Last week marked an important milestone for the LDT CitiVERSE EDIC during its General Assembly in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. During the meeting, Director Jan Wester presented the strategic roadmap for the coming years.
Representatives from all 15 member states gathered in person and unanimously endorsed the proposed strategic direction, including the development framework designed to help achieve the EDIC’s long-term mission and objectives.
The roadmap presented during the meeting illustrates the transition from a project-based structure towards a long-term collaborative European infrastructure model:
This sends a clear signal that member states are ready to move beyond a temporary, project-driven setup towards a more sustainable cooperation model with long-term capacity, structural impact, stronger implementation power and dedicated budgeting.
Among the key developments agreed upon:
- The professionalisation and strengthening of the EDIC core organisation through direct financial contributions from member states, ensuring long-term continuity and operational capacity.
- A commitment from member states to develop national activation programmes focused on major societal challenges, potentially leading to future Multi-Country Projects in areas such as:
- Urban Planning & Housing
- Resilience, including flood management
- Circular & Green Transition
- Local Digital Maturity & Sovereignty
One message became especially clear throughout the discussions: cities need practical solutions, interoperable open standards and scalable cooperation models.
National programmes may differ in ambition and implementation approach, but all aim to activate and organise cities, regions and public entities within national EDIC ecosystems under a shared European framework. In this context, the EDIC will play a key role as a neutral European market infrastructure enabling collaboration at scale, a strong example of multi-level governance in practice.
Perhaps, the most joyful news was that Finland received ministerial approval to join the LDT CitiVERSE EDIC. The momentum behind the initiative across Europe is clearly accelerating.
EN