A4-0172/98

Resolution on the Commission communication 'Towards an urban agenda in the European Union' (COM(97)0197 - C4-0235/97)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission communication (COM(97)0197) - C4-0235/97),

- having regard to the motion for a resolution by Mrs Spaak on major conurbations (B4-0591/95),

- having regard to its resolution of 29 June 1995 on the Commission document 'Europe 2000+, cooperation for European territorial development¨ (COM(94)0354 - C4-0216/95) ((OJ C 183, 17.7.1995, p. 39.)),

- having regard to its resolutions of 28 October 1993 on the future of Community initiatives under the Structural Funds ((OJ C 315, 22.11.1993, p. 245.)), 17 December 1993 on the problems of and prospects for conurbations ((OJ C 20, 24.1.1994, p. 511.)), 3 May 1994 ((OJ C 205, 25.7.1994, p. 111.)) and 28 March 1996 ((OJ C 117, 22.4.1996, p. 70.)) on the Community initiative for urban areas (Urban),

- having regard to its resolutions of 16 December 1988 on the environment in urban areas ((OJ C 12, 16.1.1989, p. 370.)) and 12 September 1991 on the urban environment ((OJ C 267, 14.10.1991, p. 156.)) and the motion for a resolution on the urban environment (B4-0532/95),

- having regard to the Commission Green Paper on the urban environment (COM(90)0218) and the Council resolution thereon,

- having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions,

- having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,

- having regard to the hearing of 5 February 1998 on 'The urban issue: guidelines for a European debate¨,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Policy and the opinions of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection and the Committee on Civil Liberties and Internal Affairs (A4-0172/98),

A. whereas some 80% of the European Union's population lives in cities, a figure which reflects the fact that Europe is a highly urbanised continent; whereas cities fulfil the function of ensuring the quality of life of their inhabitants, while at the same time acting as a driving force for economic, social and cultural progress,

B. aware of the fact that between two-thirds and three-quarters of the EU¨s total wealth creation occurs in urban areas, while inner city areas have some of the most serious social and economic problems in the Union,

C. having regard to the growing demand by those responsible at local, regional and social level for the development of a European strategy for cities to harmonize and coordinate the effects on the urban environment of various Community policies,

D. having regard to the new challenges facing cities which, as well as the frequent deterioration and decline in their traditional social and urban structures, are having to deal with new phenomena arising from the globalization of the economy, knowledge, information and culture: whereas, however, these challenges may offer further opportunities for urban renewal and development,

E. whereas the emergence of globalization is subjecting cities to growing competitive pressures; whereas, in this connection, a European spatial planning strategy could play a vital role in creating a more balanced urban system based on cooperation and complementarity,

F. whereas the resolutions of the United Nations Habitat II Conference in Istanbul in 1996 commit the member states to a policy on human settlements based on social justice and environmental sustainability,

G. whereas Community policies already have a direct impact on cities but in an uncoordinated and sometimes counterproductive manner; whereas Article 130b of the EC Treaty provides for precisely such coordination, laying down that all Community policies and actions should take into account the objective of promoting the overall harmonious development of the Community through the strengthening of its economic and social cohesion and, in particular, reducing regional disparities,

H. having regard to its resolutions of 17 December 1993 and 29 June 1995 referred to above, in which it expressed its support for the development of a European urban strategy and a Community spatial planning policy, both designed to coordinate the impact of the various Community policies on the regions and on cities,

I. whereas one of the objectives of the first official project for a European Spatial Development Perspective is to establish a polycentric, decentralized and more balanced system of cities, and a new relationship between cities and the countryside,

J. whereas the Structural Funds are the main financial instrument available to the Union to implement the common priorities for urban development and regretting that the data on structural measures in cities provided by the Commission in its communication are incomplete,

K. having regard to the outstanding results achieved by the Urban initiative both from the point of view of its achievements on the ground and the high public profile it secured for Community action; whereas this initiative, which also has the great merit of strengthening the role of local authorities, the voluntary sector and local communities in local development, is an example of the advantages to be gained by European action in the urban sector,

L. whereas the problems of high unemployment and social exclusion are particularly serious in cities and bearing in mind the new role assumed by the European Union in combating unemployment, as reflected in particular in the new chapter on employment included in the Treaty of Amsterdam,

M. whereas the co-existence of areas with high-value activities and high-income residents alongside areas with low incomes, high unemployment, high dependence on welfare benefits and overcrowded and poor housing has become commonplace throughout Europe,

