Brussels, 05/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - One of the Dutch Presidency's priorities is to adopt a pact defining the contents of the Union's urban policy, at the informal meeting of ministers in charge of urban policy on 30 May in Amsterdam.
The stated objective of the Presidency is to obtain an agreement to enable urban agenda implementation and implementation of a number of partnerships. This Amsterdam pact follows the Riga Declaration adopted in June 2015 (see EUROPE 11333) and marks the high point of a lengthy process that has been seeking to strengthen the urban dimension in European policies (see EUROPE 10215).
The pact will therefore focus on three points: - defining urban accomplishments on the basis of previous informal meeting conclusions, the EU's 2020 territorial agenda and the Commission “Cities of Tomorrow” report on the cities of the future; - outlining the main areas of cooperation between the cities, member states, European institutions and the different stakeholders involved in urban policies; - establishing working methods that define the role played by the different stakeholders, urban policy governance and follow-up to agenda implementation.
On the same day the Committee of the Regions will hold a high-level conference entirely dedicated to the urban agenda. Similarly, a City Makers' Summit will also examine EU urban policies.
It should be pointed out that a number of meetings will take place upstream. On 14 April, the Netherlands will organise the Innovation First 2016 “Cities of the future” event, which will bring together 4,000 entrepreneurs, political decision-makers and academics. On 21 April, Amsterdam will host a meeting of Mayors from European capitals.
Ministerial meetings on urban policies will be chaired by Nicolaas Beets, from the Foreign Office and former Dutch ambassador to Kuwait, Finland, Saudi Arabia and Latvia. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)