The Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union: meetings of the Directors General for Territorial Cohesion and Urban Matters

Met dank overgenomen van Roemeens voorzitterschap Europese Unie 1e helft 2019 (Roemeens voorzitterschap) i, gepubliceerd op woensdag 8 mei 2019.

On May 7-8, 2019, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration (MRDPA), in its capacity as governmental institution responsible for territorial cohesion and urban matters, organised the meeting of the Directors General for Territorial Cohesion (DGTC) as well as the meeting of the Directors General for Urban Matters (DGUM).

At the meeting held on May 7, the Directors General for Territorial Cohesion:

  • approved the Romanian Presidency Conclusions on the first thematic item in the review of the Territorial Agenda 2020, namely the Strategic Goal of the New Territorial Agenda 2020;
  • debated on the scope and implementing measures of the New Territorial Agenda 2020 as well as on the design of the envisaged review of the Territorial Agenda of the European Union 2020;
  • made presentations and discussed around the topic of functional areas (a notion bearing on territorial cohesion, which was supported by the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU).

At the meeting held on May 8, the Directors General for Urban Matters approached the following topics:

  • the implementation of the Urban Agenda for the EU;
  • the progress made so far within the partnerships established under the Urban Agenda of the EU;
  • the next steps within the Urban Agenda of the EU and its correlation with the review of the Leipzig Charter;
  • the second interim version of the Bucharest Declaration, to be adopted at the Informal Meeting of the Ministers for Urban Matters that will take place in Bucharest on June 13-14, 2019; the document is aimed at reaching a political agreement in order to initiate activities conducive to a strategic framework for the European Union, through implementing and following up on the Urban Agenda of the EU as well as aligning it with the review of the Leipzig Charter, as well as through ensuring coordination among the different initiatives included in the Urban Agenda.

„The work carried out by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration under the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union has been aimed at adding to the collective efforts of supporting and advancing the territorial dimension of the cohesion policy, in line with the major role it plays in making public policies more efficient and in improving the quality of the EU citizens daily life. The ministry has also done its utmost to implement and continue the Urban Agenda of the European Union, thus contributing to the process of informal cooperation in urban matters”, stated the MRDPA events coordinator for the Romanian Presidency of the EU, State Secretary Virgil-Alin Chirilă.

The meetings were attended by representatives of the Member States and of European organisations such as the European Commission, the European Investment Bank - EIB, the ESPON Programme, the Council of European Municipalities and Regions - CEMR, the Committee of the Regions - CoR, the European Council of Spatial Planners - ECTP-CEU, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe - UNECE, UN Habitat, JPI Urban Europe, Eurocities and the URBACT Programme.

More information is available at: https://www.romania2019.eu / Agenda Urbană a UE / Agenda Teritorială 2020+.