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EUROCITIES FLASHan information service for EUROCITIES members
N° 124
Mar 2013
Johannes Hahn, European commissioner for regional policy, joined our executive committee and forum chairs for a meeting on 1 March 2013.
He informed members of his new role in coordinating urban matters across all Commission services in a bid to streamline activities and avoid duplication of efforts: the directorate general for regional policy was renamed ‘regional and urban policy’ in October 2012 to clarify the Commission lead to external stakeholders.
Johannes Hahn also gave an overview of the state of play on the structural funds negotiations, in particular the urban dimension. The commissioner has seen his ambitious proposals for delegation
of funding directly to cities watered down in discussions with member states. The Parliament has however joined the Commission in arguing for a minimum level of delegation to cities, such as taking charge of project selection.
Finally, members updated Johannes Hahn on progress with partnership agreements and operational programmes in their member states. He has been pushing for a much greater involvement of Europe’s large cities in the process of determining investment priorities in the next funding period. In some member states positive developments have taken place to consult and involve cities, in others less so.
Also in this issue
Jobless generation?
oung people are being hit hard by the recession across
Europe. The 50% unemployment rates reported from Spain
and Greece are extremes, but everywhere the rate of joblessness amongst the younger generation is high.
As a result many young people are becoming profoundly alienated from a system that is failing to deliver for them. Movements like ‘los indignados’ demonstrate the lack of confidence young people have both in the economy and in politics.
To boost youth employment, member states recently backed a Europe-wide ‘youth guarantee’. The commitment will see a new job, continued education, apprenticeship or traineeship offered to under-25s unemployed for four months on leaving school or being made redundant.
Our mayors recently met Commissioner Andor to reinforce the role of city administrations in delivering on this promise. Not only is the problem of jobless youngsters concentrated in cities, but it is largely city governments that have the leverage to make a difference. Often responsible for education and social support, for economic development, housing and urban security, city mayors are on the front line of the youth unemployment challenge. Many cities are already taking action to give young people opportunities in their municipal workforces and using procurement as a powerful lever.
The European Social Fund ought to offer cities additional resources to expand these actions. But extra funds are planned for regions where rates of youth unemployment appear high, irrespective of where the absolute numbers are greatest. So cities with the biggest concentrations of young unemployed could find themselves bypassed.
We’ll be pressing for a more sensible distribution of youth guarantee funds that supports those cities facing the most acute challenges.
Paul BevanSecretary general, EUROCITIES
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EUROCITIES awards 2013: call for entries
Member states strike deal on EU budget
Culture forum: what’s coming up in 2013?
Entrepreneurship and social inclusion
Our proposals for cleaner air in cities
New proposal slashes TEN-telecoms budget to €1bn
EU launches new initiative on clean fuels
ImpleMentoring launch meeting
Commonwealth Apprenticeship Initiative
Cooperation platform 2013 12
Excom and forum chairs meet regional policy commissioner
Dorthe Nielsen, senior policy advisor: [email protected]
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EUROCITIES awards 2013: call for entrieshe EUROCITIES awards recognise outstanding achievements by our members in the delivery of local activities or practices which improve the quality of life for citizens. The awards are judged in the context of the theme of the annual conference by an
independent jury of five members with expertise in this area. They represent the host city, academia, EU institutions, media and the third sector. Jury members change every year.
Our 2013 awards will focus on ‘smart citizens’ in three categories. We are looking for examples that showcase how local authorities and citizens work together using digital technology.
The 2013 categories are:
� smart governance - co-creation initiatives for public services, e-government, open data or similar
� smart jobs – through citizen-driven innovation, social entrepreneurship and new business development
� smart living – liveability in an urban environment: new solutions that make our cities better places, more attractive and more sustainable
The deadline for entries is 24 May 2013, a shortlist will be drawn up by 28 June 2013 and the awards will be presented at a ceremony on 27 November 2013.
For more information about the awards, please contact Nicola Vatthauer at our secretariat
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Nicola Vatthauer, communications director: [email protected]
Staff news: interim policy assistant
David Preuss, who has just completed a work experience placement in our environment forum, takes over as policy assistant from Soraya Zanardo during her six-month research sabbatical from March to September 2013. David will take on Soraya’s role of maintaining our contacts with the Committee of the Regions, managing the work within our cooperation pillar and assisting the policy team in general.
David Preuss, policy assistant: [email protected]
highlights
It is people that make cities. A smart city is where innovation and technology help to empower the people who live in it, work in it and visit it. Our cities are pools of creativity and innovation that city leaders draw upon to build successful and sustainable cities that can lead the way out of recession.
In the European Year of Citizens, EUROCITIES 2013 builds on the themes of our last three annual conferences: ‘successful cities: vision and identity' in Zaragoza; ‘planning for people’ in Genoa; and ‘a new city politics’ in Nantes.
The conference website, with more information, is due to go live in April.
Sinead Mullins, senior communications coordinator: [email protected]
EUROCITIES 2013 Ghent ‘smart citizens’
Ghent | 27-30 November 2013
A number of our member cities are supporting the Right2Water campaign. This European citizens' initiative calls on the European Commission to propose legislation implementing the human right to water and sanitation, and promoting the provision of water and sanitation as essential public services for all.
