European Parliament public hearing on developing the EU’s Urban Agenda
70% of EU citizens live in urban areas and 70% of European legislation is implemented at the local and regional level, so it may seem baffling to many that the EU has no comprehensive urban policy. This is what CoR members from the COTER commission and MEPs from the Parliament’s REGI committee came together to discuss at their first joint public hearing in the European Parliament this week.
Ahead of the Pact of Amsterdam in May 2016, members heard testimony from experts in the fields of academia and local government across the EU who challenged the Commission to get serious about developing a real urban policy and mainstreaming meaningful consultation with cities in the policy-making process.
Discussions of an Urban Agenda for the EU date back to a time when I was still in primary school. Professor Michael Parkinson of the University of Liverpool, who has decades of experience in working on the urban agenda in Europe, said he was “fed up of coming to Brussels and talking about the urban agenda and urged the Commission to “get on with it . Christine Hamza of METIS explored the growth potential of an integrated urban agenda. Ramon Sanahuja of Barcelona City Council gave some inspirational examples of the integration of immigrants in his city and called for cities to have direct access to EU emergency assistance and the Asylum Migration & Integration Fund to support them in coping with the influx of new refugees. Michael Erman of Stockholm City Council presented the challenge of sustainable land use in growing cities and talked about the commitment of political leaders in Stockholm to maintain the city’s green space while growing the population and the economy.
The figures on access to housing and urban poverty presented by Jelena Ricov from Zagreb City Council show both the challenge and the opportunity of developing an urban policy: Up to 125 million Europeans are unable to afford heating and 5 million are homeless. 20% of Europeans are spending more than 40% of their income on rent and demand for social housing has soared while building has decreased. Answering these questions about how an EU Urban Agenda will help cities tackle poverty and create jobs is vital.
Members engaged in a lively discussion with experts on these issues and challenged the Commission’s representative, Mikel Landabaso of DG REGIO, to take heed of the views of MEPs and local leaders working in cities and urban areas as represented in the Committee of the Regions. Developing an urban agenda for the EU has long been a priority for the CoR, perhaps now that the Dutch Presidency have also made it a priority and we have the support of MEPs and Ministers following the Riga Declaration of June 2015, we will see this agenda develop more quickly in the coming months.
Article Written by Kevin Peel, Manchester City councillor.