Connect with us

EU

Moving towards an EU urban agenda?

SHARE:

Published

12 years ago

on

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. You can unsubscribe at any time.

22222The European Commission is organizing the Cities of Tomorrow – Investing in Europe forum on 17-18 February to establish how the urban dimension to EU policymaking can be strengthened.   

EUROCITIES President and Mayor of Warsaw Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz  said:  “We are pleased to see the spotlight on cities. The forum will provide space to discuss how to improve the way urban strengths and challenges are reflected in EU policies. An EU urban agenda would add value if it can help connect EU policies with an urban dimension, and strengthen the involvement of cities in EU policy and programme development.”

EUROCITIES, the network of Europe’s large cities, believes that an EU urban agenda should be based on a practical and coherent approach that directly involves city authorities:

Urban co-ordination 

Strengthening the co-ordination of initiatives and policies with an urban dimension will help ensure integrated, joined-up action, as well as better and quicker results. The appointment of Johannes Hahn, European commissioner for regional and urban policy, as the political lead co-ordinating urban issues across the Commission was a good move. Following this up with resources at sufficiently high level to support implementation will help drive the process.

Urban dialogue

To ensure input from cities, a stronger direct dialogue with mayors and city authorities is needed. The impact of current models for city involvement should be assessed and the methods that bring the best results should be applied more broadly. This will help ensure that initiatives more closely match needs on the ground and that innovation taking place in cities can be captured and fed into EU policy development.

Advertisement

Urban days 

Holding bi-annual summits for urban stakeholders that include European, national and city-level government would keep urban issues high on the political agenda. These would be opportunities to assess the impact of EU policies on cities and to consider the urban dimension of forthcoming European initiatives.

On 17 February, as part of the Commission’s two day forum, EUROCITIES and CEMR are jointly hosting a seminar on the local perspective of a future EU urban agenda.

Gronkiewicz-Waltz said:  “Our cities are the drivers of the European economy and of innovation. They are key players in climate action and front-line managers of social cohesion. An EU urban agenda should set a framework for new ways of working together, for engaging cities directly in developing and delivering more joined up policies.”

More information

EUROCITIES statement on an EU urban agenda:     EUROCITIES  
EUROCITIES on Twitter

Share this article:

Share this:
Related Topics:
EU Reporter publishes articles from a variety of outside sources which express a wide range of viewpoints. The positions taken in these articles are not necessarily those of EU Reporter. Please see EU Reporter’s full Terms and Conditions of publication for more information EU Reporter embraces artificial intelligence as a tool to enhance journalistic quality, efficiency, and accessibility, while maintaining strict human editorial oversight, ethical standards, and transparency in all AI-assisted content. Please see EU Reporter’s full A.I. Policy for more information.
Advertisement

Trending