N. mindful of the fact that in 49 urban areas with an EU Urban programme, 15 have an unemployment rate of over 30%,

O. whereas cities can play a key role in reducing their impact on the environment by using environmental and energy resources, processed materials and the housing stock in a sustainable and efficient way, and by combining local partnership and technological innovation with organizational skills, partly in order to become more attractive to business activities,

P. whereas the European campaigns for sustainable cities and carless cities have played a positive part in encouraging cooperation between cities in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, which recommends that cities should adopt strategies for local sustainable development (Local Agenda 21s),

Q. having regard to the subsidiarity principle, which requires Union decisions to be taken as close as possible to the people and whereas the principle of local self-government is a direct expression of this principle,

R. having regard to the activity of European and national NGOs working close to the citizen in the socio-cultural and ecological domains,

S. having regard to the Council of Europe's Charter of Local Self-Government which has been signed and ratified by most Member States of the European Union,

T. whereas public participation in local democratic institutions is a vital factor in encouraging social integration and whereas one of the elements of European citizenship is the recognition of the right for foreign Community residents to vote and stand for election in municipal elections,

U. having regard to the forthcoming enlargement which will create fresh challenges and problems as regards urban issues and having regard to the need to anticipate this problem by immediately making it part of the Union's analysis and strategy in the urban sector,

V. whereas an efficient European urban policy can only work with the participation of small and medium-sized cities,

1. Considers it urgent to formulate a European urban strategy based on the subsidiarity principle and the recognition of the central role of cities in such a strategy, involving coordination of Community policies which already affect the urban environment and the inclusion of the urban dimension in all Community measures as soon as they are formulated, with the dual aim of strengthening the Union's competitiveness and improving its economic and social cohesion; considers it essential for sustainability to be included as an integral part of urban policy, as well as economic and social aspects;

2. Considers that the European urban strategy is an indispensable part of a broader spatial planning policy; reiterates its support for the development of a Community spatial planning policy as a way of coordinating the effects on European territory of the various Community policies; calls on the Member States, in informal Council meetings on spatial planning, to display a clear political will to speed up the drawing up and approval of the European Spatial Development Perspective;

3. Notes the priority given by the European Spatial Development Perspective to the development of a polycentric and decentralized system of cities and a new balance between urban centres and the countryside; calls for the policies of the Commission and Member States with regional implications to strengthen the networks of small and medium-sized cities, to counterbalance trends towards concentration of the population and economic potential in metropolitan areas;

4. Stresses that the Commission already has the means available and powers, such as the group of experts on the urban environment, to coordinate activities in the urban sector; calls on the Commission, in exercising its right of legislative initiative and its powers of implementation, to make provision for the urban dimension of Community policies and measures by introducing mechanisms for the internal coordination of its departments; considers that the Community can intervene effectively in favour of cities by treating urban problems 'upstream' and, in particular, by seeking to implement a balanced regional policy which combats the rural exodus and ensures the vitality of the countryside;

5. Considers it vital to improve knowledge of the true situation of Europe's cities and, in particular, stresses the need for reliable and comparable data on the Member States; endorses the Commission's proposal to carry out an 'Urban Audit' and reiterates its call for the creation of a monitoring centre for spatial development, which should also be responsible for studying urban problems, including unemployment and social exclusion; calls on the Commission, in the context of the reform of the Structural Funds, to provide full information on structural measures for cities during the current planning period;

Environmental aspects

6. Considers that cities have a vital role to play in developing and discussing environmental policies at national, Community and extra-Community levels; calls on the Commission, in this connection, to support cities¨ efforts to promote sustainable development strategies;

7. Believes that the Commission should:

- include sustainability as an integral part of its urban policy and add it to the list of network support,

- devise and develop comparable sustainability indicators and implement a sustainability audit scheme,

- give greater support to local Agenda 21 activities and consider a separate budget line for this function,

- continue the promotion of exchange of experience,

- continue provision of financial assistance to promote activities of appropriate networks active with regard to the urban environment,

- continue to support the group of experts on the urban environment,

- bring forward a White Paper on urban environment without delay,

- ensure local urban environment research is included in the "city of tomorrow¨ thematic of the fifth framework action programme,

- set up a mechanism for on-going assessments and review of existing policies and future programmes, including accession countries,

- in the review of the Structural Funds regulation, include criteria regarding efforts to combat levels of environmental pollution which pose a danger to societal health,

- undertake a study of the urban impact of Community initiatives;

