2008/2130(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)

- having regard to the vision for the future of European cities set out in the 2003 New Athens Charter,

Amendment 10 #

Rumiana JELEVA

Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)

Ea. whereas the trend towards urbanisation is compounded by internal migration towards capital cities and other metropolises, and whereas the resulting population growth causes an immense burden for growing cities, which have to deal with increased needs in terms of waste management, housing, education and employment opportunities,

Amendment 11 #

Rumiana JELEVA

Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)

Eb. whereas the ever growing tendency towards urbanisation has an immense impact on rural areas, for which the decrease in population and the resulting loss of human capital, workers, consumers and students, is an enormous challenge,

Amendment 12 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas despite the fact that there are diverse political, institutional and constitutional arrangements in the Member States, EU urban areas are facing common challenges and opportunities which underlines the need for mutual cooperation and the exchange of best practices,

Amendment 13 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas despite the fact that there are diverse political, institutional and constitutional arrangements in the Member States, EU urban areas are facing common challenges and common opportunities for meeting them, which underlines the need for mutual cooperation and applying good practice,

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

Ga. whereas having detailed statistical data available is essential for measuring progress and identifying problems in urban areas,

Amendment 15 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas EU spatial development faces the challenges of economic restructuring, ~~high unemploymen~~strong fluctuations in the labour market, non-accessible and congested transport, limited useable territory exacerbated by urban sprawl, threats to democracy associated with a declining ~~and~~population, ageing population, rising migration, social exclusion, high and rising crime rates, ~~"ghettoisation" of certain city districts, dilapidate~~the emergence of ghettos in certain city districts, the existence of areas of substandard housing, the worsening of the quality of life in deprived areas, insufficiency of parks and recreation areas, environmental pollution, water and waste management control and the need for secure energy,

Amendment 16 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas EU spatial development faces the challenges of economic restructuring, high unemployment, non-accessible and congested transport, limited useable territory exacerbated by urban sprawl, a declining and ageing population, the depopulation of rural areas and small towns and cities in favour of large urban centres, rising migration, social exclusion, high and rising crime rates, "ghettoisation" of certain city districts, dilapidated housing, the worsening of the quality of life in deprived areas, insufficiency of parks and recreation areas, environmental pollution, water and waste and residue management control and the need for secure energy supplies and efficient energy use,

Amendment 17 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas EU spatial development faces the challenges of economic restructuring, high unemployment, non-accessible and congested public transport, limited useable territory exacerbated by urban sprawl, a declining and ageing population, rising migration, social exclusion, high and rising crime rates, "ghettoisation" of certain city districts, dilapidated housing, the worsening of the quality of life in deprived areas, insufficiency of parks and recreation areas, environmental pollution, water and waste management control and the need for secure energy,

Amendment 18 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)

Ha. whereas the sharing of experience and best practice in regard to the development of European cities constitutes a fundamental element in facing worldwide competition,

Amendment 19 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas coordinated governance using new electronic technologies and in particular e-governance with all relevant stakeholders could ~~minimis~~significantly reduce existing problems and might lead to urban expansion being addressed in an integrated manner in cooperation taking account of suburban areas, and bordering on rural space, and in line with modern approaches to urban planning, such as smart growth, new ~~urban~~spatial planning and intelligent urbanism,

Amendment 2 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 21 a (new)

- having regard to the Covenant of Mayors of 29 January 2008,

Amendment 20 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J

J. whereas urban development activities are particularly favourable to the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly in the services sector, and cohesion policy has become increasingly oriented towards promoting the competitive advantage of cities,

Amendment 21 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)

Ja. whereas SMEs, and in particular small and micro enterprises and craftworkers and traders, are vital to maintaining activity in urban centres and maintaining a balance, particularly a social balance in city districts, and whereas urban policies on transport regulation, business activity, real property regulation and increasing cost of housing, or on the other hand a lack of balanced policy-making, have often led to the disappearance of economic activities and personal service occupations becoming increasingly rare,