Specifically, the Right2Water initiative calls for EU institutions and member states to be obliged to ensure that all citizens enjoy the right to water and sanitation; for water supply and management of water resources not to be subject to internal market rules and water services to be excluded from liberalisation; and for the EU to increase its
efforts to achieve universal access to water and sanitation.
The petition needs a minimum number of signatories per member state in order to be valid.
To find out more, and to sign, visit the link below.
Right2Water: www.right2water.eu
Right2Water initiativeLocal authorities and public-private partnerships between public
authorities and entrepreneurs, educational programmes and business organisations in all EU member states, and in Croatia, Iceland, Norway, Serbia and Turkey, can now apply for this year’s European Enterprise Promotion Awards.
You can apply in six different categories: promoting entrepreneurial spirit; investing in skills; improving the business environment; supporting the internationalisation of business; responsible and inclusive entrepreneurship; and supporting the development of green markets and resource efficiency.
There are two stages to the competition: the national level and the European level. To find out more about the award and how to apply, visit the link below.
More information: bit.ly/HMBkQK
European Enterprise Promotion Awards
3Flash 124 March 2013
highlights
Talking urban priorities with EU commissionersn 28 February our president, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, mayor of Warsaw, led small delegations of our members to meet three European commissioners.
Together with the mayor of Stockholm, she met Cecilia Malmström, commissioner for home affairs, to discuss multilevel governance and the role of cities in migrant integration. The commissioner recognised the significant contribution various city authorities are making to integration through the range of measures mentioned in our Integrating Cities Charter - services, employment and procurement. She was very interested to receive our Integrating Cities Report, which she suggested should be presented at the June 2013 meeting of the European Integration Forum. We invited her to attend our next Integrating Cities event in Tampere on 9 September 2013, but it is not certain she will be able to attend.
The mayor of Warsaw joined the chairs of our mobility (Mannheim), environment (Birmingham) and knowledge society (Ghent) forums to meet Siim Kallas, European Commission vice president and commissioner for transport. The meeting focused on the smart cities initiative and in particular our vision of a citizen-centred approach. We presented our views on the need for an approach that starts by identifying needs on the ground and defining the principles for smart city solutions, rather than starting with solutions proposals themselves. We also discussed the role of the mayor of Warsaw as our representative on the high-level group on smart cities, set up by Commissioners Kallas, Kroes and Oettinger. Finally, the urban
mobility package due for summer 2013 was addressed. The commissioner stressed the principle of subsidiarity, and that it was not the intention of the Commission to impose road charging schemes on cities.
A group of our politicians from seven of our executive committee cities (Warsaw, Stockholm, Ghent, Birmingham, Copernhagen, Budapest and Nantes) met László Andor, commissioner for employment, social affairs and inclusion. They presented examples of city initiatives to tackle youth unemployment and discussed the new youth guarantee fund and youth employment initiative. The commissioner was presented with our latest publications on social innovation, demographic change and youth unemployment, and expressed his interest in principle in speaking at our Cities for Active Inclusion event, taking place in Brussels on 25 September 2013
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Vanda Knowles, policy director: [email protected]
We spoke to the chair of our working group on branding management and city attractiveness, Cesare Torre (pictured), director of city promotion, tourism and city branding in Genoa, on the relaunch of the group. The working group has been part of our economic development forum since January 2013.
What are the working group’s objectives for the coming year?
Our aim is to develop a shared understanding of city branding and attractiveness by exchanging experiences and best practices on improving these.
Specific areas of our work include:
� reaching beyond the economy-focused perception of attractiveness to include culture, sport, tourism, creativity, events, quality of life, etc.
� networking cities on areas such as tourism, convention, economic development and foreign direct investment agencies
� connecting with the media and using social networks more effectively to promote city activities, such as events or museum openings
� sharing ideas on how to promote a renewed image of cities as a result of the economic crisis, such as monthly free local museum visits; public sports days; city council open days; drawing competitions to gather ideas for the city from schoolchildren; or requesting pro bono services from professionals to help improve city life
What’s on the agenda for your next meeting (Oslo, 17-19 April 2013)?
The title of our meeting is ‘Integrated city brand management: rethinking organisational models’. It’s a joint EUROCITIES and City Logo URBACT II project meeting. We’re going to discuss integrated city branding; local partnerships and stakeholder involvement in city branding; reviewing city branding in a reduced public funding context; and multilevel governance in city branding. We’ll also be finding out what’s happening around Oslo during a city tour and peer review session.
Can new cities join the working group?
We very much welcome new cities! Please contact us for more information.
Relaunching working group branding management and city attractiveness
Cesare Torre, director of city promotion, tourism nd city branding department: [email protected] Julie Hervé, policy advisor: [email protected]
Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz and Commissioner Andor
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cooperation
Following two successful dialogue cafes on climate change and urban health, the third URBAN-NEXUS event will focus on urban land use issues.
The event, taking place on 10-11 April 2013 in Gothenburg, will bring together city experts, researchers and European policy makers in an attempt to improve urban planning by integrating social, sustainability and citizen engagement considerations.
The dialogue cafe will allow for cross-sectoral networking during study visits on urban development projects in Gothenburg. It will also encourage participants to exchange on case studies with the help of Urbania, a digital workshop tool for the compilation of information, dialogue and development of ideas.
ember states reached agreement on the next EU multiannual financial framework (MFF) at a summit on 7–8 February 2013. The agreement
is for a maximum budget ceiling of €960 billion representing 1% of EU GNI.
