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19.05.2025
Sweden’s experience – an example for Europe: Cities4Cities calls on EU countries to develop inter-municipal cooperation programs
On May 15, the SALAR International initiative Cities4Cities presented a model for effective partnership building at two events at the Committee of the Regions: a political meeting of the European Alliance for the Reconstruction of Ukraine and a Partnership Forum.
Key highlights:
- Effective partnership building requires appropriate programs at the EU level
- Equal partnerships must be built: from solidarity to mutually beneficial projects
- Training programs with quick results are needed to strengthen the capacity of Ukrainian communities
Svitlana Blinova, initiative coordinator and capacity building expert, had the opportunity to present the Cities4Cities experience during a conversation with Kata Tüttő , President of the Committee of the Regions, Antje Grotheer, incoming Chair of the CoR Working Group on Ukraine, and as part of a panel discussion on “Building capacity for new partnerships.”
“Sweden’s experience shows that programs supporting municipal partnerships at the country level are an effective way to expand the network of cooperation between Ukraine and Europe. Until 2022, the only active partnership between Ukrainian and Swedish communities was cooperation with Zmiivka (Kherson region, the only historic Swedish settlement in Ukraine).
However, it was after the start of the full-scale war that municipal ties grew into systematic cooperation. At that moment, with the support of SALAR International, the Cities4Cities initiative emerged as a bridge between municipalities in Ukraine and Europe. Today, the Cities4Cities initiative, as part of the Polaris programme, has already helped to establish dozens of partnerships in Sweden and a total of more than 70 municipal partnerships between Ukraine and the EU,” says Svitlana Blinova.
This experience is reinforced by Germany and the SKEW/Engagement Global program: over 10 years of systematic work, more than 240 partnerships between Ukraine and Germany have been established.
“A decision is needed at the national level, by the association of municipalities in that country. Then the Cities4Cities initiative kicks in: we guide the development from the very beginning until it becomes sustainable. Our network includes over 600 Ukrainian communities that are open to partnerships with European cities. Unfortunately, there is no interest from Europe at the moment. It is precisely such programs at the EU level that can change this in the short term. Take Sweden, for example, which has grown into a large network in just three years with only one partnership,” adds Svitlana Blinova.
Svitlana emphasized that, in Cities4Cities’ experience, the most sustainable partnerships are those that are equal: “Ukraine is very strong in digitalization and sustainability, for example. Communities in our network are already teaching Europeans how to prepare for blackouts, crisis management, and child safety in schools. Today, we signed an agreement between Kassel (Germany) and Zhytomyr (Ukraine). Zhytomyr is one of Ukraine’s leaders in energy efficiency, and Kassel is working on this. Kassel also plans to study the experience of sustainability and blackout preparedness.
In return, Ukrainian communities do not expect a generator from the partnership — they need experience on the path to European integration, and they are also ready to share their own.
In addition, Ukrainian communities are willing to learn a lot to ensure the sustainability of partnerships: “We have established the Academy Cities4Cities, where we have developed online courses on international cooperation, European integration, and project management. Today, 4,500 representatives of municipalities are studying there. They often join the classes from bomb shelters during shelling. Unfortunately, Ukraine has no other time to prepare for European integration.”
Photo: Committee of the Regions
Cities4Cities is an international initiative that brings together municipalities in Ukraine and the EU to build sustainable intermunicipal partnerships and exchange experience. Co-founded by SALAR International, the city of Lviv (Ukraine), and the city of Sindelfingen (Germany), Cities4Cities is now part of the Polaris programme “Supporting Multilevel Governance in Ukraine”.