EU Policy agenda for liveable cities

Key points

The EESC:

• considers cities to be the backbone of the European Union’s economic, social and territorial development. They are key spaces for social, ecological and economic transformation, where innovation should be oriented towards improving quality of life;
• while welcomes the Commission’s complex approach and intention to strengthen the EU Agenda for Cities and its overarching vision of prosperous, liveable and inclusive cities, it believes that the proposed agenda does not yet match its stated ambitions; 
• recommends that it be formally included in the proposed EU Agenda for Cities alongside the Committee of the Regions, reflecting the EESC’s recognised formal role in the Ljubljana Agreement and the Pact of Amsterdam, as well as its active involvement across all areas of the Urban Agenda; 
• proposes that the EU Agenda for Cities should be firmly anchored in multi-level governance, the partnership principle and a place-based approach. It must ensure balanced territorial development, strengthen social and civic dialogue;
• therefore calls on the European Commission to:
  • formally recognise both the EESC and cities as equal partners in EU urban policymaking, and not merely as implementing actors, by establishing permanent and structured multi-level governance;
  • strengthen the partnership principle by guaranteeing the systematic and meaningful involvement of organised civil society throughout the entire policy cycle of the EU Agenda for Cities;
  • equip the EU Agenda for Cities with a concrete and operational action framework, including clearly defined responsibilities, timelines and measurable indicators, and by introducing systematic territorial impact assessments to evaluate the effects of EU legislation on cities;
  • ensure adequate, predictable and accessible financing for urban development, including direct access for cities to EU funding;
  • promote an integrated, project-oriented and place-based approach to territorial cohesion, explicitly strengthening complementarity between cities and rural areas;
  • develop an EU-level urban dialogue within the EU Cities Platform intended to highlight the importance of the roles of social and civil dialogue for employment-related matters;
  • increase the technical assistance fund dedicated to cities and introduce a dedicated European initiative or fund focused directly on urban projects;
  • propose clear consultation standards to ensure meaningful, timely and representative involvement of social partners and civil society at all levels; 
  • establish a unified EU-level framework for collecting and reporting on urban data to ensure indicators are comparable and monitoring is effective across Member States;
  • recognise housing as a structural social and economic issue rather than a market outcome, and call for an EU framework that ensures access to affordable housing.
• believes that the main mechanism used to implement European cohesion policy funding in an integrated and place-based manner is community-led local development (CLLD). In cities/urban areas must CLLD-U move beyond its current pilot status and be recognised as one of the most effective instruments for activating local communities, generating employment, strengthening the social economy and engaging stakeholders;
• believes that a dedicated measure should be introduced to consolidate CLLD-U in the future, ensuring its formal inclusion in EU-level decision-making processes and in targeted technical consultations with experts.