News

14.11.2007
EU programme on development cooperation a step forward for local government
The European programme "Non state actors and local authorities in development " marks a first recognition of the role of local and regional authorities in development cooperation. This is one of the conclusions of the seminar organised by the Council...read more

13.11.2007
Cities Alliance releases its 2007 Annual Report on slum upgrading and city development
The Cities Alliance recently released its 2007 Annual Report on the slum upgrading and city development strategy activities of Cities Alliance members over the past year. The growth of the Cities Alliance, which now has 23 members, is also reflected ...read more

12.11.2007
Guide on integrated environmental management for local governments
European urban areas face a number of environmental challenges. Although the scale and intensity of the problems vary, a common set of issues can be identified. In order to help municipal authorities to improve environmental performance, the EU Commi...read more

12.11.2007
Golden stars 2007 reward best twinnings in Europe
The 2007 awards ceremony of the Golden Stars for twinning has taken place in Brussels on 8 november 2007. The Golden Stars Awards are given to examples of projects around Europe that encourage active civic participation in EU issues. This year’s Foru...read more

08.11.2007
EU role in the management of urban sprawl limited
In a Euractiv.com interview with Mr. Jean Marie Beaupuy, MEP and President of the parliamentary Urban-Housing Integroup, urban sprawl is described as one of the major challenges in Europe today. Politicians from all different levels face an important...read more

07.11.2007
“In local partnership working, efficiency is winning out over democracy”
“In local partnership working, efficiency is winning out over democracy,” says Jonathan Davies, senior lecturer in Public Policy at the University of Warwick (UK). Partnerships between public, private, community and voluntary sector organisations hav...read more

31.10.2007
Cultural sector of great importance in the EU27
Culture plays an important role in the life of Europeans. This is illustrated by the fact that nearly 5 million people in the EU27 are employed in the cultural sector, 2.4 % of total employment in the European Union. These figures were released in th...read more

31.10.2007
Europeans greener than Americans
Europeans are 50 percent more likely than Americans to buy “green” products – from solar panels to hybrid cars to natural/organic foods, personal care and home products, according to the European LOHAS study based on a partnership between Porter Nove...read more

31.10.2007
Asia and Africa home to the 100 fastest growing cities in the world
Whereas Europe used to be home to the world's largest and fastest growing cities in the world in the past century, Asia and Africa are now the two continents experiencing the greatest urban growth. Today, Africa has a larger urban population than Nor...read more

26.10.2007
European Public Sector Award for successful public administration bodies
On 25 October, the winners of the 2007 European Public Sector Award (EPSA) were announced. The EPSA is a joint initiative of the Bertelsmann Stiftung, the German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer and the European Group of Public Administra...read more

24.10.2007
EU Blue Card to attract highly-skilled workers to the European Union
Europe is experiencing an increasing shortage of highly-skilled workers, especially in the field of engineering and informatics. At the same time, the European Union's population is ageing rapidly. Attracting well-educated immigrants has therefore be...read more

24.10.2007
“The EU has been extremely successful when it comes to immigration”
“The EU has been extremely successful when it comes to immigration.” This is the opinion of Gregory Maniatis. Mr. Maniatis is a Senior European Policy Fellow at the Migration Policy Institute based in Washington (USA). He consults to the European Com...read more

22.10.2007
European smart cities – New scientific ranking instrument for European middle-sized cities
Scientists from the Technical University (TU) of Vienna in cooperation with the University of Ljubljana and the TU of Delft developed a new ranking instrument to have a good look at European “middle-sized cities“ with populations under 500,000. The r...read more

17.10.2007
European Anti Poverty Network (EAPN) marks the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
Today, the European Anti Poverty Network (EAPN) joins with thousands of initiatives to celebrate the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. On this occasion, EAPN will present its new report assessing the progress made in the EU strategy t...read more

16.10.2007
Immigration and European borders: cities and regions in the front line
Effective management of the EU's external borders must involve cooperation between all authorities at all levels, both European and national, regional or local. Yesterday, in adopting an opinion prepared by Ian Micallef, the Committee of the Regions ...read more

03.10.2007
"The Paris region is loosing its attractiveness and competitiveness because of lacking interurban cooperation"
"The Paris region is loosing its attractiveness and its competitiveness; firstly because of lacking political consensus and secondly because of missing intercommunal structures". This is the opinion of Michel Micheau, director of the ‘Cycle d'Urbanis...read more

03.10.2007
Urbanisation leads to higher crime numbers
Crime has been on the increase in the world's cities and now has affected more than half of urban residents in developing countries, UN-Habitat, the UN agency for human settlements, said in a report. The report ‘Enhancing urban safety’ found that glo...read more

01.10.2007
EC opens consultation on future cohesion policy
At the Cohesion Forum, which took place in Brussels on 27 and 28 September, Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner launched a public consultation on the future of the European cohesion policy. Hübner urged the forum participants to reflect on how...read more

27.09.2007
EP backs EU 'Blue Card' for highly qualified immigrants
The European Parliament backed plans for a new EU 'Blue Card' for highly qualified migrant workers as part of a strategy for dealing with legal and illegal migration on 26 September. This Blue Card should make it easier to attract knowledge workers t...read more

26.09.2007
EUROCITIES wants to know what your city needs for sustainable urban development
The Eurocities led URBAN MATRIX project is conducting a survey amongst urban professionals to assess what knowledge and information local authorities need to improve the sustainability of their cities and towns. The concise survey will provide necess...read more