Recently the meeting of the DG on Urban Matters, in which the Directors General working on urban issues of EU member states come together, has decided on the composition of a few new partnerships within the EU Urban Agenda. The application from the Flanders Heritage Agency to join the partnership on culture and cultural heritage, as well as the application of the city of Mechelen for the partnership on security in public spaces, have been approved.
The Urban Agenda for the EU represents a new multi-level working method promoting cooperation between Member States, cities, the European Commission and other stakeholders in order to stimulate growth, liveability, and innovation in the cities of Europe and to identify and successfully tackle social challenges. This Agenda focuses specifically on three pillars of EU policy-making and implementation: better regulation, better funding and better knowledge.
The contribution of Flanders Heritage Agency to the partnership shall mostly focus on translating the European Landscape Convention on integrated thinking in relation to landscape issues as well as on the principles of the Declaration of Davos in which culture has a central role in the built environment. Apart from that repurposing and the principles of the Faro Convention concerning participation and local heritage policy will receive sufficient attention.
The city of Mechelen hopes to share her expertise on an integrated approach of public security in general, and on radicalization in particular, within the partnership on security in public spaces. At the same time, Mechelen hopes to get new inspiration for her own policy-making. In that way it could help the European agenda to better tailor existing regulations to the specific needs of medium-sized cities.
By doing so Mechelen is joining a few other Flemish cities that already take part in existing partnerships. The city of Roeselare was appointed as a co-coordinator for the partnership on energy transition, Antwerp takes part in the partnership on the sustainable use of land, Kortrijk is a partner in the partnership on urban poverty and Ghent participates in the partnership on jobs and skills in the local economy. OVAM, the Public Waste Agency of Flanders, takes part in European cooperation on the circular economy.