Amendment 22 #

Gábor HARANGOZÓ, Evgeni KIRILOV

Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)

Ja. whereas climate change represents the major challenge of the 21st century for urban areas, both in terms of renewing their old housing stock and of new styles of travel and of urban infrastructure,

Amendment 23 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)

Ja. whereas the partnership between urban and rural areas still needs to be strengthened, since urban areas have an important role to play in the harmonious and integrated development of their peripheries, in order to achieve territorial cohesion and balanced regional development,

Amendment 24 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses the importance of sustainable urban development and the contribution of urban areas to regional development and calls on the Commission regularly to evaluate, measure, benchmark and discuss the impact of EU policies on the economic, and social, situation, particularly issues relating to education and culture, and the health, transport, environmental and security situation in urban areas;

Amendment 25 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

dimension is inadequately taken into account by some Member States, and calls on the Commission and Member States in cooperation with regional and local authorities to analyse and evaluate the impact of mainstreaming the URBAN initiative and regularly to monitor and examine the application of EU funds in urban areas;

Amendment 26 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Expresses concern that the urban dimension is inadequately taken into account by some Member States in the implementation of the cohesion policy, and calls on the Commission and Member States in cooperation with regional and local authorities to analyse and evaluate the impact of mainstreaming the URBAN initiative and regularly to monitor and examine the application of EU funds in urban areas;

Amendment 27 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Expresses concern that the urban dimension is inadequately taken into account by some Member States, and calls on the Commission and Member States in cooperation with regional and local authorities to analyse and evaluate the impact of mainstreaming the URBAN initiative and regularly to monitor and examine the ~~application~~effects of EU funds in urban areas;

Amendment 28 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. EPoints out that the Member States are encouraged to make sustainable urban development a strategic priority but are not obliged to do so, and consequently expresses concern that the urban dimension is inadequately taken into account by some Member States~~, and~~; calls on the Commission and Member States in cooperation with regional and local authorities to analyse and evaluate the impact of mainstreaming the URBAN initiative and regularly to monitor and examine the application of EU funds in urban areas;

Amendment 29 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Highlights the positive experience of the URBAN Community initiative concerning partnership, the integrated approach and the bottom-up principle, which contributed significantly to the effectiveness and ‘accuracy of fit’ of the projects supported; calls for these achievements in the urban dimension of structural funding to be taken into account and for similar mechanisms to be introduced into the mainstream funding for sustainable urban development, thereby enabling a larger number of cities to benefit from these achievements;

Amendment 3 #

Oldřich VLASÁK

Motion for a resolution
Citation 26 a (new)

- having regard to the New Charter of Athens 2003, proclaimed at the European Council of Town Planners in Lisbon on 20 November 2003,

Amendment 30 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Expresses the view that it would be inappropriate to adopt a common definition of "urban areas" as this would not adequately take account of the variety of situations in Member States and regions and hence takes the view that any obligatory definition and designation of urban areas should be left to Member States in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity based on European common indicators;

Amendment 31 #

Gisela KALLENBACH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. ~~Expresses the view that it would be inappropri~~Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ~~adopt~~examine whether a common definition of "‘urban areas" as this would not adequately take account of the variety of situations in Member States and regions and hence takes the view that any obligatory definition and designation of urban areas should be left to Member States in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity’ can be formulated; asks the Commission to support the procedure through constructive proposals;

Amendment 32 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Expresses the view that it ~~would be inappropriate~~is tricky to adopt a common definition of "urban areas" as ~~this would not adequately take account of~~it is difficult to bring under one umbrella the variety of situations in Member States and regions and hence takes the view that any obligatory definition and designation of urban areas should ~~be left to Member States in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity~~establish minimum common parameters;

Amendment 33 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Expresses the view that it would be inappropriate to adopt a common definition of "urban areas" and of the term "urban" in general, as this would not adequately take account of the variety of situations in Member States and regions and hence takes the view that any obligatory definition and designation of urban areas should be left to Member States in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity;

