The Urban Agenda for the EU Food Partnership, co-coordinated by the City of Milan and the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, officially presented its Draft Action Plan during the meeting of the UE Directors-General on Urban Matters (DGUM) held in Warsaw on 24–25 April 2025.

The Draft Action Plan is the result of over a year of collaborative work among European cities, national authorities, EU institutions, and food system stakeholders. It outlines seven interconnected actions designed to accelerate the transition towards sustainable, resilient, and equitable urban food systems, strengthening the role of cities as both innovators and leaders of this transformation.

The proposed actions tackle core topics such as multilevel governance, public land use, food policy training, sustainable public procurement, food systems monitoring, and advocacy for a stronger EU framework supporting local food strategies.

As co-lead of the Partnership, MUFPP played a central role in shaping the plan, drawing on its experience from the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, the Food Trails and SchoolFood4Change projects, and years of pioneering work on school meals, food waste hubs, and urban agriculture. The MUFPP cities that are part of the Food Partnership are: Milan (IT), Ghent (BE), Mouans-Sartoux (FR), Lisbon Metropolitan Area (PT), Dublin (IE), Vantaa (FI), Lille Metropolitan Area (FR), Brasov Metropolitan Agency (RO), and Cagliari Metropolitan Area (IT). The partners involged into the Food Partnership include the national authorities of Malta (Ministry of Agriculture) and France (CNRA); the umbrella organisations Eurocities (BE) and ICLEI European Secretariat (DE); the stakeholders Ellinogermaniki Agogi (EL), the University of Barcelona (ES), AESOP (IT), and the Environmental Studies Centre of Vitoria-Gasteiz (ES); and the European Commission, represented by 6 Directorates-General and bodies: DG REGIO, DG SANTE, DG MARE, DG AGRI, DG RTD, and the Joint Research Centre – JRC (EU).

“Through this Action Plan, we aim to empower cities to lead in shaping sustainable food systems and to be recognised as key actors in EU food governance” said representatives from the City of Milan and Lisbon Metropolitan Area during the Warsaw event.

Public Consultation Now Open: a key opportunity for MUFPP Cities

The public consultation on the Draft Action Plan is open until 6 June 2025. National, regional, and local authorities, civil society, academia, and the private sector are all invited to review the plan and provide feedback to enhance and strengthen the proposed actions. MUFPP signatory cities in Europe are invited to participate. This consultation is a unique opportunity for MUFPP signatory cities to help shape future EU policy frameworks that support local food strategies and governance. It also reinforces the relevance of the MUFPP as a global platform for urban food policies, now increasingly embedded in EU strategic directions.

About the Draft Action Plan

The Draft Action Plan of the Urban Agenda for the EU Food Partnership outlines seven strategic and interconnected actions to support the transition towards more sustainable, resilient, and equitable food systems in cities. It positions cities as central actors in food system transformation and calls for stronger recognition and support at EU level.

The seven actions include:

1. Action 1: ADVOCACY – Advocating for a EU Framework for Local Food Policies
   The action aims to develop policy recommendations based on the Partnership’s work across various actions and based on feedback from European cities on the EC’s Vision for Agriculture and Food. A policy document (statement or brief) will be published, and key messages will be shared at a final event in Brussels to engage EU institutions and hold them accountable.
   Action leaders: Eurocities & ICLEI
2. Action 2: REGULATION – Showcasing the Role of Regional and National Actors in Supporting Local Food Policies
   The action aims to provide a synthesis of inspiring models highlighting how regional and national actors, initiatives, or institutional frameworks (can) operate for collaborative governance, capacity building, and networking of local food policies. Key insights will be integrated in the policy recommendations of action 1.
   Action leaders: City of Milan & AESOP & ICLEI
3. Action 3: R&D – Building Bridges between Local Authorities and Relevant Regional Strategies
   The action aims to assess the role of local authorities in current regional programs (i.e. agrifood RIS3, S3s), as well as their potential involvement in shaping new relevant funding opportunities. The goal is to identify inspiring practices and develop a protocol or roadmap with recommendations to enhance synergies between local food strategies, urban agendas, and regional programs.
   Action leaders: AESOP
4. Action 4: FOOD POLICY – Urban Food Policy Training
   Starting from existing resources developed by the Food Trails Horizon 2020 project, the action will create an online and in-person training on how to set up and implement Local Food Policies for partner cities. The learning programme will also lead to the formulation of recommendations for local authorities to be shared at the EU level.
   Action leaders: City of Milan
5. Action 5: LAND USE – Public Land for Local Food Policies
   The action will foresee the creation of an Interest Group on public land and use of such land for food sovereignty, health of soils and agriculture. It will develop knowledge sharing, advocacy and capacity building activities such as organising webinars for exchange of best-practices and policy briefs.
   Action leaders: ICLEI
6. Action 6: INDICATORS – Selecting Indicators for Urban Food Systems
   The action aims to identify few common indicators to monitor urban food systems that can be widely used to track progress and compare conditions and trends across European cities. The goal is to discuss indicators with cities and EC stakeholders, and to propose one or a set of indicators on urban food systems to be introduced at the EU level- EUROSTAT.
   Action leaders: University of Barcelona
7. Action 7: PROCUREMENT – Promoting Sustainable Public Food Procurement
   The action seeks to clarify the Food Partnership’s position on public food procurement, offering a position paper that includes key data, strong arguments, best practices, and recommendations. This will serve as a crucial resource for the Partnership’s advocacy efforts. Additionally, it will develop relevant materials to be used for Action n.4 by gathering approaches from various contexts and projects.
   Action leaders: ICLEI

Each action builds on existing knowledge and successful experiences across Europe, and collectively aims to strengthen cities’ ability to implement effective and well-resourced food strategies. The Plan also promotes policy coherence across governance levels, from EU to local, and embeds inclusive stakeholder engagement throughout.

For more information: MUFPP.Secretariat@comune.milano.it