Sustainable territorial and local development

More than two thirds of Europeans today live in urban areas, giving rise to numerous social, environmental and democratic challenges among others. In order to cope with this situation, the European Commission proposes to strengthen the urban dimension of its policies, including through a "European Urban Agenda."

It is in this context that CEMR and EUROCITIES are organising a seminar entitled "An EU Urban Agenda - for and with cities", on 17 February 2014, in Brussels. This event will be devoted to discussing the objectives, priorities, added value and the expected impact of a European Urban Agenda for local and regional governments.

In the first session of the seminar, European Commissioner for Regional and Urban Policy, Johannes Hahn, will present his ideas for a European Urban Agenda. This will be followed up by CEMR and EUROCITIES Presidents providing their views from a local perspective on the purpose, the objectives and added value of such an agenda. Active discussions, including on the role of cities in delivering an Urban Agenda, will continue with other city networks and the audience in general.

A second session will invite local politicians to present a few main strengths and challenges from their cities. Based on practical experiences, they will make the link to EU policies and programmes, outlining what cities need from the EU to ensure successful delivery of policies on the ground.

This seminar takes place in the framework of the European Commission’s event "Cities of Tomorrow – Investing in Europe", to take place from 17 to 18 February 2014 in Brussels.

Registration to the seminar is available here (registration deadline is 3 February).