Amendment 34 #

Rumiana JELEVA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the Member States to take all necessary measures to support their capital cities and other metropolises in their efforts to deal with the new challenges, including waste management, housing, employment and education, which arise because of urbanisation and the resulting increase in population;

Amendment 35 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Considers, in this context, and given that it is evident that the various constitutional arrangements of the Member States are not, by their very nature, compatible with a harmonising approach, despite the efficiency of the various levels of governance, that it would be useful for Member States to define, through a process of public consultation, on a case by case basis, the urban dimension, as they perceive it, in order to strengthen internal harmonisation and improve interaction with the Commission;

Amendment 36 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Regrets the fact that the possibility of sub-delegation, possibly by means of global grants to municipal authorities within the operational programmes financed by the ERDF, has so far not been fully utilised and is convinced that a clear role for urban areas as intermediary bodies should be envisaged in the context of the multi-level governance approach in the next programming period~~, and is of the opinion that~~; stresses that sub delegation of the urban dimension ~~and sub delegation~~ in regional policy should be ~~mandatory~~encouraged;

Amendment 37 #

Markus PIEPER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Regrets the fact that the possibility of sub-delegation, possibly by means of global grants to municipal authorities within the operational programmes financed by the ERDF, has so far not been fully utilised and is convinced that a clear role for urban areas as intermediary bodies should be envisaged in the context of the multi-level governance approach in the next programming period~~, and is of the opinion that the urban dimension and sub-delegation in regional policy should be mandatory~~;

Amendment 38 #

Antonio DE BLASIO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Regrets the fact that the possibility of sub-delegation, possibly by means of global grants to municipal authorities within the operational programmes financed by the ERDF, has so far not been fully utilised and is convinced that a clear role for urban areas as intermediary bodies should be envisaged in the context of the multi-level governance approach in the next programming period, and is of the opinion that the urban dimension and sub -delegation in regional policy should be mandatory; nonetheless, sub-delegation must not be allowed to lead to the fragmentation of regional policy, so that the method used for sub-delegation must be carefully regulated;

Amendment 39 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Regrets the fact that the possibility of sub-delegation, possibly by means of global grants to municipal authorities within the operational programmes financed by the ERDF, has so far not been fully utilised and is convinced that a clear role for urban areas as intermediary ~~bodi~~structures should be envisaged in the context of the multi-level governance approach in the next programming period, and is of the opinion that the urban dimension and sub delegation in regional policy should be mandatory;

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas it is recognised that whilst urban issues fall under the responsibility of national, regional, and local authorities, urban areas nevertheless play a key role in the effective implementation of the Lisbon and Gothenburg Strategies and ~~form an highly significant part of the~~are given a high priority in Cohesion Policy, for which the EU institutions have a responsibility,

Amendment 40 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Points out that the Member States have the possibility of delegating to cities the management of European Union aid geared to the implementation of measures aimed at achieving sustainable urban development; considers that this is particularly important when responding to essentially local challenges such as social exclusion and lack of access to essential services or basic needs such as decent housing at an affordable price; takes the view that cities should be responsible from the planning to the implementation of the action taken;

Amendment 41 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Considers, in this context, that all the Member States should be urged to examine the possibility of establishing metropolitan municipalities, where none exist, which will operate, inter alia, as networks for the promotion of urban cohesion, dialogue and cooperation;

Amendment 42 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Argues that it has been proven that sustainable urban development requires a holistic, integrated approach, and that this can be implemented only if there is cooperation between stakeholders at all political and administrative levels; calls for the integrated approach to be made a binding condition for implementation of the Structural Funds as soon as possible, but no later than the funding period after 2013;

Amendment 43 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Is firmly of the opinion that sub-delegation represents a major tool for improving the administrative capacity of local management and for regional and European growth;

