Twintig jaar Europese steun voor stedelijke ontwikkeling gevierd met conferentie (en)

IP/10/117

Brussels, 3 February 2010

EU celebrates 20 years of Community support for urban development

On 4 February, Regional Policy Commissioner Pawel Samecki i will address a conference in Brussels celebrating two decades of EU investment in Europe's cities. The event, entitled 'Building on 20 years of Community support to urban development', will also be an opportunity to reflect on lessons learnt since the launch of the Commission's first 'URBAN' projects in 1989 (Charlemagne building).

Speaking ahead of the conference, Commissioner Samecki said: "Urban development is one of the priorities for the EU's cohesion policy. The Commission supports European cities in their quest for more competitiveness and in helping them to develop long-term, sustainable strategies. I believe that our cities will continue to be active in the design and implementation of the cohesion policy in future."

Strengthening the urban dimension

Following the success of a number of pilot projects, the URBAN I initiative (1994-1999) invested over €900 million in Community money in 118 cities across the EU. The investment focused on urban regeneration and job creation, and in combating social exclusion and environmental problems.

URBAN II (2000-2006) was targeted more specifically on the design and implementation of innovative economic and social regeneration in deprived areas. Its 70 programmes covered around 2.2 million people, with a total budget of €1.6 billion, including €728 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Since then, the Commission has integrated urban initiatives into mainstream regional programmes. Around €30 billion from the ERDF is targeted at urban development in 2007-2013.

Another priority is to organise exchanges between cities, to share experience and know-how. This is the purpose of the 'URBACT' programme launched in 2002.

EU funding has contributed to the regeneration of many European cities. Examples of successful co-funded projects include:

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  “ The Space-makers ”: In Bristol in the UK, young people in a deprived part of the city took part in a scheme aimed at designing a new public space. They helped to select the landscape architect and materials used.
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  “ GreenKeys ”: This project focuses on green-space urban planning strategies in 12 European cities including Berlin, Budapest, Ljubljana and Sofia.
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  " The Warhol City ": This project in Medzilaborce, in Eastern Slovakia, combining tourism infrastructure development and marketing, was inspired by artist Andy Warhol whose family originally came from the region.
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  The restoration of Prague Castle, the new metro in Porto, the Fira exhibition centre in Barcelona, bicycle paths in Vienna, and support for 150 small businesses in Leipzig, are other examples of cohesion policy’s successful contribution to Europe’s urban development.

Background:

Monika Wulf-Mathies and Danuta Hübner, former Commissioners for Regional Policy, and Beatriz Corredor Sierra, Spanish Minister for Housing, will participate in the conference as well as Members of the European Parliament, mayors of European cities and representatives of the Eurocities network.

On 20 May 2010, for the first time, the Commission will present the "CityStars 2010" awards, recognising the most innovative city projects supported by the cohesion policy.

The conference is open to the media and will be broadcast live on the following website:

http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/conferences/urban_20years/