Social aspects

8. Stresses the role to be played by cities in the fight against unemployment and social exclusion and believes that future Community employment policy should recognize cities as direct partners in dialogue and develop a partnership with them; considers that the next planning period for the Structural Funds should give priority to local employment initiatives and improve the methodology for territorial employment pacts;

9. Considers that globalization and sustainability involve a number of interrelated social, cultural and environmental aspects which represent key factors in relation to the urban dimension of the European Union;

10. Points out that the 1996 Habitat II Conference based its conclusions on the principles of fairness, the eradication of poverty, the promotion of the family, the involvement of the general public, partnership, solidarity, cooperation and international coordination;

11. Considers that urban-sustainability indicators are linked to new forms of progress, the key to which lies in innovation, in making the general public and all protagonists in society aware of the limited availability of resources (water, air) and issues such as waste management, health care, heritage, housing and transport, and in the specific needs of each city (for example, industrial cities and tourist centres are subject, for different reasons, to major pressures which affect their social and environmental infrastructures);

12. Notes that social exclusion does not result solely from poverty but also from isolation and a lack of communication; considers that European cities could be of great value as laboratories for experiments in social innovation and that they should develop innovative strategies for co-existence through the establishment of interest groups, which would facilitate dialogue and active participation by all sectors of society, in particular the most disadvantaged;

13. Observes an increase in the number and size of urban areas with social and economic problems and of pockets of poverty in certain developed regions, and considers that the rehabilitation of inner-city areas involves the active participation of local government, social bodies and non-governmental organizations;

14. Calls on the Member States to ensure that their planning policies prevent property speculation, which is one of the major causes of depopulation in city centres, help young people to obtain first a home of their own and facilitate the integration of older people, the disabled and immigrants;

15. Recalls that one of the premises of town planning should be that all residents, including children, the elderly and the disabled, can use public transport services, and that the needs of these groups are also taken into account in planning buildings, streets, etc.;

16. Believes that employment for young people as a means of constructively integrating them into social life is a priority; stresses the need to combat youth unemployment and provide access to work; calls on all those involved in this area - be they private promoters, businessmen, trade unions, local authorities, training centres or universities - to promote the involvement of young people in local employment initiatives, in particular by developing the third employment system;

17. Emphasizes the need for reforms to, and an increase in, economic activity in order to maintain a high level of social protection, in view of the fact that, according to population growth forecasts, the number of people over 60 years of age in the European Union will increase by 37 million over the next 25 years (whereas the size of the active population will fall by 30 million), a situation which will put increased pressure on pension and social security schemes; noting that responsibility for looking after children, elderly people and the disabled falls mainly on women, calls for measures such as the establishment of day centres for children and home care services for elderly and disabled people to be promoted so as to enable women to combine a family with a job;

18. Reiterates the need for trans-European networks to include urban transport networks to facilitate travel between cities and the countryside and between cities and their arrival and departure points such as airports, seaports, railway stations and coach stations; calls for consideration to be given under the Fifth R& D Framework Programme and the City of the Future to innovative public transport systems which are available to all, environmentally sound and discourage the use of private transport;

19. Recognizes the urgent need to meet the demand of half the population, so as to ensure that their specific needs are taken into account in the European urban development model, and therefore asks the Commission to include practical measures for women in the planning and implementation of its future policies for cities;

Matters relating to civil liberties

20. Considers that if local self-government, as defined in the Council of Europe's Charter of Local Self-Government, is to work, it must entail financial autonomy and the resources needed to make it effective; considers that public participation through local democratic institutions will help both social integration and political and economic efficiency; supports unrestricted application of the provisions of the Treaty on the right to vote for Community residents;

21. Believes that, as urban areas perform an important integrating function, the highest possible priority should be given to measures to combat social disintegration, racism and xenophobia; urban authorities should therefore always endeavour to provide a wide range of facilities geared to the needs of people threatened with marginalization and exclusion;

22. Urges the competent authorities of the Member States to provide training on immigration-related matters for social workers and others active in the social field, so that they are better able to attend to the needs of immigrants;

23. Urges municipal authorities to organize campaigns to raise the awareness of the indigenous population, with the aim of ensuring that immigrants are readily accepted, and information campaigns designed to promote tolerance and combat xenophobic and racist activities;

24. Points out that in the last few decades both objective safety in urban areas and the individual's subjective feeling of safety have declined and stresses that the increase in crime poses a serious threat to respect for citizens' rights in the European Union;

