05.04.2007
CoR ‘Declaration for Europe’: more respect for local and regional diversity, identity and autonomy
The Committee of the Regions (CoR) celebrated Europe’s 50th birthday in Rome on 23 March. At the main ceremony the CoR adopted its ‘Declaration for Europe’, which calls for a new ‘bond of trust’ between the European Union (EU) and its citizens. Respe...read more

04.04.2007
Social cohesion indicators to measure your city’s policy effectiveness
European societies are facing growing disparities in individual wealth and well-being. To reverse this trend, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities urges towns and regions to develop social cohesion indicators with which they can assess and ...read more

04.04.2007
Map for city migration now on-line
Which cities around the world attract most immigrants? The Global City Migration Map Tool provides an easy-to-understand visual of immigrants’ urban destinations. It is freely available on-line. The map tool is developed by the Migration Policy Infor...read more

03.04.2007
Increased attention for violence and racism in sport
Politicians, academics, NGOs and sport federations are all calling for more attention to violence and racism around sport events. The Council of Europe (CoE) is organising a conference on 'Sports, Violence and Racism in Europe' on 2-5 April 2007. The...read more

03.04.2007
“Local authorities and professionals needed to fine-tune drug policies”
When it comes to dealing with drug issues, local authorities are much needed to fine-tune drug policies. This is the opinion of Wolfgang Götz, Director of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). He identifies several hop...read more

02.04.2007
EP hearing on juvenile delinquency focuses on prevention and rehabilitation
Prevention is the key to solving the problem of young offenders. This is the opinion of the European Parliament’s (EP) Women's Rights Committee, voiced at a public hearing on juvenile delinquency. The hearing took place on 20 March 2007 in Brussels. ...read more

30.03.2007
Political agreement on LIFE+ reached
The Council of the Europe Union and the European Parliament have reached an agreement on LIFE+, the new financial instrument for the environment. LIFE+ will bring simplification by regrouping a broad range of existing environmental programmes and ins...read more

29.03.2007
“Micro credit programmes should not just cover structural investments, but also operating costs”
The Italian regional development agency BIC Lazio is running a micro credit programme in which so called honour loans are provided to unemployed people with entrepreneurial ambitions. The programme has proven to be very successful so far. Since the b...read more

29.03.2007
Eurocities and CEMR move in together
From the start of April, the Eurocities Brussels Office and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions are based in a new premises. It is officially named "The House of Cities, Municipalities and Regions". Not just Eurocities and CEMR will be...read more

28.03.2007
Sevilla 2007 gives renewed impetus to the Aalborg Commitments
Over 1500 delegates from European local governments have committed to immediately advance policies for local sustainable development. These policies, which will be implemented within the framework of the Aalborg Commitments, are an important step tow...read more

28.03.2007
More EU investment in urban areas benefits European economy, CoR reports
The Committee of the Regions (CoR) published a report on the effects of EU cohesion policy and the structural funds on European economic development. Based on Commission estimates, every euro spent on EU cohesion policy leads to an additional investm...read more

27.03.2007
European Security Research Programme launched in Berlin
The European Security Research Programme (ESRP) was launched at a Commission organised conference taking place in Berlin on 26 and 27 March 2007. The ESRP is a separate programme under the Seventh Research Framework Programme 2007-2013. The programme...read more

27.03.2007
30,000 Euros to be awarded to the best 'new urban neighbourhood' in Europe
The Brussels based Rotthier Foundation is will award a prize of 30,000 euros to the best new urban neighbourhood in Europe. The European prize promotes excellence in the designing and building of new urban neighbourhoods. It aims at enhancing the Eur...read more

23.03.2007
European Week of Regions and Cities: call for papers
Through this call for papers the European Commission’s Regional Policy Directorate-General invites experts in the field of regional development and the management of Structural Funds to send contributions to be presented during the “OPEN DAYS 2007 - ...read more

23.03.2007
Tackling Immigration and Integration Challenges
The Migration Policy Institute and Bertelsmann Stiftung are marking the 50th anniversary of the European Union with the launch of a transatlantic task force of prominent leaders to promote new thinking on immigration and integration.read more

21.03.2007
“Strict and binding measures needed to improve buildings’ energy efficiency”
Buildings account for a significant part of the CO2 emissions in the European Union. Studies have shown that this sector offers the largest immediate potential to reduce these emissions. Mr Alain Sagne, Secretary General of the Architects' Council of...read more

21.03.2007
EESC: inter-city public transport needs to be promoted
In a recently adopted opinion on the mid-term review of the White Paper on transport, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) urges the European Commission to take account of inter-city public transport by road and rail. The revised White P...read more

20.03.2007
You decide: Who is the world’s best mayor in 2007?
The World Mayor project is again looking for the most outstanding mayors of the year. Everyone interest in cities and urban politics is invited to nominate their choice for the title 'World Mayor 2007'.read more

20.03.2007
What is wrong with urban sprawl?
The United States’ future urban land development should not reproduce the pattern of sprawl. This is the main conclusion of a short, but concise paper by James McElfish of the US Environmental Law Institute. In the paper, McElfish lists ten adverse e...read more

16.03.2007
Consultation: EU to map “social state of the union”
The European Commission has initiated a public consultation to take stock of present social realities and trends in European societies. The aim is to discuss with different constituencies what forms Europe's social reality. This exercise will be base...read more