Urban development in the EU
The urban policy cooperation between the EU member states is diverse. The topics of EU level cooperation and programmes include sustainable urban development in the cohesion policy; the networking of and knowledge exchange between cities; supporting innovative urban development; and strengthening urban knowledge at EU level.
The member states and the EU Commission have strengthened the urban policy by launching the Urban Agenda for the EU, which was originally ratified by the EU Ministers Responsible for Urban Matters in Amsterdam during the Presidency of the Netherlands in 2016. The political support for the continuation and practical development of the Urban Agenda for the EU is provided in the Ljubljana Agreement, which the Ministers adopted in 2021. The commitment was renewed in the Gijón Agreement approved by the Ministers in 2023.
The Urban Agenda for the EU intensifies cooperation for urban development between the member states, the Commission, cities and other stakeholders. The Urban Agenda brings the operators together to develop ideas and ways which help to improve EU regulation and policies as well as funding instruments to better respond to the challenges faced by cities, and to promote the exchange of expertise and knowledge in select urban development themes. The Urban Agenda for the EU is an umbrella programme for all EU-level urban development and cooperation.
Cooperation in the Urban Agenda has covered a total of 18 urban development themes. The latest update of the Agenda introduces two new themes. Several theme partnerships include Finnish partners (cities or ministries). The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and the Ministry of the Environment are jointly responsible for networking the Finnish partners and disseminating information about the Urban Agenda nationally, as well as coordinating the national and the EU’s urban policies. The Urban Contact Point (UCP) in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment disseminates information about the European Urban Initiative as well as the EU’s other urban development instruments and funding opportunities.
The central urban development and funding instruments provided by the EU include the European Urban Initiative (EUI), the URBACT programme, and the Sustainable Urban Development (SUD) funding within the cohesion policy.
Read more: The EU’s funding and development instruments for cities| tem.fi
Further information: olli.voutilainen(at)gov.fi