UAEU Partnerships: State of Affairs and Future Developments Robert-Jan van Lotringen Program Manager UAEU Partnerships EUKN Policy Lab on Urban Moblilty 14 December 2016 Prague

The Trio Presidency 23 May 2016, The Netherlands, Slovakia and Malta agreed to continue the work on the Urban Agenda for the EU during their Trio Presidency. Specifically to promote the Urban Agenda for the EU, to continue to support the existing Partnerships, and to set up the remaining eight new ones. The Urban Envoy will continue his work until at least 1 July 2017. In the runup to that date, NL supporting tasks will be reduced as the Commission and the new Secretariat take over. Why am I here? As you know, the NL is no longer PresEU

The Urban Agenda for the EU in a nutshell The UAEU is a new form of cooperation between Cities, Member States the European Commission and other stakeholders. It’s aim: to put cities and regions in a better position in European regulation and policy making. The UAEU has three goals: Better regulation. Better access to funding. Better knowledge sharing. The UAEU was formalized in the Pact of Amsterdam on 30 May 2016. De link in de titel verwijst naar het filmpje

Pact of Amsterdam Operational framework of the Urban agenda for the EU. Lists 12 priority themes. Describes joint actions and multi-level governance. Introduces a new form of multi-level, bottom-up cooperation between all stakeholders through Thematic Partnerships. These should produce proposals per Theme within 3 years.

12 Urban Themes for 12 Partnerships Urban Poverty (pilot, 2016) Housing (pilot, 2016) Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees (pilot, 2016) Air Quality (pilot, 2016) Urban Mobility (new, 2017) Circular Economy (new, 2017) Jobs and Skills in the Local Economy (new, 2017) Digital Transition (new, 2017) Climate Adaptation Energy Transition Sustainable Use of Land and Nature-Based Solutions Innovative and Responsible Public Procurement

How is a Partnership composed? Each PS is made up of Urban Authorities (cities), the European Commission, EU organisations (EIB, EESC, CoR), Member States, Partner States, experts, umbrella organisations (e.g. EUROCITIES, CEMR), knowledge organisations (e.g. URBACT, ESPON, EUKN) and stakeholders (NGOs, private enterprises, etc.). A partnership is composed of 15 to 20 partners and it’s composition should be (geographically) balanced. Potential Partners should bring expertise, commitment and a network to the table. Coordinators play a pivotal role.

Pilot Partnerships: how are they doing? All four Pilot Partnerships strive to publish their Action Plan by the beginning of 2017. Concrete proposals can be expected from 2017 onwards. PS will not wait until the end of their three year term. Partnerships are complete and the geographical spread is good. In general, cooperation between the various members is highly constuctive. Partnerships could use more adminstrative support.

Some lessons learned (1) A Partnership is a project, where experts work on concrete proposals within a limited timeframe. It is not a debating club, a network, or a convenient way to collect information. A Partnership needs experts, not generalists. Focus is important. A partnerships works on themes with a European scope. It is not meant to solve local or regional problems. A partnership takes time and effort. Members should be able and willing to contribute time and recources, and to play an active role. Join to work, or don’t join. Partnership coordination is demanding and can be a full-time job. Things you should realise

Some lessons learned (2) Partnerships will generate a lot of interest from outside parties. Because resources are limited, expectation management is important. A way should be found to accomodate the ‘second layer´ of external experts and parties who want to contribute to the succes of the Partnership. Working groups are a good way to distribute the work. Partnerships should exchange experiences and learn from eachother, especially on the coordinator level. External communication should be a priority. Experiences

The Next Generations Four new Partnerships were decided upon in Bratislava on 4 October 2016. The number of proposed cities had to be narrowed down substantially before making a final proposal on 13 December. DGUM should decide on those this week. For the four remaining Partnerships, a new round will be held, cumulating in a proposal to the DGUM on 4 April 2017 in Malta. SK PRES sent out call and procedure on 12 October 2016.

Planning overview 15 December: decision on final composition of the Bratislava Partnerships. 30 December: deadline for application for Maltese Partnerships. 12 January: Trio Pres/COM meet with the Coordinators and the Secretariat January/February: kick-off meeting of the Bratislava Partnerships. 3 March: UDG meeting on Malta, discussing proposals for the final four ‘Maltese’ Partnerships. 4 April: DGUM meeting on Malta, decision on the Maltese Partnerships.

How can cities (still) join? Cities (Urban Authorities) can be nominated by Member States, EUROCITIES, CEMR, URBACT and CoR. These nominators must also make their proposal fit for purpose, given the limited number of places. For the Maltese PS coordinators and partners can still apply. However, keep in mind that the number of places is limited and the geographical spread will have to be taken into account. Non-members will be able to contribute and cooperate in several ways though, in particular through workshops and a collaborative online tool (as announced by the European Commission).

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