By signing the Covenant, the mayors of around 400 cities will commit their cities to adopting sustainable energy action plans within twelve months and achieving a series of targets and obligations. Their progress will be closely monitored by external evaluators and they will be required to submit regular status reports. Prior to the signing, a press conference featuring the EU Commissioner for Energy, Andris Piebalgs, the President of the Committee of the Regions, Luc Van den Brande, the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Alejo Vidal Quadras, and the Mayors of Budapest, Gábor Demszky, Hamburg, Ole von Beust and Madrid Alberto Ruiz Gallardón will be held at 13:30 at the European Parliament press room. Please check our press area for a full programme of the event.