The budget for competitiveness for growth and jobs, which finances programmes for innovation, research, education and SMEs, has received a boost. This is mainly thanks to the inclusion of the new Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), which promotes an interconnected transport, energy and digital network. The proposed allocation to the CEF has however been reduced substantially, from €50bn to €29bn.
The Commission’s proposal that climate action objectives should represent at least 20% of spending across the budget has been
maintained. The agreement also stresses that financial engineering instruments should be used more widely to maximise the leverage effect of the EU budget. Also, the Council has added a ‘youth employment initiative’ to the MFF, allocating €6bn for promoting youth employment. The initiative will be open to all regions with levels of unemployment above 25%.
For the structural funds that deliver cohesion policy, the MFF maintains the categories of regions proposed by the Commission: less developed, transition and more developed. The balance of allocations between the different categories has however been shifted in favour of less-developed, outermost and sparsely-populated northern regions. Innovative actions in the area of sustainable urban development are allocated €330m.
The European Social Fund (ESF) minimum share of 25% of structural funds, proposed by the Commission, was not retained in the agreement; but reference is made to necessary support for human capital development being ensured through an ‘adequate’ share of the ESF in cohesion policy. Also, unemployment
premiums, to be added to the regional allocations, have been increased in less-developed regions and in transition regions.
The proposed budget now needs the approval of the European Parliament. Although MEPs have signalled that the budget cuts are unacceptable, they can only approve or reject the budget, and cannot amend it. Following agreement with the Parliament, the Commission will put forward proposals for the specific allocations for programmes such as Horizon 2020, Erasmus for All and LIFE under the different budget headings
Member states strike deal on EU budget
URBAN-NEXUS encourages dialogue on urban land use
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European Council conlusion and figures: bit.ly/125vV60 Dorthe Nielsen, senior policy advisor: [email protected]
Next meeting of working group public services
Our working group public services will meet on 18 April 2013 in Brussels. Members will discuss EU legislation on state aid, in particular in the field of cultural services and housing, working with our working group housing.
They will also discuss the progress of the trialogue - the discussions between the Commission, Parliament and Council - that began on 21 February 2013 on the draft directives on procurement and on concessions. Our city expert group on procurement is also invited to this meeting.
Finally, they will work on the revision of the public services regulation for transport services which started with the publication of a new draft within the framework of the fourth railway package. They will cooperate with our mobility forum on this.
Marie Ranty, policy advisor: [email protected]
It reduces the EU budget by 3.5% compared to the current period with cuts made to both cohesion
policy (€325bn) and the common agriculture policy (€373bn).
Agenda and registration: goo.gl/4pX5M Denisa Naidin, project assistant: [email protected]
Brussels | 18 April 2013
Capital cities discuss Europe 2020 delivery with European Commission Johannes Hahn, European commissioner for regional policy, invited mayors of European capital cities for a roundtable discussion with
him in Brussels on 28 February 2013 to discuss the role of cities in driving recovery and delivering the Europe 2020 goals. Janez Potočnik, commissioner for environment, also joined the event and discussed with mayors the urban dimension of the EU’s environmental policies.
Some 20 capital cities (Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin, Bratislava, Brussels, Bucharest, Lisbon, Ljubljana, Luxembourg, Madrid, Nicosia, Rome, Sofia, Stockholm, Tallinn, Vienna, Vilnius, Valletta, Warsaw, and Zagreb) joined the meeting, which demonstrated Commissioner Hahn’s recognition of Europe’s major cities as drivers of growth, and his ambition to establish a direct dialogue with those cities. The mayors issued a joint declaration which stressed the need to keep in mind the urban dimension in EU initiatives across relevant policy areas and welcomed the Commission’s commitment to an integrated approach.
Dorthe Nielsen, senior policy advisor: [email protected]
Gothenburg | 10-11 April 2013
5Flash 124 March 2013
The European Parliament’s culture and education committee discussed a report on promoting the European cultural and creative sectors as sources of economic growth and jobs on 21 February 2013. Rapporteur Marie-Thérèse Sanchez-Schmid (France, EPP) initiated this report in response to a communication issued by the European Commission in September 2012.
The cultural and creative sectors already contribute significantly to the European economy. The Commission communication reported that they account for 3.3% of EU GDP and employ 6.7 million people (3% of all employment in the EU). They have proven to be very resilient to the ongoing economic crisis, particularly in terms of jobs as certain sub-sectors have a higher rate of employment of young people than the rest of the economy.
The rapporteur wants to explore concrete measures that can be put into place to further increase the leverage effect of the cultural and creative sectors.
Urban capital is created at local level and then reinvested in the area to generate growth. Synergies need to be created between local, national and European strategies and competences in order to support and maximise the impact of the cultural and creative sectors.
Other areas for discussion include several points that we have been promoting at EU level: the need for better qualitative and quantitative data to facilitate evidence-based policy making; support for innovation and access to international markets; and improving opportunities for exchange of ideas and learning points.
On the issue of funding, two points were raised. Firstly, the need to raise awareness amongst investors of the potential of these sectors; and secondly, the need to highlight the fact that structural funds can and should be used to support the creative industries.
