On July 3, 2019, a delegation composed of Gianfranco Commodaro, Milan City Hall's International Relations Unit, Gabriele Masera and Massimo Tadi, professors of the Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering of the Polytechnic of Milan, Manuel Nebuloni of the Polytechnic Foundation of Paolo Ciccarelli, and Marco Contardi from Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV), was welcomed in Brussels by Paolo Ciccarelli, Head of Cities, Local Authorities, Digitalization, and Infrastructure, from DG DEVCO, European Commission Directorate General Development and Cooperation.

The initial objective of the meeting was to present the proposal of a cooperation project for the urbanization of the Rocinha slum in Rio de Janeiro, in a partnership between the cities of Milan and Rio de Janeiro, and with the technical support of the Polytechnic of Milan and FGV, in addition to other third sector organizations.
The outcome of the meeting was very promising, as the project was greatly appreciated and the participation of a forthcoming DEVCO project call for "City-to-City" cooperation projects to be launched in November was suggested. The bid is called “Local Authorities: Partnerships for Sustainable Cities” and will amount to a total value of 100 million euros. Moreover, in that same bid, another funding source is available to cities below 100,000 people, which may be of interest to other geographic areas of Brazil.

In addition, further opportunities for action were identified within the new EU financing instruments. Specifically, the External Investment Plan (EIP), which goes beyond classic development assistance to support sustainable investments in an integrated manner. Its innovative and holistic approach complements the development cooperation toolbox and increases its impact on the ground by attracting private investors, where viable business proposals meet sustainable development needs, and where limited public funds can attract private financial resources.

With this visit, FGV Europe continues to move closer to important European institutions with the ambition to further develop impact projects.