Access City Award 2026 - Application Form

Deadline: 9 September 2025 (23:59- CEST)

Please note:

  • This Word document is for reference only.
  • Applications must be submitted directly online via the online application platform, which can be accessed via the Access City Award 2026 website: https://commission.europa.eu/ strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/disability/access-city-award_en.
  • The indicated maximum number of characters available for each reply includes spaces. Please, keep into consideration that answers will be cut once they reach the character limit.
  • Application forms must be completed preferably in English, but other EU official languages* will be accepted. No other languages will be accepted.
  • Before filling in the form, please carefully read the accompanying Guidance Note for Applicants and the Rules of Contest available in all the EU official languages.
  • Only applications complying with the admissibility and eligibility criteria specified in the Rules of Contest will be accepted.
  • The ACA Secretariat (secretariat@accesscityaward.eu) is available to help in clarifying questions related to filling in the forms. Linguistic quality will not be considered for the evaluation of your application. However, it will be key to ensure the information of your activities on accessibility are well shared, as this content will be decisive for the chances of your city to win the award.

*  The EU has 24 official languages: Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish.

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A. CITY IDENTITY

City name:

Country: City size (number of inhabitants): Short description of city (max. 700 characters including spaces)

B. RELEVANCE TO THE OBJECTIVES

Please, provide a general description of existing and planned initiatives on accessibility, in relation with the following four areas:

  1. built environment and public spaces.
  2. transportation and related infrastructures.
  3. information and communication, including information and communication technologies.
  4. public facilities and services.

Max 2600 characters including spaces

C. OWNERSHIP / LEVEL OF COMMITMENT

Please, describe your overall approach and global strategy to improve accessibility in your city and how you implement (or plan to implement) the corresponding policy in this area. Max 1300 characters including spaces.

D. IMPACT

1) H� ow has the city’s policies/initiatives improved equal access and the quality of life of persons with disabilities? It is important to mention project(s) involving also persons with intellectual disabilities. Max 1300 characters including spaces.

2) How do these initiatives benefit, beyond persons with disabilities, also wider parts of the population? Max 1300 characters including spaces.

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E. QUALITY AND SUSTAINABILITY OF RESULTS

1) How do you ensure the quality and sustainability of accessibility measures?

Max 1300 characters including spaces.

2) What are your plans and initiatives to continue these efforts in the future?

Max 1300 characters including spaces.

3) H� as your city ever used EU funds, in particular for accessibility? How does your city inform your citizens about actions involving EU funds? (Optional)

This is an optional question, which will not have an impact in the evaluation of the application. The applicant is not obliged to reply to this question if it is not relevant.

Max 1300 characters including spaces.

F. � INVOLVEMENT OF PERSONS WITH

DISABILITIES AND RELEVANT PARTNERS

1) �Please, describe the involvement of persons with disabilities, their representative organisations and accessibility experts in the planning, implementation and maintenance of city’s policies and initiatives aimed at increased accessibility.

Max 1300 characters including spaces

2) �Do you carry out awareness raising or information activities around accessibility? Do you exchange and share experience and good practices with other cities at local, regional, national and/or European level? If so, please, describe them.

Max 1300 characters including spaces.

3) �Have you addressed accessibility in other initiatives undertaken by your city? If so, you may mention any initiative your city has worked on, even if it was not addressed directly to persons with disabilities, as long as it included measures to improve accessibility or raise awareness about disability and accessibility.

Max 1300 characters including spaces.

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G. � WHY DOES YOUR CITY DESERVE TO WIN

THE ACCESS CITY AWARD 2026?

Please, provide a short presentation of your overall accessibility policy and actions. Please, explain why your results and your city’s accessibility policy are extraordinary and why you believe your city deserves to win the Access City Award 2026.

Max 1300 characters including spaces.

H. � WHICH OF YOUR INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE

ACCESSIBILITY ARE FOCUSED ON

DEVELOPING ACCESSIBILITY IN HOUSING?

As the European Commission intends to award a Special Mention for Accessibility in Housing for this year’s edition of the Access City Award, please, give examples of initiatives that you have worked on to provide accessibility in housing, including social and affordable housing, to ensure persons with disabilities can live with dignity and fully participate in society and economy in your city. Please, describe as well whether and how local communities and relevant stakeholders were involved and participated in the process of designing and implementing the initiative.

Max 2000 characters including spaces.

I. � WHICH OTHER OF YOUR INITIATIVES TO

IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY DESERVES A

SPECIAL MENTION? (OPTIONAL)

This is an optional question. The applicant is not obliged to reply to this question if it is not relevant.

Please, give concrete example(s) and information of other initiative(s) that you have worked on to improve accessibility for persons with disabilities that can be considered for a Special Mention. Please, describe as well whether and how local communities and relevant stakeholders were involved and participated in the process of designing and implementing the initiatives. Please, do not include here the initiatives focused on accessibility in housing already explained in the above section.

Max 2000 characters including spaces.

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J. � WHERE DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE 2026 ACCESS CITY AWARD COMPETITION?

[Multiple answers possible]

  • E-mail from the ACA secretariat
  • Call from the ACA secretariat
  • European Commission (website, media, press release, etc.)
  • Other EU institutions (for example, Committee of the Regions)
  • EU networks of cities (for example, Eurocities, Polis, ENAT, CEMR etc.)
  • Permanent Representations of EU Member States to the EU/ representative offices of EU regions
  • National/local administration
  • Previous ACA awarded cities
  • The European Disability Forum or another EU-level organisation of persons with disabilities
  • National/local organisations of persons with disabilities
  • Colleagues
  • Other (please specify) (+ TEXT BOX)
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K. � SUPPORTING MATERIAL

In addition to the information provided in the application form, candidates must upload up to five files, as following:

  1. Mayoral declaration (mandatory) [Upload file / Add link:]
  2. Declaration on honour (mandatory) [Upload file / Add link:]
  3. Legal Entity Form (LEF) (mandatory) [Upload file / Add link:]
  4. Financial Identification Form (FIF) (mandatory) [Upload file / Add link:]
  5. A ten-slide PowerPoint presentation in order to illustrate and highlight the strong points of their application (optional) [Upload file / Add link:]

The uploaded files must fulfil the following requirements:

  • Candidate cities are encouraged to submit their documents in English, in order to facilitate the assessment and speed up the evaluation process. Documents submitted in any of the official languages of the EU will be anyways accepted. No other languages will be accepted.
  • Maximum size of one file is 10 MB
  • Accepted file formats are doc, docx, rtf, pps, ppsx, ppt, pptx, xls, xlsx, pdf, zip, gif, jpeg, jpg, png.
  • Each uploaded document must be appropriately named. The file name should be in English and should clearly state what the file represents or contains.

You may provide additional brief information about content of the supporting documents in the field below:

Max 3000 characters including spaces