News

02.07.2007
German EU Presidency successful in the field of Justice and Home Affairs
German Federal Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble declared the German Council Presidency in the field of European home affairs policy "a great success ". He mentioned the extension of Prüm Treaty – EU wide access to Member States’ DNA and fingerprin...read more

29.06.2007
“Neighbourhood ecology is not strongly related to successful youth development”
The quality of a neighbourhood does not determine the chances of future success for young people growing up in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. This is the main finding of ‘Good kids from bad neighborhoods’, a publication by the of the University of Col...read more

26.06.2007
Will these cities still exist in the year 2100?
Today, much is said about the growth of urban areas and the dramatic rise in population of so called mega cities. However, at the same time, many urban areas are faced with declining numbers of inhabitants. Other now booming cities are threatened by ...read more

20.06.2007
DG Justice calls for transnational projects in the prevention of and fight against crime
The European Commission’s DG Justice calls for trans-national projects in the field of the prevention of and fight against crime. Law enforcement agencies, local, regional and national authorities, social partners, universities, statistical offices, ...read more

19.06.2007
“Physical interventions can improve neighbourhoods, not people”
Physical interventions can improve a neighbourhood, but not the socioeconomic position of its residents, or at least not the original residents. This is the opinion of professor Ronald van Kempen, director of the Urban and Regional Research centre Ut...read more

14.06.2007
Will your city win the Eurosolar Award?
Eurosolar – the European Association for Renewable Energies – will award the best European projects promoting the use of renewable energies. Municipalities, municipally owned entities, individuals, engineers, architects, owners of installations using...read more

13.06.2007
Commissioner Wallström: "Cities hold key to solving environmental problems"
Cities hold the key to solving the world’s environmental problems, according to European Commission Vice-President Margot Wallström. She presented the Commission’s vision on environmental sustainability on the occasion of the opening of the Green Wee...read more

13.06.2007
Green Paper on Urban Transport is well on track
The European Commission is to push forward in drafting a Green Paper on Urban Transport. The preparation phase of the paper, in which stakeholder consultation was central, is drawing to a close. The Green Paper seeks to see whether obstacles to succe...read more

11.06.2007
Call for entries for the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage
The “Europa Nostra Awards” are granted annually to identify and promote best practices in the conservation of tangible cultural heritage. Four projects will be presented with an award and a monetary prize of 10,000 euros. Deadline for submitting your...read more

11.06.2007
Portugal to push for “realistic” EU immigration policy
Portugal will push for a "realistic" approach to legal migration in its upcoming EU Presidency, starting 1 July 2007. In the view of the Portuguese, a realistic immigration policy complements strict border control with a focus on social inclusion. It...read more

08.06.2007
"Promote bicycling, walking and public transport to improve chances for poor people"
How can transport policy contribute to the goal of more inclusive cities? What role does the car play in ensuring mobility for all? The German Institute of Urban Affairs (Difu) has recently published a report on “Sustainable Urban Transport and depri...read more

08.06.2007
The House of Cities, Municipalities and Regions opens in Brussels
The House of Cities, Municipalities and Regions was officially inaugurated on 6 June in Brussels. The opening ceremony was performed by Margot Wallström, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of institutional relations and communication...read more

07.06.2007
10 million euros to encourage the Intercultural Dialogue – call for tenders opened
The European Union has for many years encouraged intercultural dialogue. However, according to the Commission, today there is a need for a deeper and more structured dialogue of cultures. The European Commission has opened a call for projects that en...read more

06.06.2007
To be inclusive, cities need more investment in public transport
The International Association of Public Transport (UITP) has published a position paper on ‘Tackling social exclusion’. It stresses that more public transport is key to connect socially excluded citizens to the social and economic structures of socie...read more

04.06.2007
Which organisation is the best European public authority?
Bertelsmann Stiftung, Speyer University and the European Group of Public Administration have announced a European award for public administration. The European Public Sector Award (EPSA) will put three public organisations in the lime light. Public a...read more

31.05.2007
Fourth Cohesion Report published – prosperity is spread more evenly over Europe
The European Commission has published its fourth report on economic and social cohesion in the EU on 30 May. The report comes out every three years. The European cohesion policy has proved to be successful over the last years. The EU's economic prosp...read more

30.05.2007
EC launches call to support public ICT projects
On 25 May, the European Commission launched a call for proposals under the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP). The call concerns the ICT policy support programme (ICT PSP). Local authorities can get support for e-government proj...read more

30.05.2007
“Families need a wide range of services. Only cities can offer these in close proximity.”
The European Commission recently published the communication "Promoting solidarity between the generations". In this communication it is argued that in order to dismantle the ‘demographic time bomb’ now is the time to invest in family friendly polici...read more

25.05.2007
More support needed for SMEs in creative and cultural sector
On 24 May, the European Ministers of Culture adopted 'Conclusions on the contribution the cultural and creative sector makes towards implementing the goals of the Lisbon Strategy'. In the conclusions, the important contribution of the creative and cu...read more

24.05.2007
Informal EU Council meeting on urban policy embraces integral approach
To achieve the objective of sustainable cities, an integral approach to urban issues must be chosen. In addition, the European structural funds should be made available for local projects that embrace this integral approach. This is the most importan...read more