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Type: Specialist article Date 17 September 2020 Welcome to the BBSR’s EU Council Presidency website
Topics
A future for all places – the Territorial Agenda 2030
The Territorial Agenda is a strategic policy document for Europe, its regions and communities. It provides a framework for action towards territorial cohesion, i.e. reducing regional disparities and creating sustainable development perspectives for all European regions. A task force representing EU member states, the European Commission, the Committee of the Regions and ESPON has prepared an update of the Agenda agreed upon in 2011. The new Agenda has been adopted at the informal meeting of ministers responsible for territorial development on 1st December 2020. The BBSR has been an active member of the task force and, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community (BMI), has launched a pilot action for implementation.
Challenges and priorities
The new Territorial Agenda 2030 takes up the contents and provisions of the previous version which were adapted to the new challenges. They can be divided into two large groups: On the one hand, both individual and spatial imbalances have been increasing for quite a while - a topic that is discussed in Germany under the heading of equivalent living conditions. Second, the climate crisis requires a courageous and coordinated approach to reduce CO2 emissions, which in turn may have an impact on the imbalances - related keywords are coal regions or energy poverty.
Implementing the Territorial Agenda in Europe’s regions
At their meeting, the ministers have decided on the updated objectives and approaches of the Territorial Agenda. Now the EU member states, their regions and municipalities and the European Commission are required to take the priorities of the Agenda - on an informal basis - into account at all levels. Especially at national level, the integration of relevant sectoral policies, of the civil society and of subnational institutions is important.
A concrete element of implementation are pilot actions that were launched at the ministerial meeting.
Germany, represented by the BMI, implements one of probably six European pilot actions. On behalf of the BMI, the BBSR has launched a Demonstration Project of Spatial Planning during which six German and European pilot regions will implement strategic projects in the field of services of general interest and projects helping to increase the quality of life. The pilot action coordinated by Germany is called "a future for lagging regions". It deals with sparsely populated areas with limited access to public services and to economic and social opportunities and is supposed to contribute to reducing imbalances and disparities between people and places. Especially smaller towns and counties as well as supralocal mergers such as unions of municipalities and regions play a decisive role for the economic development and the social well-being at regional level. They fulfil elementary supply functions for the region.
More information on the renewed Territorial Agenda and on the pilot actions can be found on the related website www.territorialagenda.eu.
More information on the pilot action launched by Germany can be found at >> Forschungsprojekte (in German).
The New Leipzig Charter
The Leipzig Charter on Sustainable European Cities adopted in 2007 gave the European understanding of integrated urban development important impulses. The principles of the Charter are more relevant today than ever. However, the framework conditions have changed. Therefore, the Charter will be further developed with a view to the German EU Council Presidency in the second half of 2020. In the national and European dialogue based on scientific studies, topics, principles and trends of integrated urban development in Europe are worked out and the "New Leipzig Charter" is updated. The document is expected to be adopted by the ministers responsible for urban matters of the EU member states in Leipzig on 30 November 2020.
Results so far
The New Leipzig Charter: In June 2019, the contracted consortium, together with the BMI and the BBSR, began to write a new document based on two scientific studies. The intermediate status of the document was continuously discussed with German and European experts. The impulses from the events were incorporated into further processing.
The current draft of the New Leipzig Charter refers to the well-known sustainability triangle and advocates a socially just (just), green (green) and economically productive (productive) city. Orientation towards the common good, integrated approach and work, participation and co-creation, multi-level cooperation (multi-level governance) and a place-based approach are important principles of the New Charter. The central concern of the New Leipzig Charter is to strengthen cities across Europe and enable them to act so that they can implement these principles. This includes the right legal framework, adequate financial resources, enough qualified personnel and the ability to manage infrastructures, public services and services of general interest in the interests of the common good. This is particularly relevant with regard to land policy and the active design of the digital transformation. In conjunction with national funding and legislation as well as appropriate instruments and funding of the urban dimension at EU level, municipalities can succeed in achieving sustainability and resilience. The current corona pandemic clearly shows how important these points are.
Writing an implementation document: Since the beginning of 2020, an accompanying implementation document (working title) has been created parallel to the New Leipzig Charter. It mainly deals with how the multi-level cooperation and the thematic partnerships, that have been established for the EU through the Urban Agenda, can be continued in the future. The paper is to be adopted together with the Leipzig Charter at the same ministerial meeting.