The committee will vote on the report on 18 June 2013.
culture
e spoke to Matteo Lepore (pictured), deputy mayor of Bologna and chair of our culture forum since 26 October 2012.
What are some of the key aspects of being chair of the culture forum?
For Bologna, the chairmanship is an acknowledgment of our cultural activities. More importantly, it signals an exciting challenge for the future. We consider this a great opportunity to exchange best practices and experiences with our partners in Europe, enhance international collaboration, and design and expand on our activities, while keeping in mind the importance of retaining an international scope.
What are the culture forum priorities for 2013?
We strongly believe culture is one of the key ingredients for developing and innovating our cities. With this in mind, and to support cities working towards the Europe 2020 objectives, our priorities are:
� Innovation and culture: when dealing with culture, innovation should be not only technological, but also non-technological and social. Technology in culture should become a means of innovating and preserving traditions and cultural heritage; and we propose content-oriented innovations that merge with social innovations.
� New funding models for culture: in these times of shrinking public funds, new
funding models should be addressed and developed, including public-private partnerships, rational use of external funds, and innovative fund-raising models. European funding programmes should be refined to meet the new needs of the cultural and creative sector.
� New governance models for culture: rethinking governance models is a process that many cities and states in Europe have already addressed. It is now of great importance to include cultural strategies in these activities.
What’s on the agenda for your next meeting (Florence, 13-16 March 2013)?
The relationship between innovation and culture will be high on the agenda in Florence.
A plenary session will focus on the importance of non-technological innovation and on the innovative solutions that cities have used in their cultural policies. Non-technological
innovation includes, amongst other things: organisational and management innovation; social innovation; and service innovation. It is a key point in today's economy and we are eager to address it. In a second plenary session, Silvia Costa, MEP (Italy, S&D) and rapporteur on Creative Europe, will talk about culture in the context of the upcoming European funding programmes and reflect on the role of culture in local development.
The five culture forum working groups will also meet: creative industries; cultural access and entitlement; culture and young people; mobility of artists; and resources for culture.
If you have not yet registered for the forum, please do so as soon as possible. The 14 March 2013 morning plenary session will also be streamed live online
Culture forum: what’s coming up in 2013?
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Julie Hervé, policy advisor: [email protected]
European Parliament: promoting cultural and creative sectors for growth and jobs
Live streaming: bit.ly/13jOgfg Julie Hervé, policy advisor: [email protected]
She is keen to stress the importance of the local and regional roles, as key competences are being
developed particularly well at this level.
Flash 124 March 20136
economic development
e are looking for case studies which showcase examples of cities supporting entrepreneurship with a focus on social inclusion.
If your city has such a project or policy, please use our template below to tell us about it. Eight to ten case studies will be selected for a publication to highlight the role that local authorities play in
supporting entrepreneurship, the importance of this support to the local economy, and the impact it has on social inclusion.
Please send us your examples by 22 March 2013. The publication will be ready in June 2013
Entrepreneurship and social inclusion
Our metropolitan areas working group visited Rennes Metropole, capital of Brittany, on 11-13 February for a study visit. The city of Rennes works together with 27 surrounding municipalities on economic development, research, education, spatial planning, transport and housing. Its main objectives are to connect the region through transport, ensure economic development and preserve green spaces. Approximately 11% of the metropolitan area is urban and 76% rural.
Brittany has a strong culture of urban-rural collaboration. Mayors of all its cities and towns meet four to six times a year to review the strategic objectives of the metropolitan region and maintain regular contact between these official meetings, keeping personal ties strong.
Our working group met Daniel Delaveau, mayor of Rennes, and visited a nearby town to discuss urban-rural relations and cooperation in the metropolitan region with the mayors of some of the surrounding municipalities: Le Rhue, Mordelles, Acigné and Chapelle-Thouarault. All the mayors are actively and enthusiastically engaged in cooperation in the metropolitan region.
The metropolitan areas of Lille, Toulouse, Lyon and Strasbourg also participated in the visit and offered insights into their respective metropolitan regions from a very practical perspective, including governance, transport and housing issues. Working group members gained a much clearer understanding of urban-rural collaboration in Rennes Metropole and in France more generally, while at the same time giving French colleagues new ideas to discuss further.
Metropolitan areas working group visits Rennes Metropole
Relaunch of integrated urban development working group
Our working group on integrated urban development (IUD) is looking to gather 15-20 interested cities or partners at their next meeting, during the economic development forum on 10-12 April 2013 in Turin. Sylvia Pintarits from Munich and Michael Erman from Stockholm chair the group.
The group will discuss the necessary conditions for and cross-sectoral approaches using various cities' experiences and solutions. Specific focuses in 2013 will be on densification, carbon neutral design of urban areas, large-scale retrofitting and social impact as well as links with the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 2014-2020 and smart cities. Outputs of the IUD working group will include interviews and video clips.
Members interested in developing inspiring and effective ways of knowledge transfer on IUD are welcome to join.
IUD is a complex issue which overlaps with many other EUROCITIES themes. Exchanges with other working groups would be very welcome.
The working group meeting in Turin will focus on densification and citizens' involvement, and will include a site visit. In June 2013, our working group housing (social affairs forum) will deal with similar issues in Zurich. Although a joint meeting is not possible, the chairs will maintain close contact and encourage cities to use all other opportunities for dialogue.
