Since 2014, one major initiative by EIPA for local governments is the European City Economic and Financial Governance (CEFG) Group (www.cefg.eu). It was founded by EIPA’s centre in Barcelona, and the City Council of Barcelona. Currently, it brings together the CEOs, CFOs and Directors of Finance in the field of economic and financial governance of the eight major European cities of Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bordeaux, Hamburg, the City of London, Milan, Trondheim and Vilnius. Together these cities are home to 30 million people. They are committed to high-quality management, sustainable public finances, social policies and, ultimately, the wellbeing of citizens.
This high-level partnership is recognised and accompanied by the European Commission – Eurostat, as it coincides with their efforts to formulate European Public Sector Accounting Standards (EPSAS) and to implement them across the EU. The group is managed by EIPA’s Centre in Barcelona.
The uniqueness of this network lies in the fact that it is the first time that fiscal and financial management issues are discussed from a cross-border perspective at a city level. This group is considered an ideal way to showcase strong local European experiences and to bring city financial and economic realities to the attention at European level in matters that are usually only debated at national level.
