ENVE-V-044
22nd Commission meeting, 12 February 2014
WORKING DOCUMENT
of the
Commission for the Environment, Climate Change and Energy
THE SEVENTH ENVIRONMENT ACTION PROGRAMME AND THE
SUSTAINABLE CITY
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Rapporteur: Daiva Matonienė (LT/ECR)
Member of Šiauliai City Council
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This document will be discussed at the meeting of the Commission for the Environment, Climate
Change and Energy on Wednesday, 12 February 2014 beginning at 11 a.m. in Brussels.
DOCUMENT SUBMITTED FOR TRANSLATION: 22 January 2014
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EN
-1Introduction
The underlying principle of the European Union's general Environment Action Programme (EAP),
"Living well, within the limits of our planet", is the broad commitment and willingness of the Member
States and the relevant EU institutions to take responsibility for ensuring that the programme actually
achieves its intended benefits.
So far, however, the measures taken by the EU have fallen short. Further measures will have to be
taken to meet these challenges if long-term prosperity is to be secured in the EU.
Objectives connected to the seventh EAP
In the interest of efficient use of resources and a low-carbon economy that protects and grows natural
capital and safeguards public health and wellbeing, the seventh EAP is meant to provide a legal
framework for environmental policy up to 2020 and to set priority long-term targets for 2050 for the
EU and its Member States.
There are nine primary objectives, including making the EU's cities more sustainable.
Issues to be considered in the Committee of the Regions' opinion
Over the past hundred years, Europe has developed from an agriculture-based to an urbanised
continent. Censuses show that as much as 70% of the EU's population, some 350 million people,
already live in towns and cities with more than 5 000 residents. Even if the trend has slowed down
recently, this figure is bound to increase further. In all likelihood, 80% of Europeans will live in cities
or suburbs by 2020. Quality of life will directly depend on the state of the urban environment. Cities'
impact on the environment goes far beyond their geographical borders, since they depend strongly on
peri-urban and rural areas to meet their food, energy, space and resource needs and to process waste.
Another trend is visible in cities: they are becoming increasingly run-down and decrepit. These factors
should be taken into account in urban planning and investment. On the other hand, if the principles of
sustainable urban development are respected and projects that reflect them are carried out, cities can
be made into attractive living spaces criss-crossed and interconnected with convenient public
transport networks.
Most cities essentially face the same major environmental problems: problems with air quality,
excessive noise pollution, traffic congestion, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, water
shortages, floods and storms, shrinking green space, contaminated land, derelict industrial land, and
inefficient waste management and energy provision. At the same time, EU cities set standards for
urban sustainability and often pioneer innovative solutions to environmental problems, not least in
terms of resource efficiency and initiatives for a green economy that are relevant to the Europe 2020
strategy. Ever more European cities are putting environmental sustainability at the heart of their urban
development strategies.
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-2That is why the EU has declared making cities more sustainable one of its overriding priorities and a
key for successfully implementing environmental policy. The European Commission has asked the
Committee of the Regions to issue an opinion on the proposed measures for implementing the seventh
Environment Action Programme's eight objectives and, with this in mind, posed four questions: (a)
How can the European Union encourage cities to take urban planning and design measures that reflect
the principles of sustainable development? (b) How could dissemination of information about existing
and available EU funding instruments for promoting sustainable development of cities be improved?
(c) How could the EU foster more efficient exchange of information and know-how on the best ideas
and measures concerning sustainable cities in the EU? (d) How can cities of more than 100 000 be
encouraged to contend for the title of European Green Capital?
With these questions in mind, the Committee wishes to make the following general remarks.
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The first important principle of sustainable urban development is a holistic, or integrated,
approach that resolves both environmental and social problems in a city. Without an integrated
approach it is impossible to put the concept of the sustainable city into practice. That is why this
approach should not be limited to environmental protection, for social protection, education,
employment and economic development, for example, are no less important for society's
well-being.
A second important principle is that the environment is of fundamental importance in creating
sustainable cities. Including considerations related to environmental protection in all relevant
policy areas is crucial to mitigating environmental pressures caused by other sector-specific
strategies and activities and to meeting environmental and climate targets.
Since, under the principle of subsidiarity, sustainable urban planning and spatial planning fall
within the remit of the Member States, it is imperative that this principle be upheld.
A procedure has to be developed and a legal basis established to ensure that the principles of
sustainable development are promoted in spatial planning through national legislation and that
urban development plans and principles are strictly regulated. Although the Member States are
responsible for spatial planning under the principle of subsidiarity, the European Commission
should develop common recommended criteria for implementing the principle of sustainable
cities which cities could use to assess the current situation and risks and that would help them to
take more targeted investment decisions.
Cities should aim for horizontal and vertical coordination, ensuring a comprehensive approach to
urban development in order to avoid making isolated and uncoordinated investments. Improved
procedures for coordination at national and regional level and the creation of a "network for
sustainable urban development" would help to achieve all this and make it possible to involve
more interest groups and the wider public in decisions affecting them. Further developing tools to
rationalise environmental data collection and management and that make it easier to share
experience and tried and tested methods would also benefit local and regional authorities.
Attention should not be limited to major cities of more than 100 000 people. Small and mediumsized towns and cities, especially in the smaller Member States, could play an important role in
tackling rural depopulation. Strong provincial cities can form the backbone of a country.
