On 18 July, the European Commission opened a public consultation on “The urban dimension of EU policies – key features of an EU Urban Agenda”. The purpose of this consultation is to gather ideas and further clarifying the need for an EU urban agenda. The consultation is open until 26 September 2014.
The recent reform of EU Regional Policy, has made the urban dimension more central: it is expected that half of the European Regional Development Fund investments for 2014-2020 will be made in cities and urban areas. Furthermore, Member States are obliged to invest 5% at the very least on integrated sustainable urban actions.
Many stakeholders argued over the recent years about the need to better involve cities in the conception and implementation of EU policies, and that EU policies need to be better adapted to the urban realities where they will be implemented. This had led many to call on the EU to adopt an EU urban agenda.
The purpose of this consultation is to widen debate to all stakeholders and to reach relevant stakeholders and to gather their ideas and further clarifying the need for an EU urban agenda, what its objectives should be and how it could function. Questions are based on the European Commission’s communication “The urban dimension of EU policies – key features of an EU Urban Agenda”, available here.
To read more about the consultation click here.