News

24.10.2006
51 Cities and regions compete for European Enterprise Awards
Out of 400 applicants, 51 cities and regions are selected to participate in the European Enterprise Awards. The competition will be an annual event, aimed at rewarding public initiatives to support entrepreneurship. The winners of this year’s edition...read more

20.10.2006
Commission seeks to drastically cut energy use – cities to play their part
On 19 October, the European Commission presented its action plan to cut Europe's energy consumption by twenty percent in the next fourteen years. If successful, the EU could save more than 100 billion euros annually. The plan would also contribute to...read more

20.10.2006
Ten most polluted cities of the world
According to a report released by a US environmental organisation, three of the most polluted cities in the world are in Russia. The Blacksmith Institute released the results of an investigation into the ten most polluted places on earth on Wednesday...read more

19.10.2006
‘Critical’ air pollution levels in large European cities
Only three out twenty-six large European cities are fully in compliance with EU air-quality standards. This can be concluded from the 2006 Urban Ecosystem Europe Survey, drawn up for Belgian bank Dexia by research institute Ambiente Italia. The surve...read more

18.10.2006
Call for ideas on the intercultural dialogue
The European Commission is launching a "Call for ideas" for promoting intercultural dialogue in Europe.read more

17.10.2006
Society and Future research programme – 2nd call for proposals
"Society and Future" is a social sciences research programme. The programme aims to increase the knowledge needed for decision-making at the Belgian federal level.read more

17.10.2006
URBACT to offer expert support to individual cities
The URBACT Secretariat has recently launched the Support for Cities project. It is a new project under the URBACT Programme to offer support to European cities (mainly those from the new Member States) looking for assistance to develop integrated urb...read more

13.10.2006
Commission wants more public-private partnerships in regional development
The 350 billion euro budget for 2007-2013 for developing Europe’s regions will be insufficient unless more private capital is made available. Public-private partnerships will not only result in the availability of more funds, it will also allow the p...read more

11.10.2006
European citizens set agenda for future of Europe
Environment and energy; social welfare and the family; and Europe's global role, its external borders and immigration - these were the topics chosen by members of the public to be discussed over the coming months in the biggest-ever pan-European deba...read more

10.10.2006
EU Commissioner impressed by Rotterdam’s approach to integration
Projects that encourage Rotterdam’s ethnic minorities to integrate in Western society can set an example for other European cities, European Commissioner Franco Frattini (Justice, Freedom and Security) said Monday after a working visit to the Dutch c...read more

10.10.2006
Council adopts Community Strategic Guidelines for Cohesion policy
The Community strategic guidelines on Cohesion 2007-2013 have been adopted following a decision by the Council on 6 October 2006. The Guidelines contain the principles and priorities of cohesion policy and suggest ways the European regions can take f...read more

09.10.2006
European week of regions and cities starts today
Close to 4,000 participants from 30 European countries are expected to attend OPEN DAYS 2006 "European week of regions and cities" which starts today in Brussels.read more

06.10.2006
OSMOSE award calls for entries
The Open Source for Mobile and Sustainable city (OSMOSE) Awards reward local authorities who have introduced innovative measures in the field of sustainable urban transport. European local and regional authorities and their local partners can partici...read more

06.10.2006
Commission allocates 140 mln euros to LIFE projects
The European Commission has approved 130 new LIFE projects, following the 2006 call for proposals, which was published in mid-2005. Of the new projects, 53 are LIFE-Environment projects, 61 are LIFE-Nature projects, and 16 are LIFE-Third countries pr...read more

02.10.2006
Commission awards eleven civic projects "Golden Stars"
Six town twinning schemes and five civil society projects have been awarded “Golden Stars for Excellence in European Citizenship”. The Prizes were awarded in Brussels on 28 September at the “Europe for the Citizens Forum” At this Forum mayors and oth...read more

02.10.2006
Participate in the Communication on culture
The Directorate General for Education and Culture (DG EAC) is preparing a Communication on culture. The role of culture in European integration will be analysed. The Communication will take stock of existing efforts and identify new challenges and po...read more

02.10.2006
CoR to create a Lisbon Monitoring Platform
The Committee of the Regions CoR has put together a research team set up a system to monitor the realisation of the Lisbon Strategy, the plan to make the EU the most competitive economy by 2010. The aim is to inform cities and regions on the implicat...read more

02.10.2006
EP offer suggestions to improve urban environment
The European Parliament (EP) adopted an own-initiative report adopted on 26 September. The report called for complementary measures to improve the urban environment in towns heavily impacted by pollution. One of the suggestions offered is to give pri...read more

29.09.2006
EP approve cohesion policy guidelines
On 27 September, the European Parliament has approved the Community Strategic Guidelines on Cohesion 2007-2013. The guidelines contain the principles and priorities of cohesion policy and suggest ways in which European regions and cities can take ful...read more

27.09.2006
World Economic Forum Report shows: “Lisbon” starts paying off
The World Economic Forum (WEF) released its annual Global Competitiveness Report on 26 September 2006. With six EU Member States in the top-ten rankings, the EU gives notice that its policies are starting to pay off. The top ten EU Member States are ...read more