Marie Ranty: policy advisor: [email protected]
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Julie Hervé, policy advisor: [email protected] Case study template: bit.ly/YQJ1hf
Dorthe Nielsen, senior policy advisor: [email protected]
In particular we want to see examples of support for groups of people who may not normally consider starting their own business, or who face significant
barriers in getting their ideas off the ground.
Turin | 10-12 April 2013
Economic development forum on city attractiveness
The thematic conference of the economic development forum (EDF) on 12 April 2013 will focus on city attractiveness policies. Members will exchange on how they attract tourists, businesses, and workers. Greg Clark, senior fellow researcher at the Urban Land Institute, will give a keynote speech on ‘business friendly cities’.
Several cities will present their strategies during the plenary session and workshops. Workshop conclusions will be discussed by
politicians in a panel featuring Piero Fassino, mayor of Turin; Nick Small, Liverpool city councillor and chair of the EDF; and Carolien Gehrels, deputy mayor of Amsterdam and vice chair of the EDF.
Six working groups will meet alongside the forum: cohesion policy; entrepreneurship and SMEs; innovation; integrated urban development; international economic relations; and metropolitan areas. Marie Ranty: policy advisor:
Turin | 10-12 April 2013
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environment
esponding to a European Commission consultation on the review of the EU air policy, we confirm cities’ commitment to clean air and call for an ambitious
EU air quality policy that engages all levels of government: local and regional, national and EU.
While air pollution is often more concentrated in cities, many of the factors affecting air quality are outside local government control.
We stress that EU emission source controls must be more effective and stringent. The emissions of new cars, trucks and buses must be tested under realistic conditions, and the EU will need to take action on other pollution sources related to road traffic, construction, heating and shipping. Member states should commit to more ambitious national emission reduction strategies under a stricter national emissions ceilings directive (NECD).
We also point out that EU air quality legislation must be fair. Local authorities should not be held to account for factors beyond their control, such as long-range pollution from outside their territory. Compliance measures, such as under the ambient air quality directive, should also
recognise the efforts already made and being implemented to address air pollution
Our proposals for cleaner air in cities
EUROCITIES response to the Commission consultation: bit.ly/VyyjOO Michael Klinkenberg, policy advisor: [email protected]
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has highlighted that air pollution continues to affect citizens’ health in Europe.
The new report presents the first results of the WHO project ‘Review of evidence on health aspects of air pollution – REVIHAAP’ by:
� suggesting a revision of the current WHO air quality guidelines on particulate matter
� proposing the development of an additional guideline for black carbon to better capture the effects of pollution from road traffic
� citing new evidence of the long-term negative effects of being exposed to ozone, such as on lung functions
� confirming that short-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide can be harmful too
The WHO recommendations will feed into this year’s review of EU air quality policy.
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WHO underlines need for clean air for better health
Full report: bit.ly/U7oCHs Michael Klinkenberg, policy advisor: [email protected]
We propose more effective cooperation in particular with the Commission and member states to achieve our shared aim of a
healthy environment.
Experts and officials from 39 European cities will participate in the networking and mutual learning programme under our CASCADE IEE-funded project.
The programme started in February 2013 and includes more than 20 networking activities over the year in the three CASCADE thematic areas: energy efficient buildings and districts; urban transport; and renewable energy generation and distribution.
Participating cities will learn from each other through three types of activity:
� study tours: a delegation of city representatives (from one or several cities) visits another city to interact with key local stakeholders and see how local projects on sustainable energy are being implemented
� mentoring visits: a city welcomes two or three ‘mentors’, including one from another city, who support the local administration in understanding common situations and challenges, exchanging and exploring new ideas, options and solutions for further improvements
� work shadowing: an energy expert from one city will ‘shadow’ a peer in another city to witness first hand how things work elsewhere and get inspiration for improving their own way of working
The first study tour took place on 6-7 February 2013 in Milan on congestion charging and parking management together with experts and officials from Nantes and Budapest (for more information see page 9, mobility).
The latest activity took place on 5-6 March 2013 in Amaroussion, to be followed by Bilbao, Stockholm, Sunderland and Venice in April. A new ‘cascade’ of innovative mutual learning activities is on its way!
Over 20 CASCADE mutual learning events in 2013
Ioanna Tsalakanidou, project coordinator: [email protected]
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At the European Parliament’s industry, research and energy (ITRE) committee on 20 February 2013, the Parliament, Commission and Council gave an update on their ongoing trialogue on the Horizon 2020 report. The Commission focused on its priorities of public participation and partnerships between the private and public sectors, as well as the need for a well-performing EU R&D sector to compete globally. The Council raised concerns on implemented/delegated acts while the Parliament highlighted the importance of synergies between Horizon 2020 and the structural funds, as well as the need to maintain the proposed €80bn budget to drive growth and stimulate innovation.
There will be a third round of trialogue in the coming weeks where one of the main issues to be resolved is that of combining structural funds with Horizon 2020 funds. Both the Commission and Parliament are strongly in favour of synergies between the two, but the Council is not so receptive to the idea of influencing how structural funds could potentially be used. From a city perspective, it is important that Horizon 2020 promotes synergies between the structural funds and Horizon 2020 funds which would allow for more flexibility and resources for financing future projects.
