The Urban dimension of the French Presidency of the European Union
The French Presidency of the European Union is a continuity of what has been achieved under the previous presidencies. Indeed, ministers responsible for urban development had adopted in 2007 under the German Presidency the Leipzig Charter, which promotes the concept of "sustainable European city." Thus, the French Presidency proposes the governments of different Member States to implement concretely the Leipzig Charter, based on a dual approach : to develop a methodological reference framework in the form of a consultative tool and identify criteria sustainable development and solidarity.
Post scriptum :
Agenda of the major events of the French Presidency in the topics followed by the Urban-Logement Intergroup.
On the 30 and 31 of October 2008 in Paris, a Conference will be held on the future of cohesion policy.
In Marseille will be held on the 24 of November 2008 the informal meeting of Ministers responsible for housing, on the 24 and 25 of November the informal meeting of Ministers in charge of urban development, on the 25 and 26 of November the informal meeting of Ministers in charge of territorial cohesion and Regional Development.
Finally, the forum of the cities will take place Montpellier, on the 2 and 3 of December 2008.
On the occasion of the launch of the e-polis website June 30th in Brussels Gisela Kallenbach, Vice-President of the urban intergroup, underlined the importance of local initiatives within Europe. E-polis was founded 2006 as "European City Campaign" by four Green MEPs. The project aims to promote engagement of civil society by stimulating a greater participation of citizens in their home cities concerning sustainability in urban development. For 2008 the objective is both to increase the network among the participants from currently five member states and to enforce networking in their respective regions. The main networking tool is the e-polis website which offers a platform for all persons and initiatives that share the same idea : a better city is possible !
The conference "Urban Europe - Why cities matter" hosted by the EU-Commission took place on June 26th 2008 in Brussels. In a kick-off speech the Vice-President of the urban intergroup, Gisela Kallenbach, pointed out urban development from the European perspective. Although the EU does not have legal competence for urban development there are European decisions, regulations and directives in the field of economic, environmental, structural or cohesion policies which impact indirectly on urban issues. It is highly appreciated that the cities themselves and the ministers in charge of the member states are willing to act in close cooperation. All efforts should culminate in sharing of power (and responsibility) to ensure sustainable cities ; meaning high quality of life which guarantees equal chances for us and further generations.
The website of the Urban-Logement Intergroup bilingual
The website of the Urban-Logement Intergroup www.urban-logement.eu is now available in French and English. You can find all the information, news and the agenda of the Urban-Logement Intergroup.
Jean-Marie BEAUPUY chairs the Intergroup since 2005. The Bureau was formed to decide the strategy of action of the IUL, it meets once a month at the plenary sessions in Brussels. The eight Vice-Presidents of the Intergroup Jan OLBRYCHT (EPP, Poland), Alain HUTCHINSON (PSE, Belgium), Lambert Van NISTELROOIJ (EPP, Netherlands), Bilyana RAEVA (ALDE, Bulgarian), Gisela KALLENBACH (Greens, Germany), Francisca PLEGUEZUELOS (PSE, Spain), Oldricht VLASAK (EPP, Czech Republic) and Mieczyslaw JANOWSKI (UEN, Poland).
The researchers analysing the urban mutation : social platform of DG Research
27th May 2008
DG Research, on the 27th of May, launched a Social Platform, Social Polis, aiming to develop the dialogue between scientists, the political community and civil society. The objective is to develop a research agenda on the role of cities in social cohesion, and over a period of two years, ending in December 2009. Jean Marie Beaupuy, President of the Urban-Logement Intergroup underlined the need to give an overall coherence to the different thematic policies under URBAN 1 and URBAN 2. Researchers in this goal, have a key role to play in establishing quality indicators to assist the political decision-making.
Exchange of experiences : lunch with the Head of the city of Leipzig, Germany
29th of May 2008
On Thursday 29 May 2008 a public hearing organized by the committee of Regional Development on the study of the “follow-up on the Territorial Agenda and the Leipzig Charter” took place in Brussels. Subsequently one of the speakers, Mr Gerkens, the head of the City of Leipzig took part in a lunch meeting with members of the Urban Intergroup. Participants had an interesting exchange of views about territorial challenges facing the EU as well as integrated urban development.
On the 30 and 31 of October 2008 in Paris, a Conference will be held on the future of cohesion policy.
