EU Urban Agenda – first Partnerships launched
EU Urban Agenda, which will be endorsed in May 30th by the approval of the “Pact of Amsterdam” by ministers responsible for urban matters, will be implemented in line with 12 themes. Strong partnership between urban areas, Member States, the European Commission and relevant stakeholders will work on each theme.
Dutch Presidency of the Council is coordinating the process of the establishment of first four partnerships. The following pilot partnerships have just been created:
- Air Quality, coordinated by the Netherlands (Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment)
- Housing, coordinated by Slovakia (Ministry of Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development)
- Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees, coordinated by the city of Amsterdam (NL)
- Urban Poverty, coordinated by Belgium (Federal Urban Policy) and France (Commissariat General a L’ Egalité des Territoires)
Each Partnership will work for two or three years and will look at three main issues: better regulation (how can existing rules and regulations be adjusted so that they become more urban proof), better use of financial instruments (how can existing EU financial instruments better be used?) and better knowledge exchange (this will look at current knowledge exchange networks and determine if improvements can be made).
For more information about the pilot Partnerships and the EU Urban Agenda visit special website created by the Dutch Presidency.
