EditorialEditorial 10

Europe and Spain must ensure cohesion, social and territorial justiceTeresa Ribera Rodríguez, Third Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge

Small intermediate cities as bases for territorial cohesion policies – the focus from SpainJosep Maria Llop Torne, Director of the Universitat de Lleida United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Chair in Intermediate Cities: Urbanisation and Development

The demographic challenge: a commitment for the future of EU Cohesion PolicyMarcos Ros Sempere, Spanish Member of European Parliament, S&D Group

Small urban areas as key actors to manage a just transitionDr Kieran McCarthy, Lord Mayor of Cork City and Member of the European Committee of the Regions

The future of the EU’s small and medium-sized cities should be socially resilient, inclusive and sustainableIoannis Vardakastanis, EESC member and president of the Section for Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion, Florian Marin, EESC member

A new socio-territorial contract for Spain within the framework of the 2030 territorial agendaJuana López Pagan, General Director of Demographic Challenge (government of Spain), Joaquín Farinós Dasí, geography professor, University of Valencia, Erika Jaraiz Gulias, political science professor

Europe needs a new social and a new territorial contractCarlos Martínez Mínguez, Mayor of Soria/ Special Envoy of the Presidency of United Cities and Local Governments on the New Urban Agenda

We must overcome rural-urban dichotomies and focus on interlinkagesGuillaume Corradino- Director of the European Association of Mountain Areas- EUROMONTANA

Small and medium-sized cities are the backbone of polycentric and high-quality urbanisationDavid Burgalassi, Economist and Policy Analyst, OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities

Metropolitan areas delivering on Project Ireland 2040David Kelly, Director Southern Regional Assembly Ireland

Metropolitan Thessaloniki: a pioneering Sustainable Urban Development programmeParaskevi (Voula) Patoulidou, Deputy Regional Governor of the metropolitan area of Thessaloniki in the region of Central Macedonia

Local government reform in CyprusStephanos Georgiades, Department of Town Planning and Housing, Ministry of the Interior, Republic of Cyprus