The urban dimension in European Cohesion Policy 20072013

1
The urban dimension in European Cohesion
Policy2007-2013

• Marco Orani
• Directorate General Regional Policy
• Head of Unit
• Urban actions

2
Cities and Lisbon Agenda

• This renewed effort for re-launching the Lisbon
  strategy requires that
• the Union mobilise all appropriate national and
  Community resources including cohesion policy.
  
• regional and local actors and social partners are
  more involved in order to insure greater
  ownership of the Lisbon objectives on the ground
  .
• Cities and metropolitan areas have a key role
  for achieving the objectives of Lisbon Strategy ,
  for mobilising the for this purpose the resources
  of Structural and Cohesion Policy and for
  achieving the necessary governance of this
  process.

3
The strengths of urban and metropolitan areas

• Productivity and performance are raised by urban
  concentration in two ways
• first, concentration secure overall efficiency of
  the economic systems through clustering and
  accumulation of capital
• second, it intensifies creativity , learning and
  innovation facilitating the flows of ideas and
  knowledge and the continuous creation of new
  networks.

4
Competition and cooperation

• Cities and metropolitan areas compete and In the
  globalisation context metropolitan areas compete
  directly with each other. Location territories
  are not just the passive objects of location
  decisions of firms, but economic subjects which
  try to attract firms.
• Firms rely more on externalities in the form of
  public goods supplied by local public
  administrations and selected external assets and
  resources which constitute the urban milieu.
• Cities cooperate with each other building on
  their own comparative and competitive advantages.
  This cooperation is a positive sum game.

5
Rotterdam informal Council the Urban Acquis

• The Rotterdam ministerial meeting on Urban Policy
  in the second half of 2004 acknowledged that the
  experiences of different European countries in
  the past decade have generated a set of common
  principles that underpin successful policies,
  which can be termed Urban Acquis.
• These common principles refer to priorities,
  mechanism for successful urban policies, engaging
  stakeholders, achieving the right spatial
  balance, encouraging good practice, policy
  learning and capacity.

6
Bristol Ministerial Council the sustainable
communities

• During the British Presidency Ministers agreed on
  a common approach to creating sustainable
  communities and endorsed the Bristol accord which
  set out eight characteristics of a sustainable
  urban community .

7
The Commission intends to reinforce the place of
urban issues in the programmes 2007-2013.This
implies-to increase the added value of
Structural Funds intervention promoting an
integrated approach to sustainable urban
development-to increase the involvement of
local authorities , as a key element for
facilitating a successful urban policy-to
valorise the URBAN acquis.
8
The Community guidelines on cohesion

• The Guidelines specify the different forms of
  intervention and programmes with a focus on urban
  areas
• First, there are actions to promote cities as
  motors of regional development. Such actions
  should target improvements in competitiveness
• Second, there are actions to promote internal
  cohesion inside the urban areas that seek to
  improve the situation of crisis districts and
  avoid segregation..
• Third, there are actions to promote a more
  balanced, polycentric development between the
  economically strongest cities and the rest of the
  urban network at national and Community level.

9
The Community guidelines on cohesion

• There are a number of key principles in urban
  actions
• First, the key partners in the cities and local
  authorities have an important role to play in
  achieving these objectives. As mentioned above,
  Member States are encouraged to delegate
  responsibility to cities for urban development.
• Second, the preparation of a medium- to long-term
  development plan for sustainable urban
  development is generally a precondition for
  success as it ensures the coherence of
  investments and of their environmental quality.
  This will also help to secure the commitment and
  participation of the private sector in urban
  renewal and development
• Third, in general, a multi-disciplinary or
  integrated approach is needed.

