Baia Mare City Hall and the City Hall of Presov, Slovakia, have identified a potential partnership and opportunities for mutual support, including within the Eurocities network, Mayor Doru Dancus announced on Monday.

'Presov is a city similar to ours in terms of population, with an important university and a strongly industrialised economy, including in the automotive sector. The representatives of the Slovak administration, in turn, presented the projects they are working on and the challenges they face, and expressed their desire to find new partners in Romania. We also discussed the future of European funding and the need for cities to have direct access to a more generous share of European Union funds.

'Above all, we share the conviction that cities are the first to feel the pressure of metropolitan development and the need for investment in infrastructure, transport, energy and public services. That is why, within the Eurocities network, one of Europe's most important organisations of its kind, of which Baia Mare is also a member, we support the allocation of a significant share of the European Union's future budget directly to cities, rather than having it channelled exclusively through national governments. I believe this meeting could be the beginning of a fruitful and useful cooperation for both communities. We have much to learn from one another and enough in common to look to the future together,' Dancus said in a Facebook post.

The mayor presented the delegation from Presov with the projects currently being implemented in Baia Mare with European funding and their impact on the local community.

'We presented the projects currently under way in Baia Mare and spoke openly, including about the numerous construction sites that are currently changing our city. I know that the works are not always convenient, either for Baia Mare residents or for visitors, but they are part of the transformation we have undertaken. We discussed the European projects of the two cities, the exchange of experience and know-how, current issues such as the need to develop public transport, and our project to generate electricity from photovoltaic sources, which could also be used for public lighting and electric transport,' the mayor said.

Baia Mare City Hall is implementing 60 projects this year covering urban infrastructure development, education, healthcare and culture, with a total value of 1.1 billion lei.

According to the source, the official delegation from Presov was led by Mayor Frantisek O¾ha, together with Deputy Mayor Peter Krajòak, Daniel Soltis, head of the Communication, Marketing and Public Relations Department, and Vladimir Benc, project coordinator. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Leontin Cupar; EN - writing by: Simona Iacob)