The European Commission has launched its open data portal, a site for data held by the Commission, the European Environment Agency, and potentially other EU institutions and bodies.
The site provides a central point of access to data held by different Commission departments, making it easy to find and retrieve datasets currently published on a multitude of different sites and portals. This will be followed later in 2013 by a pan-European open data portal for more than 70 existing open data portal initiatives in the member states at national, regional or local level.
This will allow users to easily access data from across member states, regions and cities with the aim of creating services and applications. The potential
value of using open data is estimated at approximately €40 billion and this central access point to datasets across Europe will allow users to turn raw data into the material that hundreds of millions of ICT users depend on, for example smart phone apps such as maps, real time traffic and weather information, price comparison tools etc.
knowledge society
Horizon 2020: ongoing trialogue
t a summit in Brussels on 8 February 2013, member states agreed on the next EU budget with a cut from €994bn in 2007-2013 to €960bn in 2014-2020.
One of the areas affected by the cut is Europe's broadband infrastructure. The initial budget proposed by the European Commission would have seen €7bn devoted to broadband networks and €1.2bn to digital services under the TEN-telecoms guidelines. The money would have come from a budget of €50bn destined for the Connecting Europe Facility, a fund intended to foster smart, sustainable and fully interconnected transport, energy and digital networks.
The €1bn that remains for digital services from the Connecting Europe Facility's funding will be used for digital service infrastructure like e-invoicing and e-procurement.
The TEN-telecoms report is currently in trialogue between the Commission, Council and Parliament, but the new budget proposal means most of the report (which focused on broadband) is no longer relevant. So it is expected that the Commission will informally propose restructured telecoms guidelines in the trialogue, focusing on digital services. This is dependent on Parliament giving its consent to the EU budget proposed by member states.
See cooperation (page 4) for more information on the budget agreement
New proposal slashes TEN-telecoms budget to €1 billion
George Niland, policy advisor: [email protected]
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Commission launches open data portal
Open data portal: open-data.europa.eu/open-data
Financing and policy for smart and sustainable cities
Registration: bit.ly/UUPjxa NiCE: www.greendigitalcharter.eu George Niland, policy advisor: [email protected]
Our environment and knowledge society forums meet jointly in Nuremberg on 13-15 March 2013, together with a NiCE (Networking intelligent Cities for Energy Efficiency) roadshow.
The event will focus on financing and policy for smart and sustainable cities. It will include discussions on national and EU funding, as well as city examples on innovative financing mechanisms. Study visits will focus on Nuremberg’s implementation of our Green Digital Charter. Interested cities will have the opportunity to sign our Green Digital Charter.
George Niland, policy advisor: [email protected]
Knowledge society forum | Nuremberg 13-15 March 2013
Under the budget now agreed by European leaders, that Connecting Europe fund has been cut to €29.3bn,
with only €1bn to go on ICT and digital projects.
9Flash 124 March 2013
Our mobility forum meets in Gothenburg on 16-18 April 2013 on ‘transforming cities: new urban mobility challenges, new ways of financing’. More information can be found in the members’ section of our website.
European Commission proposal for fourth railway package
mobility
he clean power for transport package, published on 24 January 2013, is the new EU strategy with binding targets to ensure the development of an of
alternative fuels infrastructure across Europe with common standards for interoperability.
The main alternative fuel options today are: electricity; hydrogen; biofuels; natural gas (compressed natural gas - CNG); liquefied natural gas (LNG); gas-to-liquid; and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
So far the deployment of clean fuels has been hampered by the cost of clean vehicles, poor consumer acceptance and insufficient recharging and refuelling stations.
The European Commission believes it is now up to national (and indirectly local) authorities, through national policy frameworks, to support efficient deployment by implementing the targets set in the package.
Following our recommendations on the clean power for transport package, issued ahead of its publication in November 2012, we will develop a response to the specific measures outlined in the package to ensure cities’ priorities are respected
More information: bit.ly/W0gBlD Vanessa Holve, policy advisor: [email protected]
TEU launches new initiative on clean fuels
The European Commission published its latest rail package on 30 January 2013. It expands on past initiatives by calling for a new open single market for rail, strengthening the role of the European Railway Agency (ERA) for the issuing of certificates throughout the EU, and seeking to create a network of infrastructure managers.
More specifically, the Commission intends to:
� cut the administrative costs for rail companies by €500 million by 2025
� facilitate the entry of new operators into the market
� improve railway services and increase choice for the
transport of goods and travelling
� produce more than €40 billion of financial benefits for citizens and companies involved by 2035
� provide for up to 16 billion extra passenger-km
The package will need to be approved by the European Parliament and the Council in the coming months. EU governments will then be expected to open their domestic railway markets to competition by 2019.
We will consider the impact of the package for cities and discuss it at our next mobility forum in Gothenburg.
More information: bit.ly/YuFwij Vanessa Holve, policy advisor: [email protected]
Save the date: mobility forum meeting in Gothenburg
ECOMM 2013: registration open!
On 29-31 May 2013, the winner of the 2009 European Mobility Week award, Gavle in Sweden, will host the European Conference on Mobility Management. The conference will focus on ‘Smart choices require easy access – making sustainable transport a part of every day life’.
Participants will learn about dealing with land use planning and mobility, how to encourage a cycling boom and save money with mobility management.
