URBAN Intergroup at the European Parliament

On January 28th URBAN Intergroup jointly with the European Commission organized the closing seminar of the preparatory action “RURBAN – sustainable rural-urban partnerships”.

The aim of this seminar was to present the results of RURBAN preparatory action to the European institutions and to discuss the way benefits of rural-urban partnerships can be fully taken into account in the 2014-2020 programming period of cohesion policy and rural development policy.

During the introductory session, Walter Deffaa, Director-General of Regional and Urban Policy, and Jerzy Plewa, Director-General of Agriculture and rural development, underlined a very good cooperation between DG REGIO and DG AGRI on rural-urban partnerships. They stressed the fact that the coincidence between the starting point of the new programming period 2014-2020 and the closing of the RURBAN preparatory action can be a drive for the strengthening of the urban-rural cooperation on the ground. Moreover, they underlined that the results of the RURBAN preparatory action had already an impact in the funds’ regulations for the 2014-2020 programming period.

After the presentation of the rural-urban partnership definition, OECD representatives who conducted a RURBAN comprehensive study, gave answers to two questions: ‘Why urban-rural partnerships are important?’ and ‘How to build an effective urban-rural partnership?’

Regional and local stakeholders insisted on the complexity of peri-urban relations and difficulties in the cooperation. At the same time, they underlined that structural funds offer a unique opportunity to work across peri-urban territories. They welcomed the possibility of using multi-fund programs (ERDF and ESF) which will facilitate implementation of urban-rural partnerships.

Peter Simon, Vice-President of the URBAN Intergroup who initiated this preparatory action, explained that RURBAN “opened a door” for partnerships but that it would only be possible to asses in the future how Member States used this opportunity to develop urban-rural partnerships.

In conclusion, Jan Olbrycht, President of the URBAN Intergroup, asked the European Commission to check urban-rural partnerships while analyzing partnership agreements. “Let’s use European money to put people work together in urban and rural territories”, he added.

 More information about RURBAN preparatory action