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.