The full programme and registration are available on the ECOMM website, below.
More information on: www.ecomm2013.eu Yannick Bousse, project coordinator: [email protected]
Milan hosts first CASCADE study visit On 6-7 February 2013, a delegation of experts and officials from Nantes
and Budapest, as well from transport expert Koucky & Partners AB, participated in a study visit to Milan.
Milan presented its municipal congestion charge system, ‘Area C’. The congestion charge is a fee charged to vehicles entering the city centre and is applied to an 8.2 km² zone. In its first year of operation, the system helped reduce traffic volume by 31%, PM10 and NOx emissions by 18% and CO2 emissions by 35%. It has also raised €20.3 million for investment in public transport and the bike sharing system.
Participants were also guided through Milan’s innovative parking management system, which makes use of ITS technologies to better monitor and manage the central city parking and loading zones.
The study tour was organised in the framework of the CASCADE IEE project and it was the first of more than 20 networking and mutual learning activities to be carried out by the end of the year.
C ASCADE: www.cascadecities.eu Ioanna Tsalakanidou, project coordinator: [email protected]
Mobility forum | Gothenburg | 16-18 April 2013
Vanessa Holve, policy advisor: [email protected]
Registration is open for the next CIVITAS study tour on 18-19 April 2013, hosted by the 2012 CIVITAS ‘city of the year’, Donostia-San Sebastian. The city will showcase its award-winning comprehensive approach to cycling and public transport (see Flash October 2012).
Participants will learn about five successful CIVITAS measures on a bike tour of the city: extension of infrastructure for bikes and pedestrians; public bike scheme; vertical transport network; safe districts, 30km zones and road safety measures; and enhancement of public transport management.
CIVITAS ‘city of the year’ hosts study tour
Donostia-San Sebastian | 18-19 April 2013
Registration and draft agenda: bit.ly/UGQ1z5 Yannick Bousse, project coordinator: [email protected]
Gavle | 29-31 May 2013
Flash 124 March 201310
social affairs
The European Commission has launched a new initiative to support human capital development and has made the case for maintaining investment in people despite budget cuts. The social investment package (SIP), published on 20 February 2013, consists of a communication, a recommendation on child poverty and seven working documents.
Its main objective is to support the redesign of social policies that invest in human capital throughout a person's lifetime.
The SIP promotes best practices and provides guidance to member states for social investment, in particular through
� increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of social protection systems through mutual learning, identifying efficiency gains and addressing the low benefit take-up
� supporting activation policies to include more people in the labour market
� addressing extreme poverty, such as homelessness and material deprivation
� supporting innovation and social policy experimentation
� improving the governance of social policy at EU level
The package also aims to gather evidence on the effects of social policies.
The seven working documents deal with issues such as the follow up of the active inclusion recommendations, the contribution of the European Social Fund to implementing the social investment package, the third biennial report on social services of general interest and strategies to tackle homelessness.
ur ImpleMentoring project, which began in November 2012 and runs for 18 months, enables European cities to address implementation gaps in migrant integration policies and practices.
Project partners gathered at our offices on 26-27 February 2013 for a two-day launch meeting. Two representatives from each partner city - Aarhus, Athens, Copenhagen, Dublin, Genoa, Ghent, Lublin, Malmo, Manchester, Milan, Oslo, Riga, Rotterdam and Tampere - attended the event, which was hosted by EUROCITIES together with Migration Work.
We presented our Integrating Cities Charter and the aims of our project, which promotes the charter. Johan Bern from European Commission DG home affairs briefed partners on the Commission’s approach to integration. This was followed by a training session on mentoring skills, given by Simon Güntner, a former EUROCITIES colleague who is now professor for social sciences and social policy at Hamburg University of Applied Sciences. Themes included the transfer of good practices,
required skills for mentors and mentees, action-development planning and implementation of change.
Day two was spent in breakout sessions for the four mentoring scheme clusters, led by Migration Work facilitators. Partners had the opportunity to present their cities' needs and identify gaps before discussing the project’s benchmarks
ImpleMentoring launch meeting
More information: www.integratingcities.eu Thomas Jézéquel, project coordinator: [email protected]
The next social affairs forum will focus on promoting social inclusion through neighbourhood approaches in Katowice on 24-25 April 2013.
Participants will examine Katowice’s experiences in local activation projects and engaging citizens in local initiatives.
The forum will look in particular at:
� neighbourhood and territorial aspects of social inclusion programmes
� promoting citizenship and local democracy through cooperation with, and initiatives from, local residents
� tackling social disadvantage through comprehensive and innovative approaches
Participants will have the opportunity to visit Katowice’s most successful local activation, citizenship and local cooperation projects. They will also hear about other cities’ experiences at the speed networking session.
Engaging local communities to promote inclusion
Report: bit.ly/W0emzF Mirte Kortbeek, social policy researcher: [email protected]
Commission advocates increased social investment
More information: bit.ly/158KeEw Anna Drozd, policy advisor: [email protected]
O
This support for investment in people is crucial for cities as it will have an impact on most of the EU initiatives and funding
priorities in the area of social affairs.
Katowice | 24-25 April 2013
Our annual awareness-raising training for city staff new to their posts will be held at our offices in Brussels on 24-25 June 2013. Invitations will be sent in March.
