Policy update by EUROCITIES Florence

1. Policy update by EUROCITIES Florence

2. Policy update on Horizon Europe • On 12 December 2018, the European Parliament voted on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, laying down its rules for participation and dissemination (COM (2018)0435 – C80252/2018 – 2018/0224(COD)). • EUROCITIES had an active role in the consultation for the draft report, sending recommendations for amendments to the rapporteurs based on the policy statement adopted in March 2018 and that emphasized the need for a strong urban dimension. Ahead of the vote in the European Parliament on 12 December 2018, EUROCITIES developed voting recommendations for amendments and sent it to the members of the ITRE committee.

3. Policy update on Horizon Europe These are the main developments relevant to cities in comparison to the Commission’s proposal: • supports the developments of innovation eco-systems, with a focus on strengthening inclusion of SMEs and start-ups, particularly by allowing fast-track access to EIT • takes a citizens-focused and an integrated approach to tackle Europe’s complex challenges (with missions still tbd), achieved by requiring a citizen’s participation section in HE Annual report as well as by strengthening the dialogue between society and researchers at different stages of the project, in line with the idea co-creation and co-designing; • strengthens capacity building activities, mutual learning exercises and peer-to peer exchanges to ensure replicability and scaling-up of solutions in cities throughout Europe; • a swifter application process for beneficiaries

4. Policy update on Horizon Europe Advocacy activities of EUROCITIES • November 20 Contacted ITRE Members with voting recommendations for amendments • January 8 Meeting with Commissioner Oettinger, DG BUDG; • January 9 Meeting with Patrick Child, Deputy Director, DG RTD • Active participation and statement by EUROCITIES during high- level conference organized by DG RTD and urban Intergroup  EU Research and Innovation for Cities of the Future • Meeting with John Bell, Acting Director, Directorate I – Climate Action and Resource Efficiency; Director, Directorate F - Bioeconomy, (Directorate General for Research and Innovation, European Commission).  • Meeting between our President and Patrick Child, Deputy Director General, Directorate General for Research and Innovation, European Commission

5. InvestEU • On 16 January 2019, the European Parliament voted in Plenary on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the InvestEU Programme • Voting result has been favourable for cities • All the amendments that were recommended by EUROCITIES were at least partially considered. • Our amendments and recommendations focused particularly on issues related to communication, capacity-building, knowledge-sharing and technical assistance at the local level, as well as on the importance of building up on the successful experience of EFSI, with clearer performance evaluation methods.

6. InvestEU Main developments relevant to cities in comparison to the Commission’s proposal: • more cooperation with local and regional authorities; • more resources for capacity-building, particularly targeted to potential project promoters (local service provider organisations and authorities); • more comprehensive guidelines and Advisory Hub responsive to small-scale projects at local level, including through investment platforms;

7. Cohesion Policy • Finally, the vote on the CPR took place on 22 January 2019 while the vote on the ERDF/CF regulation was on  27 March. • To secure our requests on the ERDF/CF, we launched a campaign in early February to engage cities in advocacy, helping them to reach out to the MEPs in the REGI committee from their region/member state ahead of the vote. • Both the Council and the EP seem to agree on putting sustainable urban mobility under policy objective 2. The EP is expected to back increasing the earmarking for sustainable urban development to 10% of the ERDF while the Council seems to stick with the Commission’s proposal of 6%.  • What is ahead of us?  • Linked to the conditions explained above, trilogue between the current EP and the Council is going to cover only certain thematic blocks of the CPR (programming, management and control).  

8. WG LTI • On 12 November the Committee of the Regions and the OECD co-hosted a conference where key developments in subnational finance and investments over the ten years following the crisis were discussed. The speakers provided extensive evidence about the fundamental role of subnational government investments (SGIs), and particularly that of cities, to support investment in key areas, ranging from social services and innovative sectors to resilience policies. In this respect, Max Kunnemann, Financial Advisor for the City of Cologne and representing the EUROCITIES Working Group on Long-term Investments, shared his view about local governments’ potential to shift towards more effective spending and fiscal sustainability.

9. WG LTI Case studies • Vienna – PPP Educational Campuses • Cologne- Sustainable infrastructure financing • The Hague - HEID (The Hague Economic Investment Holding Fund Foundation) • Warsaw – Multigenerational affordable house project • Warsaw - Concession for the construction and operation of bus shelters in Warsaw

10. WG LTI • Position paper

11. Sustainable Development Goals • 30 EUROCITIES members Joint Task Force • EUROCITIES participated in 1st OECD Roundtable on Localising SDGs, which took place last week in Paris.  • We have joined forces with the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) • 11 April 2019 from 14.30 to 18.00 - event highlighting the crucial role of local and regional authorities in this field “Regions and Cities Making the SDGs Happen” which will take place in the Committee of the Regions  European Sustainable Development Week (ESDW) 2019. •  from 30 May until 5 June.    The European Sustainable Development Week (ESDW) - initiative to facilitate the organization of activities that promote sustainable development and make these efforts visible on a common platform. The recently adopted global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its  (SDGs) articulates key issues that call for urgent action at all level and by all stakeholders. • Coming soon: first meeting of Task Force and webinar focused on policy developments

12. Public Procurement • Big Buyers pilot network • EUROCITIES (Andre Sobczak) was selected to be a part High – Level expert Group meeting – 3 April Bucharest • Urban Future Global Conference - 22-24 May

13. Urban partnership on innovative and responsible public procurement The action plan was finalised putting forward 7 actions seeking to facilitate a joint effort for a public procurement strategy of cities that facilitates and supports innovation and sustainability (social, economic and environmental). The partnership is carrying out a survey, to which you are invited to respond until 29 March here.

14. Actions

15. Actions

16. EDF H2020 project proposal • Call topic: SC5-20-2019: Transforming historic urban areas and cultural landscapes into hubs of entrepreneurship and social and cultural integration • Deadline: 19 February 2019 • Budget: €7-8 million • Co-funding rate: 100% • TANDEM will empower all city stakeholders in a participatory process to collaborate and co-create on urban regeneration and s FDFocio-cultural integration by connecting the areas of cultural and industrial tradition with 21st century economic innovation.The TANDEM project will concretely implement the concept of “commons” in Historic Urban Areas (HUAs) that possess significant amounts of tangible and intangible cultural capital in order to develop innovative ways of governance and testing them in five cities: Edinburgh (UK), Lublin (PL), Malmo (SE), Paris (FR), and Valladolid (ES) that are working on cluster topics through City Labs.

17. EURICITIES activities in April • Webinar – Icapital – 9 April • Regulating the urban commons: a ROCK webinar – 4 April