Altogether 12 cities have made the short list. They include:
Dabrowa Gornicza (Poland), Essen (Germany), Larissa (Greece), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Nijmegen (Netherlands), Oslo (Norway), Reggio Emilia (Italy), Santander (Spain), Tours (France), Umeå (Sweden), Zaragoza (Spain), Pitesti (Romania)
EU Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik said: “I am very pleased to see the many applicants for the European Green Capital Award. This shows the commitment of European cities to improve the quality of life of their citizens and the environment. The European Green Capital Award initiative provides a springboard for sharing best practices, ideas and showing the way to other cities. I wish all of the applicants the very best of luck with the 2016 competition!”
This is the first year that cities with at least 100,000 inhabitants were eligible. The winner will be announced in June 2014.