Our Cities for Active Inclusion final event will take place in the Committee of the Regions on 25 September 2013. More details will follow in due course.
Dates for your diary
Caroline Greene, communications executive: [email protected]
11Flash 124 March 2013
lasgow launched its Commonwealth Apprenticeship Initiative (CAI) in 2009 as a free recruitment service to match young people with apprenticeship opportunities. The initiative targets young people in their last year at school who are unlikely to
enter into formal higher education and are therefore at a higher risk of unemployment. Instead, apprenticeships offer young people an alternative route into the workforce by equipping them with a new set of skills.
The city engages both with the young people – through school fairs, information stands and parents’ meetings – and the employers, who are assisted with every aspect of the recruitment process. Apprenticeships can be an appealing option for employers, especially given the current financial crisis, as they offer a cost-effective means of training up a new pool of experienced employees to meet future workforce needs. The employers also receive financial grants from the city when recruiting through the CAI.
The initiative is part of Glasgow’s long-term strategy to improve the city’s workforce in view of its hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
The statistics are encouraging: since its launch in 2009, the scheme has helped more than 2,000 young people enter employment through apprenticeships, and with a dropout rate of just 9.9%, most have completed their programmes to the full. Businesses are responding positively, with 97% of the 852 that have been engaged so far expressing an interest in recruiting through the CAI again.
This has led the city to broaden its approach, launching a Commonwealth Jobs Fund in 2010, targeted at 18-24 year olds; a graduate fund in 2011 in an attempt to keep expertise within the city; and a youth fund in November 2012.
The project was shortlisted for the 2012 EUROCITIES innovation award. Read more in the case study at the link below
city news
On 1 January 2013, Tallinn became the largest European city and the first European capital to provide free public transport to its residents. The initial results of the move are encouraging: the usage of public transport in Tallinn has already increased by 10% while traffic in city centre has reduced by 15%.
Many major cities are seeking ways to reduce traffic levels in the city centre, turning to measures such as congestion charges or building new roads. However, the Estonian capital decided that offering free public transport to its 423,000 residents would be the most effective means of confronting the challenge.
The city council was already subsidising 70% of the costs of public transport use, but this new initiative is adding an additional €12 million to the city’s annual transport expenditure. The city will get some of the money back though, with the national government offering a bonus of some €1m
for every 1,000 residents registering (through the personal income tax system).
Almost 8,000 additional residents have already registered, and the city estimates that these registrations have already had a significant impact on the city’s tax base.
In addition to providing mobility to unemployed and low-income residents, free public transport has brought new passenger groups into the city centre in the evenings and weekends. This will boost the local economy, as these citizens are likely to spend their free time and money consuming local goods and services.
To cope with the new demand, Tallinn invested in 70 new buses and 15 new trams. It also put into place a series of deterrents to private car use, including expansion of exclusive bus lanes barring private vehicles, increased parking charges and expanded paid parking areas.
Some Tallinn residents are concerned as to whether the city will be able to maintain the quality of the network, but it has certainly proven popular so far. A vote has revealed that 75% of the city’s population supports the scheme and as one resident explains:
“Free public transport is good. People will have more possibilities to travel around and if it improves city traffic, then I’m all for it!”
So far, the largest European city to introduce free public transport was the Aubagne urban district in southern France, home to some 100,000 inhabitants.
Residents enjoy free public transport in Tallinn
If you have some news about your city you’d like to share, contact Rose Montgomery ([email protected])
Cities in action: Commonwealth Apprenticeship Initiative
G
Full case study: bit.ly/XQ00lA Rose Montgomery, communications executive: [email protected]
EUROCITIES offers meeting rooms in an ideal location, a stone’s throw from the European institutions, with special
prices for EUROCITIES members.
� capacity for 75 people
� catering services
� interpretation booths
� projection facilities
� complimentary WiFi
� special conditions on request
� half day rentals accepted
Meeting in Brussels?
Contact and reservation - Olivier Baeselen, finance, HR and office manager: +32 (0) 2 552 08 8 2 [email protected] www.meetingroomsinbrussels.eu
More information: bit.ly/Z5LLtr
12Flash 124 March 2013
events
Major Cities of Europe Conference Ljubljana, Slovenia 3-5 June 2013
30 years of ICT innovation in cities www.majorcities.org/conferences/2013-ljubljana
ITS Congress Dublin, Ireland 4-7 June 2013
9th European congress www.itsineurope.com/its9
Smart Cities Annual Conference Budapest, Hungary 5-6 June 2013
Future of the European urban landscape www.eu-smartcities.eu
Communication and the City Leeds, UK 14-15 June 2013
Voices, spaces, media www.communicationandthecity.leeds.ac.uk
Covenant of Mayors Signature Ceremony Brussels, Belgium 24 June 2013
Cities’ sustainable energy achievements www.eumayors.eu
EUROCITIES
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Tel: +32 2 552 0888 Fax: +32 2 552 0889
e-mail: [email protected]
www.eurocities.eu
EUROCITIES Flash is published by EUROCITIES Brussels office. © EUROCITIES 2013 Please send any contributions and comments to: [email protected]
Publisher Paul Bevan, Secretary General Editor Rose Montgomery Layout Rob Harris Productions
More events at: www.eurocities.eu
