Report on the Urban Agenda for the EU

Background:

The Pact of Amsterdam, agreed by the Member States of the European Union (EU) in May 2016, has been prepared in close cooperation with the Commission. It establishes the Urban Agenda for the EU which is a historic step on the path towards a closer association of cities to the development of EU and national policies. It gives an opportunity for cities to come up with concrete actions in favour of better regulation, better funding and better knowledge of EU and national policies.

This is an innovative working method putting multi-level governance in practice, the agenda being jointly steered by all involved partners on a voluntary, inclusive and equal basis. Twelve issues which are particularly important for urban development have been identified and will be addressed in an integrated way. In June 2016, the Council of the European Union confirmed the importance of the Urban Agenda for the EU and called on the Commission and EU Member States to fully engage in its implementation.

The Council conclusions on the objectives and priorities of the EU and its Member States, which has been adopted for the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III), present some key features for urban development. They call for an integrated and place-based approach, together with a long-term vision, which is necessary in order to promote well-managed, socially inclusive and safe, resilient, resource-efficient and environmentally sustainable as well as economically prosperous cities of all sizes. The Urban Agenda for the EU is fully in line with this.

The Urban Agenda for the EU also gives an important impetus to several other international agreements. This is particularly the case for the Agenda 2030's Sustainable Development Goal calling for "cities and human settlements" to be "inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable" and other urban related goals. It also supports the Paris Agreement on climate change which is the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate deal recognising the critical role of cities in reducing emissions as well as the Sendai framework for disaster risk reduction. Finally, it has inspired the development of the recently adopted 'Union for the Mediterranean Urban Agenda'.

The objective of this report is to describe the initial stage of implementation and the preliminary results of the Urban Agenda for the EU until October 2017. The first part is dedicated to implementation and underlines the key features of the working method. The second part is dedicated to the results and presents the impact that the Urban Agenda for the EU has had so far on policy making, as well as some preliminary proposals in terms of better regulation, better funding and better knowledge through the first draft Action Plans.

ESO: Moving forward with the Urban Agenda for the EU [EPRS: Briefing, November 2017] http://www.europeansources.info/record/moving-forward-with-the-urban-agenda-for-the-eu/

European Commission: Press Release, 09.02.18: Commission reports on progress under global commitments for sustainable urban development http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-18-662_en.htm

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