The main goal of EMA is to provide a space to discuss the challenges of European metropolitan governance and define the basis for a common partnership. This joint work is reflected in studies, meetings, common projects, and an annual Conference concluding with a political declaration adopted by the participants, advocating for a metropolitan dimension of EU policies.
EU Legislative Interests
EMA advocates for a stronger metropolitan dimension in EU policies. Since 2015, EMA has been actively debating and working on key issues such as Cohesion Policy, the European Green Deal, Jobs and Social Rights, Sustainable Mobility and Transport, and the Multiannual Financial Framework. Currently, we are particularly focused on the European Agenda for cities, Cohesion Policy, and the new Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028–2034.
Communication Activities
Here is a corrected and improved version in clear, professional English: EMA partners have developed several EU-funded projects, including: RiConnect Project (URBACT), 2019–2022 CAMELOT Project (Europe for Citizens), 2020–2022 SMART MR (Interreg Europe), 2016–2021 METRO (ESPON), 2020–2022 METRO CASE, 2025–2027 On the EMA website (ema.amb.cat), you can find several publications produced by EMA partners, including the conclusions and political declarations from the annual meetings. In 2021, EMA, together with 15 EU metropolises, prepared a Catalogue of Transformative Metropolitan Next Generation Projects. Through its forums, EMA has welcomed representatives from the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the Committee of the Regions. In February 2020, a delegation of EMA political representatives met with Commissioner Elisa Ferreira to discuss the future of Cohesion Policy, the European Urban Agenda, and their metropolitan dimension and impact. An EMA delegation also met with Commissioner Corina Crețu in 2017. In addition, EMA participated in several meetings of the URBAN Intergroup of the European Parliament. In 2024, the EMA Forum, held in Amsterdam (Netherlands), brought together more than 90 participants from 25 cities, metropolitan areas, and regions. The forum also welcomed several Members of the European Parliament, as well as Nicola De Michelis, Acting Deputy Director-General for Regional and Urban Policy at the European Commission. That same year, EMA participated in the high-level conference “An Appropriate European Urban Policy for the Future”, organized under the auspices of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. In 2025, the EMA Forum returned to Barcelona to celebrate its 10th anniversary. To mark this milestone, metropolitan partners from around the world were invited to join the World Metropolitan Summit. The Summit brought together more than 220 metropolitan leaders from 100 delegations, representing metropolises, institutions, and international networks worldwide, generating strong momentum to shape global urban agendas beyond 2030 from a metropolitan perspective. During the Summit, 43 metropolitan leaders signed a political declaration calling on national governments, international institutions, and multilateral organizations to recognize metropolitan areas as essential partners in global governance. The declaration calls for metropolitan areas to be included not only as consultative stakeholders but also as direct partners in the design, implementation, and evaluation of policies and funding mechanisms. It also highlights the need for stable metropolitan financing and greater autonomy to ensure the effective implementation of global agendas. Currently, we are preparing a meeting with Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto, scheduled to take place on 30 March in Brussels.
Interests Represented
Promotes their own interests or the collective interests of their members
Organisation Members
City and metropolitan governments of: Tirana, Vienna, Brussels Capital Region, Zagreb, Brno, Prague, Helsinki Uusimaa Region, Aix-Marseille-Provence, Grand Lyon, Grater Paris, Nice Métropole Côte d'Azur, Montpellier Métropole, Toulouse Métropole, Frankfurt/ Rhein-Main Metropolitan Region, Hannover, Mannheim, Rhine-Neckar, Stuttgart Region, Ruhr Metropolitan Area, Dublin, North West City Region, Thessaloniki, Athens, Budapest, Città Metropolitana di Bari, Città Metropolitana di Bologna, Città Metropolitana di Firenze, Città Metropolitana di Genova, Città Metropolitana di Milano, Città Metropolitana di Napoli, Città Metropolitana di Roma Capitale, Città Metropolitana di Torino, Città Metropolitana di Venezia, Riga, Vilnius, MetropoolRegio Amsterdam, Viken (Oslo), Gdansk-Gdynia-Sopot, GZM Metropolia, Łodź, Poznan, Warsaw, Wroclaw, Area Metropolitana do Lisboa, Area Metropolitana do Porto, Comunidade Intermunicipal do Cávado, Bratislava Region, Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid, Vigo, Guipuzcoa, Birmingham, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, Lviv agglomeration association and Marmara union of municipalities. EMA is working in partnership with Eurocities, METREX, Medcities and Metropolis.
Commissioner Meetings
No recorded meetings with EU commissioners.