Amendment 44 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Highlights the importance of an integrated approach to urban development planning; proposes that any public urban development support should be based on integrated urban development plans ~~and~~; takes the view that such an integrated approach should also be taken as one of the criteria for the granting of structural funds resources and loans from the European Investment Bank; calls on the Commission to draw up guidelines comprising recommendations and examples of good practice concerning integrated urban development plans; and to promote the exchange of best practices between national, regional and local authorities;

Amendment 45 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Urges the Member States to prioritise within their national strategic reference frameworks and operational programmes funding for projects which implement sustainable urban management plans;

Amendment 46 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Considers that cities have a special responsibility in terms of achieving the Community climate change objectives, as they are in the unique position of being able to provide potential solutions as a contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions; calls on the Member States to firmly anchor climate protection as a horizontal objective in urban development as a priority;

Amendment 47 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Points out that sustainable urban management plans must include: a waste management plan, noise maps and action plans, local air pollution and environmental programmes, forecasts for population growth, demand for new areas for development, reclamation of abandoned sites and buildings, regeneration of neighbourhoods in decline and deindustrialised areas, availability and accessibility of public services, urban structure and the proportion of green areas, facilities for people with disabilities, upgrading the cultural, historical and natural heritage, estimating water and energy requirements and efficient use of water and energy, availability of public transport, effective traffic management, integration of vulnerable groups (emigrants, minorities, people with few qualifications, people with disabilities, women, etc.), availability of decent housing at affordable prices, plans to combat crime, etc.;

Amendment 48 #

Markus PIEPER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Believes that only if sufficient resources are available for sustainable urban development will it be efficient to draw up integrated urban development plans and consequently recommends that available resources be concentrated on specific actions; ~~proposes a minimum level of structural fund expenditure amounting to EUR 1.000 per inhabitant of the urban area per programming period;~~

Amendment 49 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

Amendment 5 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas the EU's objectives as set out in the Leipzig Charter are to ensure an integrated approach to urban development policy implementation in order to create high quality urban spaces, to modernise transport, energy, public utilities and information networks, and to encourage life-long learning, education and innovation particularly in deprived inner cities and areas,

Amendment 50 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

Amendment 51 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

Amendment 52 #

Antonio DE BLASIO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Believes that only if sufficient resources are available for sustainable urban development will it be efficient to draw up integrated urban development plans and consequently recommends that available resources be concentrated on specific actions; proposes a minimum level of structural fund expenditure ~~amounting to EUR 1.000~~, the minimum amount of which, per inhabitant of the urban area per programming period, must be determined in such a way that setting aside that amount shall not constitute an unrealistic burden for the regions;

Amendment 53 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Identifies an urgent need for a transformation of capacity for vertical and horizontal urban governance and draws to the attention of the Member States the pressing need to adopt an integrated approach in implementing urban development policy, (which deals with questions fundamentally linked to the daily life of citizens, such as transport services, public services, quality of life, employment and local economic activities, security, etc.) by involving in this effort national governments together with regional and local authorities and all other relevant public and private stakeholders, on the basis of the partnership principle;

Amendment 54 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. ~~Recognises the difficulty for urban authorities in reconciling the domains of ESF whilst pursuing economic and s~~Considers that the opportunity to concentrate assistance geographically and thematically enabled important experience in coordinating ERDF and ESF funding at locial dlevel~~opment and ERDF whilst planning physical infrastructure investments, believes that the single fund principle should be abandoned and calls on the Commission to study the possibility of merging the two~~ to be obtained; calls on local and regional authorities to make better use of the synergies of ERDF and ESF funding and reinforce integrated fundsing;

Amendment 55 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Recognises the difficulty for urban authorities in reconciling the domains of ESF whilst pursuing economic and social development and ERDF whilst planning physical infrastructure investments, believes that ~~the single fund principle should be abandoned and calls on the Commission to study the possibility of merging the two fund~~it would be useful to study the possibility of merging the two funds if doing so could ensure the simplification of procedures;

