Brussels, 20/11/2008 (Agence Europe) - EU housing, sustainable development, cohesion and town and country planning ministers will meet informally in Marseilles, France, on 24 - 26 November 2008. The French Presidency of the EU wants to explore territorial synergy that can be activated among local communities, countries and EU action. The ministers will study social and environmental factors along with urban and regional affairs. The French Presidency's aim is to stimulate and reinforce joined-up thinking on individual policies whose coordination in the field is vital to ensure sustainable development and social inclusion. The French Presidency has announced that a new topic will be discussed on 26 November at a meeting of cohesion policy and town and country planning ministers, namely how the cohesion policy should respond to the current economic and financial crises.
In the afternoon of Monday 24 November, housing ministers will look at access to high quality housing for vulnerable individuals. The French housing minister, Christine Boutin, will open the sitting, which will focus on the right to housing and the impact of EU policies on national housing policies. Paul-Louis Marty, chair of the European Housing Forum, will present a report for discussion and the housing minsters will approve a final press release. Representatives of the European Parliament and the European Commission are expected to address the meeting.
On Tuesday 25 November, urban development ministers will look at sustainable cities of solidarity in the light of the integrated urban development charter adopted in Leipzig in May 2007 (see EUROPE 9434). The meeting will be introduced by representatives of the French Presidency of the EU, namely Jean-Louis Borloo, French minister of state for ecology, energy, sustainable development and town and country planning, Christine Boutin, Fadela Amara, the French secretary of state for urban policy, and Hubert Falco, French secretary of state for town and country planning. In the morning, the ministers will analyse the results of an EU survey looking at progress eighteen months after adoption of the Leipzig Charter. The mayor of Curitiba in Brazil, Carlos Alberto Richa, will open a debate on sustainable urban solidarity. Representatives of the European Commission and European Parliament will then discuss the urban dimension of cohesion policy. In the afternoon, participants will be briefed by the Jessica working group on funding options for sustainable cities of solidarity. The prospects for the Union of the Mediterranean will also be examined. The presentation will be followed by three workshops on the problems facing sustainable cities: (1) the design of urban areas and tackling climate change, (2) struggling cities and neighbourhoods, and (3) urban mobility. Urban development minister will approve a final statement and at the end of the meeting, the Czech Republic and Sweden will brief ministers on projects under their presidencies of the EU in 2009.
On Wednesday 26 November, cohesion policy and town and country planning ministers will discuss cohesion in service of territories. In the morning, Hubert Falco will open the meeting and the scam will present its Green Paper on territorial cohesion, followed by speeches by representatives of the European Parliament and the Committee of the Regions. The French Presidency will then speak on the territorial agenda and present its initiatives on (1) the Common Agricultural Policy and the rural development policy, (2) the Lisbon Strategy, and (3) the sustainable development strategy (climate change). In the afternoon, the ministers will discuss the future of the cohesion policy from the angle of how it contributes to the sustainable development strategy of regions facing global challenges and better accounting for the territorial dimension of development disparities. The Czech Republic and Sweden will speak about projects under their presidencies of the Council of the EU next year and the meeting will end with a summary of the three days of debates by the French Presidency. (G. B. trans fl)