Major European cities to take the lead in delivering cohesion

Following last Monday’s (6 October) presentation of the Green Paper on territorial cohesion by EU Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner, capital cities and regions are set to make their voice heard in the ensuing public consultation.

The Green Paper adopted this week in the context of the Open Days organised by the Commission’s regional policy directorate-general stresses the need to “promote globally competitive and sustainable cities”. 

Participants in a seminar organised on 7 October by a consortium of capital cities and regions welcomed the initiative. They described the timing of the Green Paper as “ideal”, and will be participating in the public consultation which was launched together with the document. There was still room for an “un-ideological debate on post-2013 cohesion policies before budgetary considerations come into the picture,” a participant explained. 

However, many stressed the magnitude of the issues faced by large urban areas, pointing out that while capital cities and regions are often the engine of economic development and growth, they also have to tackle unparalelled social and environmental challenges. 

According to the results of an ‘urban audit’ of European cities, there are large disparities in the quality of urban life not only across Europe, but also within single cities (EURACTIV 24/09/08). The study, measuring everything from housing, health and crime to the environment and climate-related issues, revealed that social indicators such as “the disparity in unemployment rates between different districts of a single city” are “often greater than between the cities and regions of the European Union themselves”. 

“We need cities in good shape, wisely using their resources in an innovative and sustainable way,” said Commissioner Hübner. “Cities for all, for us today and for future generations.” But it is clear that if “the battle for sustainable development will almost certainly be decided in cities,” as Hübner remarked, then the road to victory is yet to be laid out. 

The Green Paper does not attempt to define the concept of ‘territorial cohesion’, which organisations such as the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) believe is a major shortcoming. In fact, there is still no consensus on the nature and scope of EU action on regional policy. 

Cities and all other stakeholders will have the chance to contribute to policymaking on cohesion policies through an online public consultation, open until 28 February 2009. 

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