The DUP were the only party to support official’s plan to leave the club
A row over Belfast’s involvement with the Eurocities network has pitted City Hall officials and DUP elected reps against the nationalist parties, Alliance, and the Greens.
A recommendation by Belfast City Council officers to “pause” engagement with Eurocities went down badly at a City Hall committee meeting with all parties except the DUP, who have for years been questioning the 16 thousand euro annual membership for the European city network.
Eurocities is a network of more than 200 major European cities, across 38 countries. It is made up of the elected local and municipal governments of the major cities.
READ MORE: Belfast “Under the Bridges” project aims to transform space under flyover into urban sports park
READ MORE: Plans unveiled for new 41-bed Belfast city centre hotel
The activity of the network is structured through a number of thematic working areas including Cultural Development, Social Affairs and Inclusion, Placemaking and Sustainability. A number of other cities within the UK have maintained their membership of Eurocities since Brexit.
However, in a report forwarded by officers to the council’s October meeting of the City Growth and Regeneration committee, it appears civil servants at City Hall have been doubting Belfast’s involvement.
The report states: “Members will be aware that the Council has been a member of the Eurocities network since the early 1990s. While the network was a useful source of information on key policy developments and partnering opportunities for collaborative EU funds, this has been less relevant to us since EU exit.”
It adds: “Following the August 2024 meeting of the Committee, the EU and International Relations Manager engaged with officers across the council to explore the level of engagement that they had in the Eurocities network over the course of the previous year. It appears that this was very limited and not providing value for money for the annual investment which is almost €16,000.
“Although Belfast was a very engaged member of the network for a long period of time, our view is that, in the new operating context, we are still able to access the relevant insights, networks and contacts that we need through our involvement in the UK Core Cities Group, for which there are no additional fees payable. In addition, through our involvement in the Dublin-Belfast Economic Corridor work, we have been exploring opportunities for collaborative funding projects with Republic of Ireland partners and this is one of the priority areas of work within the action plan for the coming year.”
It adds: “It is our recommendation that we develop a scope of work with the NI Bureau Team in Brussels, based on the strategic priorities agreed through this international relations engagement plan, tapping into their resources, networks and contacts.” The officer said the Eurocities membership should be paused while the council “continue to explore options to maintain cultural linkages.”
However, in a vote on Belfast’s membership at the committee, all parties bar the single unionist party represented in the chamber, the DUP, voted against the officer recommendation, and instead opted to stay.
On a proposal by SDLP Councillor Séamas de Faoite for Belfast to remain in the Eurocities network, 11 voted in favour, from Sinn Féin, SDLP, Alliance, and the Greens, to four against the proposal from the DUP. That decision will have to go to the full council meeting in November for verification, where it is expected to pass. The decision also meant the council will “explore options for a yearly event in partnership with the Executive Office in Brussels as part of the European Week of Regions and Cities.”
Councillor de Faoite said at the committee meeting: “I am concerned that we are still in a position where our approach to EU relationships doesn’t reflect the state of political will of this council, in terms of deepening and broadening European relationships, and actually trying to get this city and this region into a better space.”
He said he wanted Belfast to be able to access EU Neighbourhood funding and to be treated “almost as a pre-accession state in terms of our ability to access other funding streams and support from the European Union.” He said: “I do think that withdrawing from Eurocities takes us totally in the wrong direction, without any clear commitment to engage.”
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter
#City #Hall #divided #Belfasts #Euro #membership #Eurocities
