Brussels, 24/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - Ministers meeting in the General Affairs Council on Friday 24 June, reiterated their support for the EU urban agenda and the Pact of Amsterdam but made it clear that the new urban programme will not provide financial manna from heaven for the EU.
In their conclusions, ministers underline that “one of the objectives of the Urban Agenda is to improve the accessibility and coordination of existing funding possibilities and to contribute to their simplification”. They add a little later that the Agenda “will not create new EU funding sources”. The Council calls on the Commission to continue facilitating the implementation of the Urban Agenda “within its existing budgets”.
Ministers say that the Urban Agenda will not affect the current distribution of legal competences and existing working and decision-making structures. In particular, the conclusions state that the Urban Agenda will not transfer competences to the EU level. The sharing of competences emerged as an issue as negotiations on the Pact of Amsterdam progressed, with the member states gaining the upper hand in this area (see EUROPE 11552 and 11545).
As a source close to the matter revealed, urban policy could provide a definite response to the existential crisis being faced by the EU following the Brexit (see other articles), introducing an integrated, bottom-up approach in European policies, for example, on crucial issues such as integration of refugees and exclusion. On the same day as the UK referendum result (see other article), the regions and cities urged the EU and the member states to make use of their expertise in making the necessary reforms.
On this point, the call by Committee of the Regions (CoR) has been vindicated in that its role is specifically mentioned in the Council conclusions, as highlighted by CoR President Markku Markkula. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)