Position paper
Brussels, March 2014
A new governance model for the EU Urban Agenda:
Taking inspiration from the Covenant of Mayors
Position paper produced as part of the public consultation process on the EU Urban Agenda,
launched by DG REGIO
SUMMARY
On 17 and 18 February 2014, the European Commission opened the debate on a future EU Urban
Agenda, by launching a public consultation on the occasion of the Cities of Tomorrow conference. This
position paper is a more detailed version of Energy Cities’ response to the online consultation.
Energy Cities very much welcomes the Commission’s recognition of the importance of local
authorities, reaffirmed through this event and the preparation of an EU Urban Agenda.
We believe that there is indeed a need to formulate and implement an EU Urban Agenda, in order
to leverage local authorities’ full potential and to place territorial cohesion at the heart of EU
policies. The agenda should aim at defining a new way of governance, inspired by the successful
movement of the Covenant of Mayors, which will allow local authorities to contribute to EU strategies
based on the principle of “active subsidiarity” and multilevel governance. The implementation of the
agenda should be ensured by involving all stakeholders and improving cooperation between
them.
This is why Energy Cities suggests that:
1. Each strategy or legislative document adopted at EU or national level include a specific
chapter on the impact on local authorities and their role in its implementation;
2. The European Commission launch a debate on territorial cohesion to place this concept at
the heart of its Urban Agenda;
3. All EU policies be assessed against their impact on territorial cohesion and in that sense to
consult and monitor the impact of EU policies on local authorities;
4. A new governance model, based on the Covenant of Mayors’ experience and combining
voluntary commitment of mayors with facilitation and coordination efforts from the EU and the
member states, and the collaboration with other stakeholders and citizens, be replicated to
other domains;
5. Local authorities be part of all steps of the development phase of the Agenda that will follow
this consultation as well as of its implementation and monitoring process.
In that sense, Energy Cities calls on the European Commission to:
- Conduct an impact assessment of the Covenant of Mayors’ results and process in terms of
European governance, subsidiarity, multi-stakeholder engagement, and achievement of EU
targets, in order to examine how it could be inspiring for replication to other policy sectors.
- Appoint a person who would be responsible for urban issues in each Directorate
General;
- Set up an inter-services task-force on urban issues;
- Regularly gather EU, national and local representatives at the EU Urban Agenda conference
to evaluate and monitor the EU Urban Agenda;
Energy Cities also invites Member States to set up equivalent structures at national level to involve
local authorities when developing strategies and policies or adapting EU legislation as well to empower
local authorities to act according to those political objectives.
Energy Cities is ready to actively contribute to the development of an EU Urban Agenda.
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A new governance model for the EU Urban Agenda:
Taking inspiration from the Covenant of Mayors
Energy Cities very much welcomes the recognition given to local authorities through the European
Commission’s initiative of an EU Urban Agenda. It is an important opportunity to lead Europe out of
the social, economic, environmental and societal crisis. Energy Cities believes that this can be
achieved by setting up a new European governance model, based on active subsidiarity1 and
strengthened territorial cohesion.
1. WHY do we need an EU Urban Agenda - What is required to work more efficiently?
Local authorities are crucial to combine local expectations and involvement of citizens with EU
strategies.
Energy Cities fully supports Commissioner Hahn when noting that ‘’the voices of cities need to be
heard more clearly” (speech at Cities of Tomorrow conference on 17.02.2014).
Because mayors and local administrations are closest to citizens, because local authorities have wide
responsibilities that influence citizens’ everyday life, they are key for Europe and all the more in the
current context of socio-economic crisis, lost faith in the public administration or anti-Europeanism.
This is why Energy Cities considers this Urban Agenda as an opportunity to highlight the specific role
that local authorities play in achieving social, economic and environmental development, among the
EU and national levels, but also in the private and civil society arenas. Unfortunately, recent examples
tend to demonstrate a lack of recognition of local authorities in this strategic phase and they are
sometimes considered as “end-of-the-line” players. In the climate and energy policy fields, the Green
Paper “A 2030 framework for climate and energy policies” did not mention local authorities or local
players anywhere, although the Covenant of Mayors is considered as a tremendous success in the
framework of the energy and climate package for 2020.
