Debrecen4U
October 3, 2025
Heilbronn was chosen as the European Green Capital – Debrecen is in the TOP3
The European Commission has selected Debrecen as one of the top three candidates in the international competition for the European Green Capital.
In addition to Debrecen, the other two finalist candidates for the award among settlements with over 100,000 inhabitants were Heilbronn in Germany and Klagenfurt on the shores of Lake Wörth in Austria. Among the smaller cities, Assen (Netherlands), Benidorm (Spain), Saint-Quentin (France), and Siena (Italy) were in contention on Thursday.
One of the challengers for the “cívis” city was Heilbronn, which achieved the highest scores in the areas of air quality, water, noise, climate change adaptation, and the circular economy. Its holistic urban planning, which integrates noise management into the “2030 Landscape Plan” and the “Mobility Concept,” reflects a high benchmark for a sustainable city with strong citizen involvement.
Klagenfurt am Wörthersee performed very well in most environmental indicators, especially in the areas of air quality, water, and climate change mitigation. The city was also praised for its plans to expand sustainable district heating and invest in environmentally friendly logistics, such as electric cargo bikes, to further improve air quality.
Among the TOP 3 cities, Debrecen was described as leading in sustainability and achieved the best result among the finalists competing for the title of European Green Capital 2027.
Debrecen’s application submitted for the title of European Green Capital presents the city’s most significant green projects and best practices.
The winners were announced by Patrick Child, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment, during a ceremony that featured short films introducing each finalist city.
The title of European Green Capital 2027 was won by Heilbronn.
Among the smaller cities, Assen (Netherlands), Benidorm (Spain), Saint-Quentin (France), and Siena (Italy) were also in contention. In the end, Assen won the European Green Leaf 2027 award. However, a second winner was also announced, and Siena was also honored with the award; marking two cities awarded.
The mayor of the host city, Vilnius, the European Green Capital in 2025, also spoke at the finale, praising his city. He said that they had been a green city for decades, but they wanted to be even more sustainable in the future.
The awards represent cities that do not wait for the future, it was said at the eventsharing the title.
Patrick Child, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment emphasized the importance of cleaner air, greener, sustainable cities in his speech. He believes that the green cities that participated in the competition serve as examples for others, and are therefore all winners in the sustainability competition.
László Papp reacted on his Facebook page to the fact that the “cívis” city made it to the prestigious TOP 3 in the big competition, sharing that “It was a fantastic feeling to participate in the finals of the European Green Capital competition, a lot of experience, knowledge, and commitment to work for a green and sustainable future for Debrecen. The result of this competition is that Heilbronn won. Being among the top three cities in Europe is a huge recognition in itself.”
Source: dehir.hu | Photo credit:Facebook Papp László
