Town Twinning Between Türkiye and the EU-II: Twinning for a Green Future Grant Scheme Information Meeting was held online.
More than 700 participants from local governments in Türkiye and Europe took part in the meeting where the program was promoted under the coordination of the Union of Municipalities of Türkiye (UMT), in cooperation with the Directorate of EU Affairs, Union of Provinces and the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change General Directorate of Local Authorities.
The opening speeches of the meeting were made by Turan Konak, Director General of Local Authorities of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Deputy Head of EU Delegation to Türkiye Eleftheria Pertzinidou, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director for EU Affairs Ambassador Faruk Kaymakcı and UMT Secretary General Birol Ekici. Also, Acting Director of Central Finance and Contracts Unit Barbaros Murat Köse attended the meeting.
Ekici: “We cooperate closely with different countries in the world to better prepare our cities for the future.”
Stating that as the roles of cities increase, they have a lot to learn from each other, Secretary General Ekici said, “We would like to thank the European Union for their support in this context. We have a hadith-i sharif said, “Even if the knowledge is in China, go and get it.” Reminding that Türkiye is a country that has signed the Paris Climate Agreement, Ekici said, “We will carry out very important works together for a "Zero Carbon Footprint" in the coming period, under the leadership of our Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our central administration. We cooperate closely with different countries around the world to better prepare our cities for the future. As UMT, we are responsible for the development of municipalism and the future. We are committed to cooperating in the best possible way in the roles we will be given and to work with all our strength.” used his words.
Konak: “I believe that the program will accelerate the friendship and brotherhood relations between local governments.”
Underlining that increasingly crowded cities now have to produce more sustainable solutions in all areas from the environment, health, security to education, Konak noted that the needs emerging under pandemic conditions once again show the importance of livable cities. Noting that the needs such as comfortable green spaces, bicycle and pedestrian paths, environmentally friendly public transportation vehicles that everyone can reach in cities have become more important now, Konak reminded that Türkiye is a party to the Paris Climate Agreement. Also stated that they will increase their support for their projects.
Konak continued his speech as follows: "I believe that the Town Twinning Grant Scheme will enable mutual good practices and experience sharing between local governments in Türkiye and EU countries in the fields of environment and climate, and will accelerate friendship and brotherhood relations between local governments."
Pertzinidou: “Türkiye includes local governments in this kind of cooperation through different projects and sectors.”
Giving details about the project, Eleftheria Pertzinidou, Deputy Head of Delegation of the EU to Türkiye, emphasized that healthy relations between institutions, civil society and the private sector are the basis of a well-functioning public administration, and that local governments have an important role in conveying the voice of the people to central and international institutions, and this in turn supports local governments. She stated that he made them the key partners of the EU. Expressing that the EU attaches importance to increasing local capacity, Pertzinidou said, “The EU deliberately includes local governments of Türkiye in such cooperations through different projects and sectors.” she said.
Kaymakcı: “Türkiye has successful experiences to transfer to other European institutions and cities”
Stating that they will allocate a resource of 2.5 million Euros as of March within the framework of pre-accession financial aid, Ambassador Faruk Kaymakcı emphasized that the issue is not only financial support, but that they aim to develop a culture of cooperation between local governments, working together and producing common solutions to common problems. Referring to green and digital transformation, Kaymakcı said, “As a candidate country, Türkiye is a part of this transformation process and we are following it closely and trying to involve our local governments. Sharing experience is very important. We generally have a perception that we will always learn something from the European cities of Türkiye. But we also witness many projects that we know work in a different direction. Therefore, Türkiye has successful experiences to transfer to other European institutions and cities. It would be healthier for us to see this program as a mutual sharing.”
In the second part of the program, UMT Project and Finance Expert Tuğçe Özkan introduced the grant guide to the participants. Then, Central Finance and Contracts Unit (CFCU) representative Serhat Bayram gave information about the application and evaluation process. In the last part of the meeting, Head of UMT Project and Finance Unit Cemal Baş, CFCU representatives and Directorate of EU Affairs Experts Yıldırım Gündüç and Selman Çetin answered questions from the participants.