Scientific studies
In cooperation with the agency |u|m|s| Stadtstrategien GmbH, the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg examined the variety of approaches and current topics of urban development within Europe in a study. The aim is to work out current key urban issues and trends. At the same time, it is important to identify the causes of the different development dynamics between the individual member states and regions and to discuss the role that integrated urban development could and should play. The interim results of the study were regularly presented at the dialogue meetings.
In addition, Prof. Dr. Sabine Kuhlmann from the University of Potsdam (professorship for political science, administration, organisation) commissioned another in-depth scientific study on the subject of "Local self-government in European comparison".
The German Council Presidency in the second half of 2020 will be strengthened by the diverse tasks that arise from dealing with the crisis. It is currently expected that the New Leipzig Charter will be signed in Leipzig by the EU ministers responsible for urban development in early December.
Actions of the Partnerships on Culture and Cultural Heritage and Digital Transition and the New Leipzig Charter
The Partnership for Culture and Cultural Heritage in the Urban Agenda for the EU is working on milestones for the protection and development of the European cultural heritage and has put them up for public discussion in the summer of 2020.
Culture and Baukultur are important cornerstones for the preservation of our living environment and make an essential contribution to the quality of life in our cities. The Partnership for Culture and Cultural Heritage in the Urban Agenda for the EU offers stakeholders at various levels the opportunity to have a say and to participate in the development of this important European task. The Partnership, which the BMI and the BBSR are spearheading jointly with Italy, is currently developing a series of pilot projects or "actions": They are to be implemented in 2021 and, according to the "Amsterdam Pact", make important contributions to better regulation, funding and knowledge in the EU and strengthen the urban dimension. In the individual actions, for example, manuals or guidelines for local practice could be drawn up or networks and knowledge centres for specific subject areas could be established.
The Action Plan will be finalised in autumn and adopted during a public conference on 24/25 November 2020 as part of the German EU Council Presidency. This will also launch the implementation of the actions in 2021.
The BBSR was also part of the Partnership on Digital Transition that released its Action Plan in 2018. The Action Plan incorporates 15 actions: a special focus was given to the topics of digital skills and data. These topics are also reflected by the current dialogue on the New Leipzig Charter that is developed during the German EU Presidency. In the current draft, digitisation is seen as a means to serve the goals of a just, green and productive city and the common good. In order to make sure not to leave anybody behind, digital transformation and cooperations should be based on common human values - such as inclusiveness, human-centredness, human rights, international law and transparency. Cities should be able to shape digital transformation in pursuit of the common good: Therefore, digital skills of cities and citizens have to be fostered and methods of using data in a responsible and ethical manner to be developed and implemented. Besides, cities should have access to data relevant to their public tasks.
Further information:
Partnership on Culture & Cultural Heritage >> European Commission website
Partnership on Digital Transition >> European Commission website
ExWoSt project "Möglichkeiten und Strategien der deutschen EU-Ratspräsidentschaft 2020" (Opportunities and strategies of the German EU-Council Presidency 2020) (in German) >> more information
Research project "Housing Policies in the European Union"
The BBSR and the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community (BMI) conducted a research project on the different types of housing policies in the member states of the European Union. The project was executed against the backdrop of the German EU Council Presidency in the second half of 2020. The results of the projects will be presented at the European Housing Policy Conference on November 6th 2020. One of the main objectives of the research project was to provide a comprehensive overview of the different programmatic approaches and characteristics of national housing policies. The current situation in each country is shaped by its historical evolutionary path, the local market structure and the national regulatory framework. The product is an individual approach to housing policy. The project aimed at systematically working out mutual challenges and structural similarities. The distinction between different housing provision systems is one central result of the study. Four main groups can be distinguished, considering the structure of the housing stock, the form of use and the social provision function. The systems range from diversified systems with balanced quantities between rental tenures and owner-occupation to less diversified systems with a dominance of owner-occupation. Regarding the housing policy instruments, it can be observed that most EU members use these four identified instruments to some extent: "housing subsidies", "instruments for homeowners and homebuyers", "subsidised housing" and "rent regulation".
For more details please have a look at the (German-speaking) project website "Wohnungspolitiken in der EU": >> more information