Amendment 56 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Recognises the difficulty for urban authorities in reconciling the domains of ESF whilst pursuing economic and social development and ERDF whilst planning physical infrastructure investments, believes that the single fund principle should be abandoned and calls on the Commission to study theis possibility ~~of merging the two funds~~;

Amendment 57 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Recognises the difficulty for urban authorities in reconciling the domains of ESF whilst pursuing economic and social development and ERDF whilst planning physical infrastructure investments,; believes that the ~~singl~~‘one programme, one fund’ principle should be ~~abandoned and calls on the Commission to study the possibility of merging the two funds~~reviewed;

Amendment 58 #

Gábor HARANGOZÓ, Evgeni KIRILOV

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Recognises the difficulty for urban authorities in reconciling the domains of ESF whilst pursuing economic and social development and ERDF whilst planning ~~phys~~technical infrastructure investments, believes that the single fund principle should be abandoned and calls on the Commission to study the possibility of merging the two funds;

Amendment 59 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Supports the idea of the revolving principle of JESSICA and its potential for economic growth in urban areas and believes that in the next programming period the advantages of some aspects of regional policy ~~as a whole ne~~being baseds to ~~be based substantially more~~a greater extent on revolving funds offering credits rather than solely on grants, as is the case at present, should be considered;

Amendment 6 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Βa. whereas both the drawing up of a flexible, adaptable and dynamic 'check list' for the implementation of the Leipzig Charter, as a basic condition for accounting for the variety of needs of diverse European cities and towns, as already launched by the French Presidency, and the further drawing up of integrated urban development plans by each Member State may constitute a useful additional basis for shedding light on the various situations and taking clearly targeted initiatives,

Amendment 60 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Supports the idea of the revolving principle of JESSICA and its potential for economic growth in urban areas and believes that in the next programming period regional policy ~~as a whole needs to be based substantially mor~~needs to make more use onf revolving funds offering credits rather than solely on grants as is the case at present;

Amendment 61 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Supports the idea of the revolving principle of JESSICA and its potential for economic growth in urban areas and believes that in the next programming period regional policy ~~as a whole needs to be based substantially more on revolving funds offering credits than solely on grants as is the case at present~~needs also to be based on financial engineering;

Amendment 62 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Supports the idea of the revolving principle of JESSICA and its potential for economic growth in urban areas and believes that in the next programming period regional policy ~~as a whole~~ needs to be based ~~substantially~~ more on revolving funds offering favourable credits than solely on grants as is the case at present;

Amendment 63 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Notes the urban development potential of the private sector and believes that the use of Public Private Partnerships should be systematically envisaged and encouraged for the establishment of innovative financing schemes and projects; it being understood that observance of the principles of subsidiarity and local autonomy requires that strategic decisions, involving practical considerations (choice of service provision methods, drawing up specifications, maintaining a certain degree of control, etc.), as to which assignments shall be entrusted to competent private bodies shall be made by the public authorities;

Amendment 64 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Notes the urban development potential of the private sector and believes that the use of Public Private Partnerships should ~~be systematically~~also be envisaged and encouraged for the establishment of innovative financing schemes and projects; notes that this requires a clear, transparent code of conduct, particularly regarding the activities of public bodies and enterprises;

Amendment 65 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Notes the urban development potential of the private sector and believes that ~~the use of Public Private Partnerships should be systematically envisaged and encouraged for the establishment of innovative financing sch~~considerably more extensive use should be made of Public Private Partnerships in tackling the substantial economic and social problemes ~~and project~~of urban areas;

Amendment 66 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

Amendment 67 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Notes that apart from regional policy, there are other Community policies that also provide financial support to urban areas and thus calls on the Commission to develop and propose specific policy changes that would ~~bring together~~make coordinated use of all EU resources allocated to urban areas to secure in practice the implementation of the integrated approach, whilst always taking cohesion policy into account;

