Local leadership is essential to deliver Europe’s green, digital and social transitions on the ground; cities and regions must be empowered with the tools and flexibility to act; and the Bauhaus legacy shows that combining creativity, technology and social responsibility can improve people’s everyday lives. These were the key messages delivered by the Mayor of Gabrovo and First Vice-Chair of the European Committee of the Regions’ SEDEC commission at the high-level conference “100 years of Bauhaus Dessau and the New European Bauhaus: local leadership for just transition”, organised at the European Committee of the Regions in cooperation with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation.
Speaking from her experience as a mayor, Tanya Hristova underlined that Europe’s major transitions are not abstract processes but realities unfolding in cities, towns and communities across the continent. Recalling the Bauhaus movement as a fundamentally local initiative, she stressed that real change begins when local actors take responsibility and act.
Hristova emphasised that local and regional authorities (LRAs) are not merely participants but central drivers of Europe’s transformation. She described local leadership as a daily reality—making difficult decisions with limited resources, balancing ambition with feasibility, and building trust with citizens by delivering visible results. In practice, she noted, it means “turning a strategy into a street, a policy into a project, an idea into something tangible.”
Highlighting the relevance of the New European Bauhaus (NEB), she pointed out that the initiative “speaks the language of places,” bringing together sustainability, inclusion and aesthetics to improve people’s quality of life. At the same time, she acknowledged the challenges faced by many municipalities, particularly smaller ones, which operate under tight financial and administrative constraints yet often generate the most innovative solutions thanks to their proximity to citizens and their strong local identity.
Calling for stronger support, Hristova stressed the need to empower local authorities through easier access to funding, greater flexibility to experiment and innovate, and better conditions to scale up successful projects. She highlighted initiatives such as the NEB Boost for Small Municipalities, which demonstrate how targeted EU support can enable even resource-constrained communities to act as laboratories of innovation and drivers of change.
She also underlined the importance of strengthening multilevel governance, ensuring that local and regional authorities are not only responsible for implementing policies but are actively involved in shaping them—particularly in the context of future EU policies and the next Multiannual Financial Framework (2028–2034).
As she concluded: “Bauhaus was never only about design. It was about improving people’s lives by bringing together creativity, technology and society. But it also teaches us something fundamental: big ideas need local leadership to become reality. Europe’s transformation will only succeed if our cities and regions have the courage to lead change and turn vision into action.”
Csaba Borboly , Vice-President of Harghita County,speaking about a project from his region highlithed that "For years, our Modern Székely House programme, our timber construction forums, and local craftsmen networks have been translating exactly these NEB values — sustainability, inclusion, aesthetics — into practice. If Europe wants rural and mountain regions to thrive, it must stop separating physical regeneration from cultural life. In the next MFF, the New European Bauhaus needs an integrated rural and mountain track that funds heritage, crafts and community as one shared investment logic."
The conference marked the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus movement in Dessau and brought together local and regional leaders, Members of the European Parliament, representatives of the European Commission, and experts from across Europe. Participants reflected on how the Bauhaus legacy—combining innovation, functionality and social responsibility—continues to inspire the New European Bauhaus initiative, which promotes inclusive, sustainable and aesthetically pleasing living environments.
Discussions highlighted the crucial role of cities and regions in delivering Europe’s clean, digital and social transitions, as well as the need to support small municipalities, rural areas and regions facing structural and demographic challenges. Participants agreed that EU support remains essential to ensure a just and place-based transformation across all territories.
Background
The New European Bauhaus is a key EU initiative connecting the European Green Deal to everyday life, promoting solutions that are beautiful, sustainable and inclusive. The European Committee of the Regions has actively contributed to its development, including through its 2022 opinion and its involvement in the NEB Boost for Small Municipalities.
On 16 December 2025, the European Commission presented its plans to scale up the initiative as part of the European Affordable Housing Plan, including the Communication “New European Bauhaus: From vision to implementation” and a proposal for a Council Recommendation outlining actions to strengthen its role in driving innovation and the clean transition in Europe and beyond.