The president of the Catana Association of Municipalities (ACM), Meritxell Budó, has stated a «decisive commitment to open municipalism to Europe and abroad» and added that global challenges cannot be effectively addressed without municipalities.
This Friday, 32 Catalan mayors gathered at the event commemorating Europe held at Sant Jaume Plaza in the Catalan capital, along with the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa; The Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, and the President of the Federation of Municipalities of Catalonia (FMC), David Bote.
«European municipalities are key to ensuring sustainability, quality, and democratic progress,» said Budó, who pointed out that the European Union is not a distant institution, but takes the form of towns and cities.
She also called for a EU «that listens, that strengthens the voice of local governments, built from the grassroots and from the territory,» and assured that municipalities are also key for the voice of Catalonia to be heard in Europe, with their words, with firmness and dignity.
The event was also attended by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Generalitat, Jaume Duch; The President of the Barcelona Provincial Council, Lluïsa Moret, and various Catalan mayors and councilors from Barcelona, as well as the Director of the European Commission (EC) in Barcelona, Manuel Szapiro.