26 Amendments of Monika VANA related to 2014/2213(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
- having regard to its resolution of 21 February 2008 on the follow-up of the Territorial Agenda and the Leipzig Charter: Towards a European Action Programme for Spatial Development and Territorial Cohesion (2007/2190(INI)),
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas ‘"functional urban areas’" in the EU are not limited only to big cities but also include a unique polycentric structure built around large, medium-sized and small towns and cities and peri-urban areas, thus going beyond the traditional administrative borders to encompass various territories linked by their economic, social, environmental and demographic challenges;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas cities, towns and the larger functional urban areas are the economic pillars and drivers of jobs for the EU given that innovation and new economic activities often have their origins in the city, they play an important role for democracy and are guarantors for freedom, and they are therefore a major asset for the EU in its relations with other parts of the world;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas some cities are seeing a decline in their population and face problems due to the scale of the facilities they provide, and others have a growing population, which increases pressure on existing facilities and exacerbates other problems such as (youth) unemployment, social exclusion, traffic congestion, urban sprawl and pollution;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the challenges which cities are facing can only be met by taking into account their relation to the surrounding rural areas;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas European policy initiativethe Union acquis haves a direct or indirect impact on the sustainable development of cities and urban policy including on their budgetary capacity;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas littlmore consistency existsshould be ensured at EU level between different policy initiatives and subsidy programmes by making full use of the Common Strategic Framework, and the sectorial approach of EU policy can lead to counterproductive policies and legislation for urban areas, thus having a negative and obstructing effect on urban development;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas subsidiarity, as defined in the TFEU, as well as multi-level governance and the partnership principle, are essential elements for the correctappropriate implementation of all EU policies, and whereas engagement of the resources and competences of local and regionalsub-delegation of competences to urban authorities should be reinforced accordingly;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas the partnership principle laid down in the Common Provision Regulation (Regulation (EUC) No 1303/2013) contains provisions onand the European Code of Conduct obliges the Member States on ensuring the early involvement of urban authorities in the EU policy making process;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Is of the opinion that EU policies should support and enable towns, cities and larger functional urban areas including metropolitan areas to attain their full strength and potential as motors of economic growth, employment and social inclusion; believes, therefore, that towns, cities and larger functional urban areas need to be more closely associated with the entire European policymaking cycle;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Asks the Commission to propose ways to introduce an early warning mechanism by reinforcing and, where necessary, adapting available tools, giving the subnational government the possibility to observe whether the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality have been taken into account;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Supports the establishment of a European Urban Agenda in order to anchor the urban dimension more efficiently in European and national policymaking and policy implementation, and thus improve the conditions for sustainable, economic and socially inclusive development of cities, towns and functional urban areas in Europe;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is of the opinion that the European Urban Agenda should be a joint effort by the Commission, the Member States and the cities, towns and functional urban areas to rationalise, coordinate and implement EU policies with an urban dimension through a practical, integrated and coordinated, yet flexible, approach, ‘in and with’ the cities, and respecting each Member State’s institutional architecture;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Urges the Commission to come up with a communication detailing the features of the future European Urban Agenda, based on the ‘urban acquis’ and the extensive consultation with various stakeholders including economic and social partners and civil society organisations; asks the Commission to include the European Urban Agenda in its annual work programme;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Commission to apply a more place-based integrated territorial approach when conceptualising new policy initiatives aimed at urban areas, in order to ensure consistency and to empower towns, cities and larger functional urban areas including metropolitan areas to deliver the Europe 2020 objectives of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Asks the Commission to systematically introduce a territorial impact assessment on the urbanterritorial dimension of all relevant EU policy initiatives and to make sure that all relevant sectorial EU policies adequately address the challenges that towns, cities and larger functional urban areas are facing; suggests that the territorial dimension should be added to the regulatory frameworks of the impact assessments available; calls on the Commission to concentrate these territorial impact assessments on the following elements: scale, balanced territorial development, territorial integration and territorial governance;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Urges the Commission to systematise and analyse all available data and shared conceptual frameworks (‘urban acquis’) in order to provide a clear definitionommon understanding of integrated sustainable urban development and thus identify the common EU objectives in this area;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Regrets that, although the new cohesion policy has legally binding urban- related aspects, especially regarding involvement of cities in the programming phase, the actual participation of city and urban representatives in the shaping of the policy is weak; calls on the Commission and the Member States to systematically applyensure the application of the partnership principle when implementing programmes and projects supported by EU funding, with particular attention being given to the involvement of cities and towns in the management and governance of the programmes;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to make full use of the regulatory framework to create synergies between, on the one hand, EU subsidised programmes (such as LIFE, Horizon 2020, Intelligent Energy Europe, etc.), the European Fund for Strategic Investment and cohesion policy, and, on the other hand, national public financial instruments, and to blend these, to the greatest possible extent, with private financial instruments in order to obtain the greatest leverage effect of invested public money;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Recalls that today’s key economic, social and environmental challenges transcend traditional administrative boundaries, and the growing mismatch between administrative and urbanterritorial structures (urban and peri-urban cooperation, urban-rural cooperation, etc.) requires new forms of flexible governance in order to continue the integrated territorial development of large functional areas;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Believes that in order to formulate better informed and tailored policies there is a need to develop uniformharmonised basic data; encourages the Member States, Eurostat and the Commission to provide and compile more detailed data, collected where policies are implemented – in many cases at local level; underlines that the collection of flow data – measuring the relationships between cities and their surrounding areas – is also becoming increasingly important in order to improve the understanding of complex functional areas, and therefore urges the Commission to gather and analyse that data, turning it into evidence for policy developments;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Believes that in order for the European Urban Agenda to be an effective tool it should be a shared and regularly updated conceptual framework with a thematic focus on a limited number of challenges in the larger context of the Europe 2020 goals of smart, inclusive and sustainable growth, with particular attention being given to social inclusion, demographic changeemployment, gender equality, services of general interest, demographic change, urban mobility, energy transition and environmental sustainability;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Strongly believes that these challenges should respond to the following criteria: 1) are in line with the shared conceptual framework; 2) are major urban challenges with significant impact on towns, cities and functional urban areas in Member States; 3) cannot be solved by Member States unilaterally; 4) where an EU approach has a clear added value; urges the Commission to start working on mapping such challenges in close cooperation with all relevant stakeholders, particularly those at local level;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Asks the Commission to analyse the added-value of appointing a special EU urban envoy to monitor and evaluate the practical implementation of such coordination by closely following the implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy and the territorial agenda of the EU in a horizontal (engaging all relevant policy sectors) and vertical (engaging all levels of government) manner; is of the opinion that the special EU urban envoy should, with the help of the Commission’s Inter-service Group on ‘Urban Development’, perform a systematic impact assessment of policy proposals, ensuring that the urban dimension of future legislation is adequately addressed;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Calls on the Commission to hold a regular urban summit drawing on the ‘Cities of tomorrow’ forum, bringing stakeholders from all levels of governance and different sectors together; believes that such summits should provide a real opportunity for cities to engage in a constructive dialogue with policymakers across the relevant policy areas and should help assess the impact of EU policies on towns, cities and functional urban areas and how best to involve them in the forthcoming initiatives;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Urges Member States to fully associate cities with and involve them in strategic policy development and programming (such as national reform programmes, partnership agreements and operational programmes); calls on the Member States to strengthen their exchange of experience on national programmes for urban development, which empowers cities to deliver the Europe 2020 objectives, by setting regular informal Council meetings of ministers in charge of urban development;