Mayor of Tirana Erion Veliaj received the representatives of the finalist cities, Lviv, Tromso and Izmir and presented them with the Clock Tower as a sign of gratitude.

As he congratulated the winning city, Veliaj gave the message that with or without a title, the important thing is that the future belongs to the young people and that they should cooperate and build bridges between countries, and convey understanding and peace and not war.

“With or without a title, the future belongs to young people and if we start this cooperation today, we start today to build these bridges, we start these exchanges today, we have an extraordinary opportunity for the future. What we learned during the year of being the European Youth Capital was not just physical infrastructure, in schools, in dormitories, in our Student Card policies. Our policies to give free transportation, policies to reduce housing prices can be implemented in Norway, in Spain, and in Turkey, too. So, in that sense, we all have something to learn from each other. Tirana is an open country, Albania welcomes you”, said Veliaj.

Yesterday, Mayor Veliaj also hosted the Mayor of Fuenlabrada, Francisco Javier Ayala Ortega, the fourth finalist city for the title “European Youth Capital 2025”. /r.e/p.s./