Decision-makers from across Europe gathered at the Helsinki City Hall on 23–24 March, as the City of Helsinki hosted the Eurocities Economic Development Forum 2023. Helsinki Mayor Juhana Vartiainen opened this year’s forum by pointing out how European cities are increasingly taking the lead in seeking solutions to global challenges.
“It is very fitting that we have staged an event exploring this topic here in Helsinki. Helsinki wants to be a city that takes an active role in solving global challenges, and also in sharing our solutions with others,” Mayor Vartiainen said.
The Mayor explained that Helsinki seeks to be a place of growth, where people and businesses can freely create and seize opportunities, secure in the knowledge that the city will continue to enjoy long-term, sustainable economic growth. Finland’s capital is determined to achieve this steady growth in harmony with nature, and therefore has ambitiously committed itself to be carbon neutral by the year 2030.
Helsinki’s Deputy Mayor for Urban Environment Anni Sinnemäki is the current Eurocities Economic Development Forum Chair. In her address to the forum participants, she too noted that cities are increasingly at the forefront of solving challenges on the local and international levels. The Deputy Mayor offered several examples of municipal operations that were associated with the forum’s main themes, one of which was talent attraction.
“What are the best ways to ensure that European cities continue to be appealing places for people to come to and build their lives and careers?” Sinnemäki asked, adding that, “No public sector player can do it alone.”
Eurocities Secretary General André Sobczak closed the forum’s opening session by emphasizing how cities have a unique ability to bring relevant stakeholders together in collaborative efforts to create fresh solutions. Believing that cities already possess much of the expertise necessary to make a green transition, the Secretary General said the forum offered an opportunity for city decision-makers to highlight the collective potential of European cities in this area.
“We must ensure that cities have a seat at the table where decisions are being made at the European level,” Sobczak said.
Keynotes highlight role of innovation in green transition
The European Business and Innovation Centre Network’s Chief Strategy Officer Bram Pauwels was a keynote speaker at the Helsinki forum. He used his address to outline his vision for enabling a socially just transition towards a green future, as well as suggest ways for public sector players to best promote innovation and create the ideal conditions for innovative experimentation.
Tanja Tanayama, Head of the European Investment Bank (EIB)’s Advisory Hub, also contributed a keynote address, where she described her understanding of the EIB’s role in facilitating a green transition. As a lending institution implementing EU policy, she said the EIB’s activities are naturally aligned with the Paris Agreement on climate change. In her keynote, Tanayama also pointed out 80 percent of cities consider a lack of funding to be a barrier to investment.
Cities can be drivers of change
The forum continued with panel discussions on several topics, including how cities and businesses are tackling the climate crisis, how to boost innovation, how to foster sustainable ecosystems and how to help local economies navigate the economic crisis.
Director of the City of Helsinki’s Economic Development Department Marja-Leena Rinkineva also led two rounds of “fireside chats” with representatives of European cities and enterprises.
The day ended with a public feedback session which explored options for financing green transition initiatives. It also explored different opportunities for fostering relationships between the cities in the Eurocities network and European institutions.
In her summary, Sinnemäki urged the cities to engage in a more direct dialogue with the European Commission.
“Cities do not have access to all of the European Commission’s financial instruments, and so therefore, various players are needed to complete the funding palette for cities. This includes European, national and private lending institutions, as well as the cities themselves,” the Forum Chair said.
Eurocities Secretary General Sobczak also encouraged cities to form a strategic alliance with the EC, saying that he was confident that cities can be drivers of change. Sobczak also said he felt optimism among the participating mayors about the green transition and their ability to manage it. He was happy to note the European cities’ willingness to share their solutions, even with cities outside the EU.
“All of the Forum’s participants agree that the green transition is the right thing to do, also from the economic point of view,” he said.
Attracting a skilled workforce to Europe’s cities
The Eurocities Economic Development Forum’s second day started with an analysis of different strategies to solve workforce shortages and succeed in the current intense international competition for skilled workers.
In her remarks, Kristine Langenbucher of the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions & Cities discussed the green transition from a labour market perspective. Instilling green values across the board presents new demands for the labour market, which is also being radically reshaped by a number of other global megatrends. Compared with labour market transitions of the past, the current green transition is policy-driven rather than market-driven, she explained.
“As cities pursue rapid transitions to more ecological operations, they need a clear strategy. This strategy must also include the labour market aspect,” Langenbucher told the audience.
The keynote address of the forum’s second day was delivered by Diane Angermueller, Policy Coordinator for Legal Migration at DG Home, European Commission. Angermueller elaborated the EU policy to attract skills and talent.
“Due to demographic change in the EU, some 80 % of businesses report that they can not find labor, and EU needs to response to this,” she said.
Angermueller stressed that EU member states have competence on migration policy. However, recently there has been a shift to focus on non-EU-citizens access to EU to work, whereas 20 years ago the focus was on Schengen area rules.
The Commission has focused on new skills and talent packages to be offered to non-EU citizens to match the needs of businesses in Europe. Angermueller stressed that within these agreements it is also equally important to contribute to the education and training needs, in order to ensure that people stay in the receiving countries – aspect that we focus now during European year of skills.
Other areas of interest within legal policies is youth mobility.
“Mobility schemes for young people to move from third countries not only to study, but also to work, are being planned,” Angermueller said.
The day finished with a panel discussion that gathered both public and private sector representatives for an exchange of ideas on the topic.
The Eurocities Economic Development Forum 2023, organised in Helsinki, Finland on 22–24 March, brought together over 200 participants around Europe to discuss cities’ role in tackling pressing global challenges and in enabling a fair digital and green transition.
Eurocities is a network of over 140 large European cities from 39 countries that promotes the economic and social development of its member cities. Eurocities supervises interests at the level of the EU, generates information about the EU’s funding application rounds and EU legislation, and functions as a peer learning platform for its member cities. Helsinki has been a member of the Eurocities network since 1994 and the chair of the Economic Development Forum from November 2020 until June 2