Amendment 68 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Notes that apart from regional policy, there are other Community policies that also provide financial support to urban areas and thus calls on the Commission to develop and propose ~~specific policy changes~~greater coordination of the policies involved that would bring together all EU resources allocated to urban areas to secure in practice the implementation of the integrated approach;

Amendment 69 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12a. Believes that the governance structures in place in the Member States are still ill adapted to encouraging horizontal cooperation and strongly urges the Commission to promote the principle of a cross-sector management structure;

Amendment 7 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas 80 percent of the 492 million EU inhabitants live in ~~live in~~ cities, twhere ~~are~~as however there are some significant differences between Member States regarding the population distribution in urban, suburban and rural areas, but nonetheless the Union is characterised by its polycentric development,

Amendment 70 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls for further resources to be made available in order to create and strengthen the networks established by towns and cities in the field of sustainable urban development as they play an important part in territorial cooperation; in that context, stresses the need for infrastructure which helps maintain particular characteristics (e.g. historical), modernisation (e.g. innovation poles), economic growth (e.g. SMEs) and seasonal activities and calls on the Commission to strengthen the position of urban areas in the Regions for Economic Change initiative;

Amendment 71 #

Markus PIEPER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls for ~~further~~existing resources to be ~~made available~~used more efficiently in order to create and strengthen the networks established by towns and cities in the field of sustainable urban development as they play an important part in territorial cooperation and calls on the Commission to strengthen the position of urban areas in the Regions for Economic Change initiative;

Amendment 72 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls for further financial, human and organisational resources to be made available in order to create and strengthen the networks established by towns and cities in the field of sustainable urban development as they play an important part in territorial cooperation and calls on the Commission to strengthen the position of urban areas in the Regions for Economic Change initiative;

Amendment 73 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Notes that the appro~~cess of urban development needs to be balanced with the interests of~~priate implementation of regional development policy requires a balance between measures relating to urban areas and to suburban areas, and ~~closely~~the coordinat~~ed with support for rural development~~ion of those measures with action for rural areas and reiterates the fact that rural development policy has significant spatial impact and that there is insufficient integration of urban and rural development policies; underlines the need for real synergy between these policies culminating in real development potential and the promotion of the attractiveness and competitiveness of rural areas.

Amendment 74 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Beyond the general framework, considers it useful to examine and consider the adoption of policies which concern the urban areas and, by extension, affect the suburbs, the countryside and, consequently, the development of regional cohesion; points out that such key policies have a bearing on the flight to towns and cities and the depopulation of the countryside, internal and external migration, and education and retraining of workers when the companies they work for close down;

Amendment 75 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Points out that a sustainable territorial development strategy is an essential condition for the targeted, effective implementation of funding for urban and rural areas; calls on the Member States and regions to use the urban-rural partnership instrument in order to achieve the goal of balanced spatial development;

Amendment 76 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)

14b. Finds that challenges such as demographic change, migration and shrinking cities lead to new challenges in the job market, access to social and health services, housing and spatial planning; calls on the Commission, in its guidelines for the application of the framework rules on services of general interest and the award of public contracts, to enable local authorities to take greater account of the local context and local stakeholders and to improve their adaptability;

Amendment 77 #

Oldřich VLASÁK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Recommends that the Commission and Member States establish an EU High Level Group on Urban Development and apply the open method of coordination to urban development policy at EU level;

Amendment 78 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Calls on the Commission and the Council, taking special account of the work of the Urban Audit, to formulate indicators for comparing the sustainability performance of cities, as set out in the Leipzig Charter, for example by comparing energy consumption per person, the use of local public transport as a proportion of total traffic volume or greenhouse gas emissions per person;

Amendment 8 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas, even though a high percentage of the population live in urban areas, their needs and interests are not always duly represented in European Union funds, projects, initiatives and strategies,

Amendment 9 #