25. Calls on municipal authorities to take effective measures to prevent crime, since this is very important to the public, and considers that, with regard to punishment, importance should be attached to the rehabilitation of prisoners, to ensuring they make amends for crimes they have committed and to safeguarding the public against the risk of their reoffending;

26. Points out that action to prevent crime is already being successfully taken in many European urban areas; recommends, therefore, that urban authorities exchange information on good preventive practices by establishing networks for the exchange of experience in this field;

27. Suggests, for crime prevention in urban areas given their importance as an arena for the fight against drug dependence, a coherent multi-disciplinary approach; the measures designed to make it difficult for crimes to be committed include

- structural measures,

- measures related to society,

- measures related to the situation,

- measures related to the criminal;

28. Draws the Commission's attention to the need to take account of these conclusions when reforming the Structural Funds, especially as regards the future eligibility criteria for Objective 2;

29. Reaffirms the right of children to grow up in safe surroundings;

Matters relating to regional development and structural measures

30. Stresses that the subsidiarity principle and the safeguarding of local self-government will require appropriate involvement by local authorities in applying the principle of partnership, which should be strengthened when the Structural Fund regulations are reformed and is a practice which should be taken on board by other Community policies, particularly those with a direct impact on the urban environment;

31. Points out that the first objective of the urban agenda for Europe will be the reform of the Structural Fund regulations; takes note of the Commission's proposal to introduce a new sphere of intervention under Objective 2, one of whose 4 fields of activity will be urban areas affected by serious pockets of poverty and social exclusion; believes that this will not be an adequate catalyst for regeneration in the EU¨s urban areas;

32. Emphasises that the Commission and the Member States must take particular account of the difficulties encountered by non-Community nationals who are the victims of social exclusion;

33. Considers that the new area of application of Objective 2 should not be the sum total of Structural Fund action on urban problems and calls for Objective 1 structural policy to meet the needs of small and medium-sized cities and urban areas;

34. Believes that the forthcoming reform should strengthen the concept of regional development, recognizing the crucial role played by cities; considers that integrated urban measures should be one of the priorities for Structural Fund planning (mainstreaming) and urges the Commission to mainstream into Structural Fund programmes best practice and innovative structures set up under the Urban Community initiative, such as local capacity-building and community business development; considers in this connection that there is a need to ensure that the expansion of transport infrastructure is not just confined to the cities themselves but to promote transport connections from the suburbs to the centres, in the interest not only of economic cohesion, which includes the commuter workforce, who tend to settle on the urban periphery, but also of social cohesion between the city and the surrounding area;

35. Reiterates its support for maintaining the Urban Community initiative with adequate funding to consolidate its activities and an innovative approach with European-wide interest, based on cooperation and partnership between urban areas and various small and medium-sized cities; points out that the initiative has been favourably received, in spite of its initially experimental nature, and that in the light of the experience obtained it should be extended as a preliminary to implementing an integrated urban policy;

36. Regrets the proposal by the Commission to abandon the Urban Community initiative in the Structural Fund reform proposals;

37. Reminds the Commission and Council of the importance of the current Urban Community initiative which from 1994 to 1999 is investing ECU 850 million in about 115 cities;

38. Believes it necessary, as part of Community regional policy, to establish cooperation between cities, since exchanges of experience and collaboration in dealing with common problems are useful for encouraging complementary efforts on the part of cities; considers that the new Interreg programme should also cover cooperation between cities;

39. Considers that cooperation between cities under the auspices of Community policy should also make it possible to:

- develop cultural networks so as to promote higher and more unified standards of cultural achievement, in accordance with multi-cultural principles;

- develop sports networks, so as to promote better standards of achievement by basic sports centres;

- promote places of worship for the various religious faiths, in order to encourage a culture of acceptance and respect for diversity in a practical way;

40. Welcomes the initiative taken by the British Presidency to put urban issues on the agenda of the informal Council in Glasgow on 8 and 9 June 1998, focusing on the exchange of good practice, and hopes that the Austrian Presidency will take forward this work on urban best practice;

41. Considers that there is also a need to encourage cooperative relations between the Union¨s cities, cities in European and Mediterranean non-member countries and cities in other third countries, under the auspices of existing Community programmes, in order to promote dialogue and the solving of common problems, in the spirit of the United Nations Habitat II Conference resolutions;

42. Considers that the forthcoming reform should maintain and strengthen pilot projects and innovatory measures, currently financed under Article 10 of the ERDF Regulation, retaining their existing characteristics, but changing and improving the system of management by direct and productive dialogue between local authorities and the Commission, and giving the latter a strategic role in the field of innovation;

43. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.

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