Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-10-13-Speech-4-027"
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"en.20051013.3.4-027"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, taking it as given that the objective of our efforts is the improvement of the quality of life for all our citizens and balanced development of the societies in which we live, how can the urban dimension not be a priority issue on the political agenda?
Towns and cities play an important role in the social, economic and cultural life of Europe. There is something paradoxical today about European towns and cities and urban areas, in which 78% of the population live.
On the one hand, they are levers for development in an ever-increasingly competitive global economy, concentrating wealth, knowledge and know-how. They are also centres for the provision of public services, such as education, health care and transport.
On the other hand, most of the most serious problems of our modern society are located in towns and cities: acute problems of poverty and social exclusion, deterioration in the natural and man-made environment, lack of green spaces and atmospheric pollution, loss of local identity and higher crime rates. At the same time, more acute problems of racism are appearing in our towns and cities.
The connection between regional development and urban development is clear and cannot be ignored in the efforts which we are making to achieve economic, social and territorial cohesion. Our towns and cities are not isolated. All towns and cities, irrespective of size, together with the suburban and rural areas surrounding them, constitute the driving force of each region and can play a central role within the framework of the implementation of the revised Lisbon or Gothenburg objectives. That is why the need to manage the urban question at European level is fundamental.
Policy on towns and cities needs to be at the epicentre of efforts to achieve a strong, competitive and viable Europe, while maintaining social cohesion. In the new programming period, the policies which contribute to the development of the territorial systems of Europe will need to demonstrate complementarity, coordination and consistency.
Similarly, coordination is needed of efforts by all partners at local, regional, national and European level, with the proper utilisation of the potential of towns and cities for sustainable development.
Both the cross-border and the urban dimension must form part of all the policies of the European Union."@en1
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