The fourth call for sustainable cities – EcoMunicipality 2025 is now open.

The fourth cycle of the "EcoMunicipality" competition is an opportunity for local governments to pursue sustainable development while adhering to environmental protection standards. The competition was jointly presented by the French Embassy in Serbia and its partners: the French Development Agency (AFD), Veolia, Saint-Gobain, Decathlon, NALED, the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SKGO), Wiener Städtische, HUOT, Telekom Serbia, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia.

All cities and municipalities in Serbia are invited to participate in the seminars and submit their projects by June 30, 2025. The EcoMunicipality competition aims to promote the exchange and dissemination of best practices in sustainable development and to encourage Serbian municipalities to implement them in their territories. The competition includes four categories: sustainable waste management, sustainable water management, energy efficiency in buildings, and sustainable mobility (formerly smart cities).

All cities and municipalities in Serbia are eligible to participate, provided they complete the questionnaire with the most accurate and precise information possible. Two winners are planned for each category: one city with more than 40,000 inhabitants and one city with fewer than 40,000 inhabitants.

The winners' representatives will be invited to the EcoMunicipality award ceremony, which will take place in the fall of 2025 at the French Embassy in Belgrade.

The French Ambassador to Serbia, Pierre Cochard, emphasized that this fourth edition of the EcoMunicipality competition marks a decade of intensified efforts to address climate challenges, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of COP21. He recalled that since 2015, the fight against climate change has shaped public policies, and Serbia has committed to this path by adopting a national adaptation program and the Low-Carbon Law for the period 2023–2030. He also highlighted the crucial role of local governments and younger generations in the ecological transition, underlining the competition’s growing success.

The Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, Plamena Halačeva, reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to supporting Serbia’s green transition. She stressed the importance of collaboration between local authorities, the private sector, and international institutions in tackling climate challenges, as well as the EU’s continued support for Serbia through key initiatives such as the Green Agenda and the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. These initiatives promote projects in sustainable mobility, resource management, and renewable energy. She also pointed out that Franco-Serbian cooperation in sustainable urban development serves as a model for future initiatives, reinforcing the idea that this spirit of collaboration lies at the heart of the European project.

The State Secretary of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Sandra Dokić, stated that concrete measures have been taken to address increasingly pressing climate challenges. Following the submission of Serbia’s second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), she noted that ambitions for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been tripled, targeting a 33% reduction by 2030. She also highlighted the significance of the Adaptation Plan, which aims to help local governments cope with the rising frequency of natural disasters. In this context, she emphasized that the Digital Climate Atlas serves as a key tool enabling municipalities to use precise data to enhance their resilience.

Since its launch in 2022, EcoMunicipality has established itself as a platform for exchanging experiences and best practices in environmental protection among representatives of local governments, businesses, and institutions from France and Serbia.

Slobodan Krstović, Director of the Sustainable Development Department at NALED, highlighted NALED’s longstanding partnership in the project. He noted that EcoMunicipality enables local governments to showcase their investments and the application of new technologies. He also stressed the importance of study visits on this topic and added that NALED provides technical support to the Ministry in developing regional waste management centers in cooperation with French partners.