Joint EMI – URBAN survey on the urban dimension of cohesion policy
The negotiation about the shape of the future cohesion policy after 2013 is entering the decisive phase. The specific regulations for structural funds and the Cohesion Fund are currently under discussion at the European Parliament and in the Council; urban related issues are one of the topics of the debate. You can join the discussion by participating in the joint questionnaire of the URBAN Intergroup and the European Metropolitan network Institute (EMI).
To maximize the input from cities, EMI and the URBAN Intergroup invite you all to fill out this digital questionnaire. Have your say and start now (it will only take 5-10 minutes)! Deadline of the questionnaire is 31 May 2012.
RURBAN
RURBAN – Partnership for sustainable urban-rural development – is a preparatory action discussed and agreed among members of the URBAN Intergroup and proposed for the 2011 budget by the Intergroup’s President Jan Olbrycht. The aim of this preparatory action is to develop some partnership models for towns and cities and rural areas surrounding them, to achieve better cooperation between different actors in developing and implementing common urban-rural initiatives based on the integrated approach. The action is implemented in the years 2011 and 2012. Over this period, common challenges and potentials will be identified, the existing urban-rural partnerships inEuropewill be reviewed and best practice examples will be selected. The end result of the action should be a practical guide for un urban-rural partnership that could be used in the next programming period of the cohesion policy after 2013.
Reaction to the Toledo Declaration
Jan Olbrycht, in his capacity as the President of the URBAN Intergroup, sent a letter to all the EU ministers responsible for regional policy expressing the Intergroup’s position on the recently agreed Toledo Declaration. In this letter, the members of the Intergroup call among other things for a stronger urban dimension of the cohesion policy after 2013 and for enough financial resources for it. They suggest also for the integrated approach to be made a binding condition for granting the structural funds assistance and support the experimental and innovative actions inEurope’s towns and cities.
More funds for energy efficiency
On behalf of the URBAN Intergroup Jan Olbrycht sent a letter to Commissioner Öttinger asking to allocate the financial resources that were not spent in the framework of the European recovery plan to actions in the filed of energy efficiency implemented in many cases in cities and towns.
Question to the European Commission – social housing
Heidi Rühle, Lambert van Nistelrooij and Jan Olbrycht tabled on behalf of the URBAN Intergroup a question to the European Commission about social housing in the EU. Referring to the recent decision concerning the social housing in the Netherlands, the Intergroup asked the EC whether its decision to set a limit of 33.000 euro income households does not violate the subsidiarity principle and whether the Commission is planning to introduce one single definition of social housing in the EU.
