Brussels, 14/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - The first Euro-Mediterranean meeting on sustainable development, in Strasbourg on 10 November, adopted a statement which “highlights the role of urban development in the Euro-Mediterranean area” and sets out “common orientations”. The “creation of a coherent mechanism”, such as an Urban Agency for the Mediterranean, will be considered.
Given the level of investment required, “new financial approaches should be considered to supplement, and make more efficient, public financing”. It was deemed “necessary to encourage greater involvement of the private sector as well as better sharing and coordination of the various existing investments”. In its statement, the conference highlighted the need to “design tools, such as statistics and indicators, enabling reliable benchmarking”. It also set out a “guidance framework for sustainable Mediterranean cities and territories” along with a call for definite, sustainable and workable urban projects.
Ministers called for a “Euro-Mediterranean sustainable urban strategy” to be developed which respects “the specific pace of economic, social and environmental development of each state”. This strategy should contain a guidance framework, one of the aims of which should be “to favour the emergence of sustainable urban development projects likely to be labelled by the Union for the Mediterranean”. The joint initiatives envisaged will focus on public services, such as access to safe drinking water and sanitation, the development of urban mobility plans promoting public transport, “soft” mode transport and encouraging modal shifts, architectural and urban planning standards, and the quality and safety of housing. The strategy also suggests “a more decentralised process” in urban management to ensure the involvement of all stakeholders. (FB/transl.rt)