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Moreover, there is greater potential in small and medium-sized towns and cities to conceive and
implement ideas for sustainable urban development.
These concepts should be adapted and discussed at national and local level with the close
involvement of the public. Based on the European Commission's recommended criteria for a
sustainable city, cities should therefore carry out an evaluative analysis of sustainable urbanism
and use this to draw up strategies for the development of sustainable cities by 2050.
The seventh EAP should also be implemented by way of other existing or planned legislation with
a direct or indirect bearing on urban planning and associated measures.
When taking investment decisions, basic, integrated criteria should be set at European and
national level where necessary for sustainable urban development. The European Commission
should draw up and negotiate at EU level a list of sustainability criteria for cities providing a
common basis for initiatives in this area and encouraging a consistent and integrated approach to
sustainable urban development. The Member States should adopt criteria and indicators for
sustainable cities at national level, to be continuously assessed and monitored.
In Europe there is currently a multitude of databases, opinions, forums and differing viewpoints
concerning sustainable cities. Because this information is not gathered in one place, it cannot be
effectively exploited. Either cities do not know whether they can find such information, or the
data overlap or are not relevant. This also applies to some funding instruments designed for
sustainable urban development measures. In the interest of efficiency, the Committee
recommends following the principle of a one-stop shop pooling all information about legal and
financial issues as well as shared experiences and methods. This could take the form of a
platform, with consideration given to using existing structures or creating new ones.
One of the key driving forces in making the sustainable city a reality comes from giving people
opportunities for education and providing the corresponding incentives. Measures aimed at water
conservation, expanding recycling and composting plants, boosting public transport use and
saving energy do not by themselves amount to active and broad public involvement in building
sustainable cities.
The EU should further promote and, where appropriate, expand existing initiatives that support
innovation and best practice in cities, networking and exchange, and cities should be encouraged
to take the lead in sustainable urban development, which is why the Committee recommends
considering the creation of a special investment instrument and corresponding eligibility criteria
enabling competition between sustainable urban development projects.
It is worth considering, at European and national level, pilot projects in small and medium-sized
cities applying the best available methods in all fields, including transport, housing, social issues,
health, education and environmental protection.
A database should be set up at national and European level and criteria developed to inform a
common understanding of what helps to create a better urban environment. Such criteria would
make it possible to draw on only the best methodologies and to adapt existing models and funding
instruments.
The Member States and cities have to decide not only on these criteria, but also on the efficiency
benchmarks against which cities can better assess the implementation of measures.
It should be assessed at European and national level whether a uniform approach exists to
measures promoting the development of sustainable cities, and whether the possibilities open to
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cities are not being limited by the legislation in force. A uniform approach and flexible procedures
would allow cities to choose the best measures for sustainable urban development in the long run.
The contest for the title of European Green Capital requires conceptual changes. There are already
nomination procedures that work well in the EU, such as those for the European Capital of
Culture. Nominations for the European Green Capital should also be developed in this direction,
moving from a mere initiative to a legally and financially regulated award. It is also worth
considering whether the criteria should be loosened to include cities with as few as 50 000 people,
thereby increasing the opportunities available to European cities. The title-holders and contestants
for the title of European Green Capital should compare notes on successful outcomes and
technical ideas using their own platform or existing structures.
It is important to promote an effective partnership between the public and private sectors so that
projects that reflect the idea of the sustainable city are implemented as efficiently as possible.
Existing funding opportunities and structures should be better used and new ones refined or
created (through the EIB, for example).
The principle of multi-level governance should be strengthened, since the most important driver
of success at national and local level is cooperation on sustainable urban development and on a
common approach, while at the level of cities it is responsibility for sustainable urban
development.
Conclusions
If the European Union is to rise to the current challenges of sustainability, it is crucial to assess all of
its existing policy areas, funding mechanisms, measures and platforms and to ensure that they are
coordinated and accessible.
The involvement of local and regional authorities in the EU's legislative process is likely to ensure
better implementation and greater acceptance, but also that those authorities commit to the political
objectives of their own accord.
The policy areas environmental protection and sustainable urban development should be recognised
as new challenges in the Member States. To this end, sustainability criteria should be recommended
for cities which they can use to take stock of their situation and to draw up risk and action plans and
corresponding strategies. With an eye to efforts to shape a uniform approach to sustainable urban
development at European, national and local level, the Committee recommends that the European
Commission develop recommended criteria for urban sustainability. At the same time, in order to
evaluate the efficiency of measures, it is worth considering potential indicators making it possible to
revise and assess the efficiency of a city's activities and of progress made on an ongoing basis.
The current structures for exchanging shared practices are insufficient because they are too
specialised, not active enough or overlap. Cities have too few opportunities to exchange and use tried
and tested practices and to obtain information on existing funding initiatives and mechanisms in good
time, which is why the Committee proposes that a broad structure for exchanging shared practices be
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-5set up at European level, based on a holistic approach and reflecting all aspects of sustainable urban
development.
The recognition of European Green Capitals is a highly valuable and important step on the road to
sustainable cities and should continue. However, administrative and financial changes are needed to
the concept to ensure that the measures that the cities take are maintained and continue to be
supported, and to keep up competition between cities for the title.
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