Compte rendu in extenso des débats

Lundi 14 février 2022 - Strasbourg

27. Les défis à relever pour les zones urbaines à l'ère post-COVID-19 (brève présentation)

  Die Präsidentin. – Als nächster Punkt der Tagesordnung folgt die kurze Darstellung des Berichts von Katalin Cseh über die Herausforderungen für städtische Gebiete in der Zeit nach der COVID-19-Krise (2021/2075(INI)) (A9 0352/2021).

  Katalin Cseh, rapporteur. – Madam President, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, our cities have been fighting for survival. They had no other choice but to face high rates of infection, dwindling economic activity and very rapidly exacerbating social inequalities.

We have also seen them showing leadership in managing the crisis on the front lines, helping to limit the spread of the coronavirus and mitigating its impact on the ground. And when we all thought that things could not get any worse, they did, at least in Hungary. Prime Minister Orbán has used the coronavirus response effort just as a pretext to take funding away from cities and towns. And why? What is the reason? It’s very simple because many of them had the audacity to elect opposition mayors.

A colleague of mine is deputy mayor in charge of development of Szeged, the third largest city in Hungary, and he very regularly tells me that the government does not give any access to meaningful documentation about EU development aid, let alone consult him about the needs of his constituents. And mayors all across Hungary tell us just the same. They are ringing the alarm bell that EU funds are used as a political weapon to starve independent institutions of their financial resources.

Now, why am I telling you about these examples right now? Because I believe that engaging local stakeholders is the only guarantee to ensure this crisis relief reaches those communities who need it the most. In our report, we urge the Commission to make direct funding opportunities available to local and regional authorities and thus creating a powerful instrument that will enable the fight against political favouritism.

And in light of the upcoming ECJ ruling about the application of the rule of law conditionality mechanism, I believe direct funding is more crucial than ever because cities should never have to pay the price of the wrongdoing of governments. They are not responsible for that. Renew Europe has been calling for directly accessible EU funding to be part of the conditionality mechanism since day one. Now it’s time to make it happen.

While working on this report, my aim was to prepare a general set of recommendations, addressing some of the most serious challenges that the urban areas are expected to face in the post—COVID-19 era. And while lack of proper funding, I believe, is one of the biggest ones, the list is not exhaustive, so I am only going to mention a few other points.

Let’s note that more than 75% of Europeans live in urban areas and thus face very specific urban challenges, such as the lack of affordable housing, the risk of social exclusion, the increasing climate—related disasters, the deepening digital divide and also the growing gender inequalities. Because in addition to health risks, women are more vulnerable to the economic risks that are also associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, and they could find themselves further behind when the crisis ends. And while social distancing measures were necessary strategies to curb the spread of the virus, staying at home has put many women at risk of domestic violence, without an adequate network of support. And how could direct funding help cities to address this? They could use the money to support helplines for domestic violence victims or strengthen the care sector or support women to learn digital skills.

Cities can help us face these challenges, but first, we need to rethink and reform our existing structures because neither the pandemic emergency nor the future threats will limit themselves to our legal boundaries. So let’s be brave, and let’s move forward.

  Kadri Simson, Member of the Commission. – Madam President, dear Vice—President, honourable Members, dear rapporteur Katalin Cseh, it appears Europe’s cities are on the front lines: on the front lines of the current health and economic crises, on the front lines of the recovery, and key foot soldiers in the coming green and digital revolution. So this report is timely and valuable. My thanks to the Parliament and the rapporteur.

We agree with you on the importance of digital transformation and that smart city strategies can help us create more inclusive cities, especially in an increasingly digitalised world. Today, two in three people living in cities have access to high-speed broadband, as the Eighth Cohesion Report states. We must ensure that, when it comes to digital public services – education, administration, for example – there is also wide access to such digital services and that no one is excluded. So we very much agree, too, on the importance of inclusiveness. This is deeply rooted in cohesion policy through the partnership principle – local actors helping to design and deliver local projects.

As regards direct support, cities under the 2021—27 Cohesion Programme period, 8% of the European Regional Development Fund, so around EUR 17 billion, are ringfenced for sustainable urban development projects selected by the cities themselves. And our new European Urban Initiative will finance experiments in making urban development more sustainable and more participative.

