News

06.06.2006
Awards for preservation of cultural heritage
The European Commission and Europa Nostra, a platform of NGOs, call for entries for the 2006 European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage and the 2006 Europa Nostra Awards. Prize money to be awarded totals 60.000 euros.read more

06.06.2006
YOUTH Programme – call for proposals
The European Commission is to support 10 to 15 projects in the framework of the YOUTH programme. Projects must be innovative and show new approaches on how to deal with one of five priority themes. Co-funding of each project will be 100.000 to 300.00...read more

05.06.2006
Copenhagen wins European Mobility Award 2006
Copenhagen, Denmark, has won the 2006 European Mobility Award. Budapest, Hungary, and Koprivnica, Croatia, both came in second place. The award is given annually for the promotion of best practice in sustainable urban transport by local authorities. ...read more

02.06.2006
2007: Year of Equal Opportunities
The year will aim to make Europeans aware of their right not to be discriminated against, to promote equal opportunities in areas from work to healthcare, and to show how diversity makes the EU stronger. The year will have four themes: rights, repres...read more

02.06.2006
Green Week: Greener cities needed for cleaner air
A conference co-organised by DG Environment and Friends of Europe on 31 May investigated ways of "greening" European cities. Policy-makers stressed the role of urban communities in improving air quality at the debate taking place in the context of Gr...read more

01.06.2006
Finland launches EU presidency website
On 31 May, Finnish minister for European Affairs Paula Lehtomäki presented the website and visual design for the country's upcoming European Union Presidency. Finland will start its tour on 1 July 2006. The two main languages used for the web site ar...read more

01.06.2006
New European initiative supports sustainable investment in cities
Three new initiatives for the EU's cohesion policy were officially launched in Brussels on 30 May 2006. The European Commission and the financial institutions involved signed memoranda of understanding on three new initiatives. The initiative JESSICA...read more

30.05.2006
DG Environment - Urban issues now under ‘Clean air & Transport’
The European Commission Directorate General Environment has changed its internal composition. The changes follow the appointment of Peter Carl as the new Director of DG Environment in 2005. The changes include the transfer of responsibilities previou...read more

29.05.2006
EIB grants 500 million euros to France for urban investment
The European Investment Bank (EIB) teamed up with three French partners in a 500 million euros National Urban and Social Regeneration Programme. The partners are the Ministry of Employment, Social Cohesion and Housing, the National Urban Regeneration...read more

23.05.2006
CoR seeks cities to participate in “Lisbon” network
The Committee of the Regions (CoR) launched a call for expression of interest to European local and regional authorities. The CoR will establish a network of fifty regions and local authorities to monitor their progress towards implementing the Lisbo...read more

22.05.2006
235 million euros for citizenship programme
At their Council meeting on 18 May, EU Cultural Ministers reached a political agreement on the “Citizens for Europe” programme for 2007-2013. Over the next seven years, the programme will receive 190 million euros in 2004 terms, which is the equivale...read more

19.05.2006
EC to launch calls for tender on social exclusion
The European Commission has announced five open calls for tenders on combating social exclusion. A pre-publication notice can be found on the website of the Directorate-General Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities.read more

19.05.2006
EU lags behind in immigrant education
In a report published last Monday, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) writes that the European Union member states are far less successful in educating the children of immigrants than countries such as Australia, New Zea...read more

19.05.2006
ECJ forces local authorities to tender out contracts
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled in favour of two Italian firms who objected to the Commune of Busto Arsizio's decision in December 2003 to give a contract to AGESP, a company the Commune owns for 99.98%. The ruling limits local authorit...read more

18.05.2006
Results of consultation on “Cohesion Policy and cities” available
The results of the public consultation on “Cohesion Policy and cities: the urban contribution to growth and jobs in the regions” are now available on the DG Regio website. Currently, the results are available in French only. Translations in other lan...read more

18.05.2006
Croatian local and regional authorities defend minority rights
The Committee of the Regions (CoR) hosted a seminar on the implementation of minority rights in Croatia on 16 May. At this seminar Croatia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Ms Grabar-Kitarovic, highlighted the special role of l...read more

18.05.2006
Cities needed to tackle unemployment
Social partners, regions and cities need to be more involved in the EU employment policies if Europe is to reduce unemployment. This was the message from Employment Week, taking place in Brussels from 16-18 May.read more

17.05.2006
Improved air quality saves thousands of lives
In a recent report, the European Environment Agency (EEA) stresses the positive side-effect of climate change policies on the effectiveness of existing air pollution abatement. Tackling climate change will improve Europe's air quality. By doing so it...read more

16.05.2006
Academy for Sustainable Communities (ASC) reveals vision for the future
On 11 May the ASC announced its strategy and key priorities at a stakeholders event in Leeds. They proposed to put skills and knowledge at the heart of sustainable communities. This strategy underpins the ASC’s commitment to working with other stakeh...read more

12.05.2006
More legal certainty for local authorities in the field of public services
The president of the Committee of the Regions (CoR), Mr Delebarre, is expected to call on the EU to launch a new directive on services of general interest. He will do so today at the general assembly of the Council of European Municipalities and Regi...read more