10
Cohesion Policy and Cities

• Includes 50 concrete recommendations for actions
  covering issues such as
• accessibility and mobility
• innovation and the knowledge economy
• actions for SMEs and micro-enterprises
• promoting social inclusion
• improving natural and physical environment
• governance
• financial engineering

11
Cohesion Policy and Cities the urban
contribution to growth and jobs in the regions

• A Commission Staff Working Paper adopted in
  November and presented by the Commissioner to
  Ministers in December 2005
• Further develops the urban dimension of the draft
  Community Strategic Guidelines
• Main aim to inspire the national, regional and
  local authorities as they develop the urban
  dimension of both NSRF and operational programmes.

12
New approach integrating urban actions into
mainstream programmes building on lessons learnt

• The aim is to provide a flexible approach which
  Member States, Regions and local authorities can
  adapt it to suit their needs and opportunities
  and their institutional structure
• The Regulation provides a set of tools in order
  to implement an effective urban strategy. It is
  up to Member States to make the best use of them.
  

13

• In the 2000-2006 programming period, a
  significant proportion of SF resources has been
  dedicated to the urban dimension
• Only taking into account priority axes or
  measures explicitly dedicated to urban issues,
  urban related investment represents 8.5 of
  Objective 1 and 15 of Objective 2 ( based on
  ERDF funding).
• This understates total spending, since it does
  not include urban investments carried out under
  other axes or measures. For example, most
  investments related to energy, competitiveness or
  environment are implemented in an urban context.
• In addition this figure does not consider the
  substantial Cohesion Fund investment in urban
  infrastructure (urban transport, waste
  management, etc.).

14
URBAN Initiative

• The URBAN programmes have targeted small areas
  of severe deprivation, focusing on social
  inclusion, integration of minorities, the natural
  and physical environment.
• They have strengthened local partnership in
  management and built a systematic learning cycle,
  which has been further reinforced through a
  programme for the exchange of experience and best
  practice (URBACT).

15
The National Strategic Reference Frameworks

• The National Strategic Reference Frameworks
  should include priorities related to sustainable
  urban development among the thematic and
  territorial priorities, where appropriate
• If no sustainable urban development priorities
  have been included in the NSRF, the Member States
  should explain why they consider this not to be
  relevant

16
Operational programmes

• Should, when appropriate, contain information on
  the approach to sustainable urban development
• Might contain a priority axis for urban
  development
• Might contain a list of cities and urban areas
  concerned
• Might contain the procedure for subdelegating to
  urban authorities, possibly by means of a global
  grant

17
ERDF Eligible priorities

• Article 8 offers an enlarged scope of eligibility
  in the specific context of area-based actions
  aiming to integrated urban development
• Article 4 indicates thematic interventions for
  competitiveness regions related to specific urban
  issues ( sustainable transport, cultural
  heritage, energy efficiency,)
• Article 5 specifies for the convergence regions
  the wide eligibility of interventions supporting
  integrated regional and local development , most
  of which may refer also to cities

18
Article 8 ERDF Regulation

• The Program might contain an urban development
  priority targeting well identified areas in
  selected cities
• Strengthening economic growth
• Rehabilitation of physical environment
• Brownfield redevelopment
• Preservation and development of natural and
  cultural heritage
• Provision of services to population
• Promoting local economic development SMEs,
  entrepreneurship and employment

19
Involvement of urban authorities as partners
(art 10 Gen. Reg.)

• MS shall organize , where appropriate and in
  accordance with current national rules and
  practices, the partnership with the competent
  regional, local and urban authorities and shall
  designate the most representative partners at
  national, regional or local level
• The partnership will cover the preparation,
  implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the
  Operational Programs.

