Harnessing the potential of the Urban Agenda for the EU

Briefing 27-06-2018

Our towns and cities are home to nearly three quarters of the EU's population, and most EU policies concern them, be it directly or indirectly. While the revised 2014-2020 cohesion policy framework introduced a number of new instruments intended to enhance the urban dimension of cohesion funding, a shared vision of urban development has gradually taken shape at inter-governmental level, accompanied by increasing calls to give city authorities and stakeholders a greater say in policymaking. To help guide these discussions, the European Commission launched a public consultation following its July 2014 communications on the urban dimension of EU policies. Its findings indicated broad support among city stakeholders for an Urban Agenda for the EU. The European Parliament also prepared an own-initiative report on the issue, as part of a process that would ultimately lead to the signing of the Pact of Amsterdam on 30 May 2016, a clear political commitment to deliver an Urban Agenda. With the pact providing for the creation of 12 urban partnerships focusing on key urban themes, all partnerships are now in operation. Developments such as improved coordination within the Commission on urban issues and new resources including a permanent secretariat have consolidated the Urban Agenda, yet challenges remain. The Commission's proposals for the cohesion framework post-2020, which include the creation of a European urban initiative to support the Urban Agenda, have the potential to further strengthen the Urban Agenda but these plans will be subject to tough negotiations in the months ahead. Ultimately, the success of the Urban Agenda will depend on the partnerships' ability to deliver concrete action plans and on the extent to which they are taken up by the Commission, a process requiring full commitment from all the partners. This Briefing is a further update of an earlier one originally published in June 2016, PE 614.595.