Brașov, a popular mountain city in central Romania, has again entered the competition for the European Green Capital award for the second year in a row. This time, the Romanian city entered the race for the 2026 title alongside eight other cities with over 100,000 inhabitants from Portugal, Spain, Germany, Austria, Latvia, and Poland.

By entering the competition, the cities want to show that they are already on the green transition path, creating a healthier environment for their citizens.

The nine candidates for the European Green Capital 2026 title are Braga (Portugal), Brașov (Romania), Córdoba (Spain), Guimarães (Portugal), Heilbronn (Germany), Klagenfurt (Austria), Linz (Austria), Riga (Latvia), and Rybnik (Poland).

“Brașov continues to invest in the projects that transform it into a sustainable, environmentally friendly city. It is for the second year in a row that Brașov has been selected for this competition, being the only one in Romania that has reached this level in recent years,” said mayor Allen Coliban.

In the coming weeks, in the first stage, a panel of seven independent experts will evaluate each application on seven environmental indicators. This will take until June to complete. Individual technical assessment reports will be drawn up, and a shortlist of finalist cities will be announced in the summer of 2024.

Then, in October, the finalist cities will be invited to an international jury panel chaired by the European Commission. The winners will be announced on October 24 at a festive Awards Ceremony in Valencia, Spain, Europe’s 2024 Green Capital. 

Apart from a trophy, the European Green Capital winner will receive a financial prize of EUR 600,000. The prize money is intended to support key actions across the seven indicator areas in the city and organize awareness-raising events with and for the citizens.

The winners will join the 16 cities already awarded in the Green Capital category since 2010.

Brașov also competed for the European Green Capital Award 2025 but was not selected among the finalists.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Sorin Colac/Dreamstime.com)