20
Housing ( art.7.2 ERDF. Reg.)

• Expenditure for housing shall be eligible for the
  new MS, when programmed within the framework of
  an integrated urban development operation or
  priority axis for areas experiencing or
  threatened by physical deterioration and social
  exclusion.
• It will be submitted to a ceiling of 3 per
  program and of 2 of the total ERDF allocation
• It will be limited to multi-family housing or
  buildings owned by public authorities or non
  profit operators for use as housing designated
  for low income households or people with special
  needs

21
Financial Engineering ( art. 42bis and 77 Gen.
Reg.)

• JESSICA Joint European Support for Sustainable
  Investment in City Areas
• JEREMIE Joint European Resources for Micro to
  Medium Enterprises
• JASPERS Joint Assistance in Supporting Projects
  in European Regions

22
Financial Engineering

• Financial engineering instruments are
  particularly appropriate because they increase
  the leverage effect of Community and national
  public resources.
• JESSICA, (Joint European Support for Sustainable
  Investment in City Areas) provides a framework to
  make effective use of non-grant instruments in
  urban renewal and development. It will operate
  through specialist urban development funds
  (funds investing directly in public-private
  partnerships and other projects in the urban
  context), or holding funds. A pre-condition for
  the JESSICA intervention would be that projects
  would be supported only in the context of an
  integrated plan for sustainable urban
  development.

23
PPP (Public Private Partnership)

• The provision of infrastructure in an urban
  context and of services of general interest
  based on PPP should be encouraged. It can assume
  the form of
• privatisation, accompanied by the setting up of a
  regulatory framework,
• concessions
• creation of joint companies between public and
  private partners.
• PPP requires high skilled administration in order
  to avoid a situation of asymmetrical bargaining
  power. The Structural Funds might intervene to
  support the establishment of the necessary
  administrative capacity in this respect
  (especially in the convergence regions).

24
Cohesion Fund

• The Cohesion Fund can provide assistance to
  actions in the field of environment falling
  within the priorities assigned to the Community
  environmental protection policy under the policy
  and action programme on the environment
• in this context, the Fund may also intervene in
  areas related to sustainable development which
  clearly present environmental benefits, namely
  energy efficiency and renewable energy and, in
  the transport sector outside the trans-European
  networks, clean urban transport and public
  transport

25
Convergence programmes could support urban
development

• In thematic priorities for innovation, SMEs,
  environment and accessibility.
• In an urban priority, targeting urban areas that
  require an integrated, multisectoral approach and
  selected thematic actions related to the urban
  dimension
• the measures should be focused on defined areas
  and selected themes in order to reach a minimal
  critical mass
• concentration and selectivity are necessary.

26
Multi-level governance

• We wish to see an appropriate multilevel
  governance of the urban intervention, with the
  participation of all relevant stakeholders.
• For urban actions this most definitely includes
  city authorities and local citizens.
• The experience of the URBAN Community Initiative
  is clear local input is a key factor in the
  success of urban actions.

27
Spatial management of sectoral policies

• We wish to see an appropriate and intelligent
  spatial management of all sectoral policies.
• These policies should be compatible with the
  balanced development of cities, suburbs and
  neighbouring rural areas.
• An adequate assessment of the impact of these
  investments on cities requires good planning
  tools and diagnostic tools such as the urban
  audit.

28
Urban Audit

• Urban audit may help to design an intelligent
  urban policy in Europe today.
• Its almost 300 indicators cover the key aspects
  of demography, society, the economy, the
  environment, transport, the information society
  and leisure.
• 258 cities are already covered and this years
  exercise will extend this to over 300 cities.
• The results have been published in a
  user-friendly format on the Commissions Urban
  Audit website www.urbanaudit.org .

29
Exchange of experienceURBACT

• we wish to see an improved exchange of experience
  and know-how between cities.
• URBACT has, since its inception in 2003,
  developed 20 networks and 6 thematic working
  groups.
• In 2005 alone, more then 100 working seminars
  were organised in the framework of URBACT, with
  about 20 to 30 participants each, including
  elected representatives, practitioners, and
  experts.
• Nearly 5.000 documents are now available and can
  be downloaded from the website case studies,
  presentations of good practices, study reports
  and others. I recommend this tool to you as you
  prepare urban actions.

30
Neighbourhood Dispariti