We hope that the new European Powerhouse Initiative aiming for inclusiveness, sustainability and aesthetics in the places where we work and live will also be of interest to cities, and I hope that we will see cities embark on this transformational challenge as well.

In this context, I cannot speak of inclusive cities if citizens do not have quality, affordable housing. The Commission’s renovation wave and the Affordable Housing Initiative will support local actors in their efforts to increase energy efficiency for a fairer transition. Inclusive cities also have high-quality public spaces that are safe. This requires good urban planning and design, urban policy for the common good, as set out in the new Leipzig Charter. As you know, we in the Commission subscribe to this charter.

We agree, too, that future cities must be sustainable. I have already mentioned the ring-fencing for sustainable urban development within cohesion policy. As you know, the EU supports cities through various other initiatives, including the Intelligent Cities Challenge, the Urban Mobility Framework, the 100 climate neutral and smart cities by 2030 mission or learning cities to ensure cities are sustainable, resilient, innovative and inclusive.

Finally, the report calls for tailor—made policy initiatives. We agree that cities cannot face these challenges alone. We must mobilise all levels of government. We welcome your reference to the urban agenda as a new model of multilevel governance. Our Europe Act programme will continue to support this with exchanges of good practice and capacity-building. The Next Cities Forum in early 2023 will mark and amplify this new wave of support for cities.

The next few years bring a once—in—a—generation investment, the combination of enhanced cohesion policy, the Recovery and Resilience Facility and other funding sources under the EU budget. Let us work together to make the most of these investments. Europe’s cities have a bright future. Your report illuminates the next step.

  Die Präsidentin. – Damit ist dieser Tagesordnungspunkt geschlossen.

Die Abstimmung findet am Dienstag, 15. Februar 2022, statt.

Schriftliche Erklärungen (Artikel 171)

  Dan-Ştefan Motreanu (PPE), în scris. – În calitate de responsabil din partea Grupului PPE pentru această rezoluție, am evidențiat în primul rând faptul că redresarea economică post-Covid și dezvoltarea orașelor vor fi îngreunate considerabil de creșterea prețurilor la energie.

Astfel, am solicitat Comisiei adoptarea de măsuri pentru a consolida reziliența pieței europene a energiei, pentru a reduce dependența de factorii externi și pentru a asigura energie la prețuri rezonabile. În plus, am cerut încurajarea și finanțarea de programe masive de izolare a clădirilor și de instalare de panouri solare pe acoperișuri pentru a spori autonomia energetică a clădirilor publice și private.

O bună organizare administrativ-teritorială este un pilon de bază al dezvoltării urbane și al rezilienței în perioade critice. În UE, avem numeroase orașe care nu dispun de suficiente venituri proprii pentru a-și asigura buna funcționare și nici pentru a oferi locuitorilor servicii publice de calitate. Totodată, capacitatea acestora de a atrage fonduri europene sau investiții este limitată, fiind condamnate la subdezvoltare și la depopulare pe termen lung.

Astfel, una din prioritățile mele în raportul adoptat astăzi a fost să solicit Comisiei Europene să prezinte recomandări privind organizarea și reforma administrativ-teritorială și să încurajeze statele UE sa facă schimburi de bune practici în acest sens.

  Rovana Plumb (S&D), in writing. – Urban areas are facing a triple crisis in the wake of the pandemic: tackling the health impacts of COVID-19; dealing with the climate and ecological emergency; and addressing social and economic inequality. Despite these challenges, cities have the potential to become a major driving force for a green and just recovery in Europe – if they are actively involved in the decision—making process from the beginning. Although it is too early to know what the longer—term legacy of the pandemic will be for urban environmental sustainability, it is clear the unprecedented EUR 1.8 trillion stimulus package agreed by the EU will reshape cities in fundamental ways. The infrastructure investment will play an important role in stimulating urban economic activity after the crisis, creating an opportunity to align the recovery with climate, environmental and social equity agendas in cities. The key opportunities for a green and just recovery are found in the following sectors: rethinking urban mobility (implementing green mobility strategies and investing in green transportation infrastructure) and land use; modernising the urban building stock; enhancing the role of green infrastructure and nature—based solutions; and transforming urban food systems and the circular economy.