The European Commission has approved the candidacy of Romania’s Arad for the 2018 European Green Capital title. This is the only Romanian city that submitted its candidacy for the competition.

The Commission announced the seven cities that have entered the competition earlier this month. The list is made of Arad (Romania), Ghent (Belgium), Nijmegen (The Netherlands), ‘s-Hertogenbosch (The Netherlands), Tallinn (Estonia), Umea (Sweden), and Warsaw (Poland).

The entries will be evaluated by a panel of experts, based on 12 indicators covering climate change mitigation and adaptation, local transport, green urban areas incorporating sustainable land use, ambient air quality, nature and biodiversity, quality of the acoustic environment, waste production and management, water management, waste-water treatment, eco-innovation and sustainable employment, energy performance and integrated environmental management.

The winner will be announced in June 2016 in Ljubljana, the 2016 European Green Capital.

Arad launched its candidacy in mid-October this year. The event took place at the local Ecomediu Fair, where local officials presented the city’s project and its advantages in the competition.

One of the city’s green projects is a biomass power plant that produces electricity and heat. The investment amounts to EUR 9.3 million, reports local Mediafax. Moreover, one of the city’s main advantages in this competition is a 135-km bike track to be completed by the end of the year.

To date, eight cities have been awarded the title of European Green Capital since its beginning in 2010. Stockholm, Sweden won the inaugural title, followed by Hamburg, Germany in 2011, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain in 2012, Nantes, France in 2013, and Copenhagen, Denmark in 2014. The current holder for 2015 is Bristol, UK. Ljubljana, Slovenia will hold the title for 2016 and will pass it to Essen, Germany for 2017.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com