Deprived Urban Areas and Cohesion Policy

URBACT Seminar – Deprived Urban Areas 17.03.15

Corinne Hermant-de Callataÿ, Senior Policy Officer, Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy

Context

•Long history of EU involvement on issue – Urban Pilot Projects, URBAN I (1994-99), URBAN II (2000-06) etc.

•Problem of poverty and exclusion has increased – Cities of Tomorrow report (2011)

•Issue now being discussed in the context of an EU Urban Agenda

•Need for integrated participatory approach central elements of our 2014-2020 arrangements (Article 7, CLLD etc.)

Regional & Urban PolicyRegional & Urban Policy

ERDF RegulationSustainable urban development

• Article 7 §1. «The ERDF shall support, within operational programmes, sustainable urban development through strategies that set out integrated actions to tackle the economic, environmental, climate, demographic and social challenges affecting urban areas ...»

• Member States should earmark at least 5% of ERDF resources for integrated sustainable urban development with a degree of delegation to urban authority level (minimum=selection of projects)

Regional & Urban PolicyRegional & Urban Policy

ERDF RegulationSustainable urban development

Article 7 §2. « Sustainable urban development shall be undertaken through Integrated Territorial Investment … or through a specific operational programme, or through a specific priority axis …»

This approach takes account of Complexity of tackling deprived areas.

Approx. €15 billion (8% of ERDF) to be spent in this way. Most Member States opted for the minimum level of delegation to urban authorities (i.e. selection)

Example 1 - Ile de France region

• 20% of ERDF/ESF allocation to sustainable urban development in deprived neighbourhoods.

• Targeted on neighbourhoods which have been selected as "quartiers prioritaires"under the "politique de la ville", and so they may better host economic and commercial activities and public services.

Géographie prioritaire de la politique de la ville

Regional & Urban PolicyRegional & Urban Policy

Une stratégie urbaine basée sur les quartiers prioritaires de la politique de la ville

Example 2 - Rotterdam

Example 2 - Rotterdam

Different (territorial and thematically) focus Basis is urban vision and strategy of each city

Combination ERDF and ESF Future labour market potential (ERDF)

& access to employment (ESF) Physical, economic and social regeneration (ERDF)

but also innovation & low carbon economy

Key figures

17 MS will employ ITIs as a delivery mechanism for the implementation of Article 7 Sust. Urban. Dev. (with a financial allocation of EUR 7 billion)

Under half of the Member States will use Art 7 to explicitly tackle urban deprivation

Half of the Member States will allocate more than 7.5% of their ERDF budget for Article 7 to support Sustainable Urban Development

Financial allocation to sustainable urban development (Article 7 ERDF) per MS

Thematic Breakdown of Art 7

New Tools - CLLD

Support from all 5 Funds (ERDF, ESF, CF, EARDF, EMFF for integrated local development strategies

designed and implemented by the local community

CLLD is a new instrument in Cohesion Policy Reluctance by some MS to use this instrument

17 MS will apply CLLD in 40 OPs using EUR 2 billion EUR 1.3 billion of ERDF 0.7 billion of ESF

Follow-up required in order to gain information on the use of this tool

New Tools – Urban Innovative Actions

€371m (2015-2020)

To promote innovative and experimental approaches and solutions in the field of sustainable urban development

Annual calls for projects - €5 million maximum per project

Themes to be announced soon call expected this year