Cities are key to Europe’s future, but the EU has always had a somewhat uncertain relationship with urban centers. ben rogers We discuss what the new European Parliament and European Commission could mean for Europe’s cities.
We can expect the connections between the European Union and its cities to be close. After all, city life is deeply rooted in European history and culture. Most European cities were founded centuries ago and predate nation-states. Although most of the world has caught up with Europe in levels of urbanization, between 40 and 80% of the EU’s population (depending on the measurement method used) remains living in cities. region.
Moreover, support for the EU tends to be stronger in European cities than in conservative rural areas. EU and city leaders often find themselves pulling in the same direction in their debates with national governments. For example, cities have proven useful allies on EU integration, migration and climate change.
But it’s not that simple. The EU was a creation of nation-states, and national governments still have enormous influence over its development. While countries are represented through the European Commission as well as the Council of Europe, sub-national authorities have little formal status in EU law or institutions and regional committees have relatively little influence.
failure to understand
While the Biden administration has directed massive regeneration, recovery and climate action budgets directly to U.S. cities, corresponding EU funding has largely gone to member states. If Europe is a region of cities, it is also a region of villages and farms, which has a profound impact on its cultural and political imagination. Politicians talk about Europe’s “agricultural centres”, but not about its “urban centres”. The majority of the EU budget goes to the Common Agricultural Policy, and even today about a third of that goes to farmers, who, as recent protests show, remain a vocal and powerful force in European politics.
It is true that in recent years the EU has come to embrace what it has termed the “urban agenda”. Indeed, the EU has become a champion of cities on the good grounds that they are the most efficient, creative and sustainable form of human settlement. The New Leipzig Charter, published in 2020, set out a manifesto for sustainable urban development, regeneration and recovery, and delivered climate funds to the city.
However, responsibility for cities is dispersed across EU commissions and offices, preventing city interests from finding a proper home in the EU. It is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with the proliferation of EU-sponsored urban organizations and programs. I attended a large EU City Conference last year that included four adjacent stands representing different city plans. No one on the stand could explain how they were related to each other. It’s no surprise, then, to hear mayors and their advocates complaining that the EU has failed to really understand and make the most of their cities.
Cities after European elections
This dissatisfaction is likely to grow in the coming years. The Greens and left-wing parties, which tend to be the city’s natural allies, suffered a major blow in the recent European Parliament elections. Although support for the far right has softened more than many had feared.
The new parliament’s priorities are likely to shift from EU enlargement, climate action and urban regeneration to competitiveness, deregulation, a crackdown on immigration and support for farmers and “those behind”, mainly in rural and small urban areas. With the Russian invader looking to expand into Europe, increased defense spending is likely to eat into other budgets.
Organizations supporting the urban agenda are hoping to persuade the new parliament and commission of the central role cities should play in meeting EU priorities. And they are advocating for better representation of urban interests, perhaps in the form of a European Parliament subcommittee on urban affairs, a vice-president for urban affairs in the committee, and a name for the European Commission of the Regions, the “Committee on Urban Affairs”. Regions and Cities”.
But in a less city-friendly EU, cities will need both their unique creativity and resilience.
Note: This article gives the views of the author and not the position of EUROPP (European Politics and Policy) or the London School of Economics. Featured image source: Dragos Asaftei / Shutterstock.com