Therefore, Energy Cities suggests that each strategy or legislative document adopted at EU or
national level include a specific chapter on their impact on local authorities and the role of the
latter in its implementation.
Europe needs an urban agenda to translate “territorial cohesion” into reality.
A key objective introduced with the Lisbon Treaty, territorial cohesion, complements economic and
social cohesion as pillars of the EU regional and urban policy. However, this issue has not been
genuinely considered and its concept has not been actually developed since then. Fortunately, cities
and regions demonstrate, sometimes with difficulties, what territorial cohesion really means.
According to the European Commission, ‘’territorial cohesion is about ensuring the harmonious
development of all these places and about making sure that their citizens are able to make the most of
inherent features of these territories. As such, it is a means of transforming diversity into an asset that
contributes to sustainable development of the entire EU.’’2 When promoting ‘’low energy cities with a
high quality for life for all’’, Energy Cities actually demonstrates how local authorities can achieve
territorial cohesion: The Low Energy Cities concept aims at achieving ‘’harmony between the
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The traditional approach of subsidiarity (in brief, one problem to be solved by one level) does not seem really
appropriate yet for addressing the majority of the challenges we are facing. It is better to give to all levels (from
citizens to the EU) the opportunity to act, making use of their own capacities and responsibilities in order to
provide the best possible policies and actions. Cf. “Making the principle of Active Subsidiarity the Foundation of
European Governance” Pierre Calame, 2002.
2
Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion -Turning territorial diversity into strength, 2008.
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economic, social, environmental and human dimensions. Making the most of local energy savings
potential and renewable resources leads to creating of new jobs, improving resource management,
decreasing pollution, mobilising human intelligence, reducing energy poverty and giving citizens the
quality of life they long for. Cities and towns guarantee this territorial cohesion.3’’
Therefore, Energy Cities invites the European Commission to launch a debate on territorial
cohesion in order to place this concept at the heart of its Urban Agenda.
We also recommend assessing all EU policies against their impact on territorial cohesion and
in that sense consulting and monitoring the impact of EU policies on local authorities.
2. WHAT should an EU Urban Agenda be like?
Energy Cities considers that the EU Urban Agenda should aim at defining a new way of
governance through which local authorities would be able to contribute to EU strategies. This
new vision of governance should be backed up by a practical strategy, process and procedures.
The following ways of thinking – that were developed during the Cities of Tomorrow event on 17
February - should be seriously considered when thinking about new working methods:
- Harry van Dorenmalen, Chairman of IBM Europe, said: ‘’some years ago, IBM was close to die.
Why were we able to survive? It is because we have changed our way of thinking, from control to
trust”. Indeed, information technologies at that time were designed to control and monitor but not
to empower. It was necessary to change in order to survive. Institutions have to think about their
own future by transforming their relationship with the society.
- Benjamin Barber, author of ‘’If Mayors Ruled the World’’, has developed a similar approach to
cities. He said that EU and national institutions are not in a position to explain to cities what they
have to do. We have to go from cities to European level and not the opposite, because innovation
comes from the ground. The most important thing is to empower cities and let them manage their
own resources, so that they will not have to ask other levels for money. It is also a way to restore
democracy.
We need a new governance model, aiming at territorial cohesion and based on the principles of
the Covenant of Mayors (see below).
3. The Covenant of Mayors’ governance model
Cities are affected by three categories of EU policies:
- Regulatory policies, mainly resulting from EU directives, e.g. regarding water treatment, waste,
air quality, procurement, etc. Their implementation is usually quite costly, but is mandatory at
local level, once the transposition into national law has been made. In this case, local authorities
have no other choice than to obey (“stick method”).
- Incentive policies, through support programmes, e.g. under the Cohesion policy, that provide
support to reduce territorial inequity or boost the competitiveness of regions and cities; these
incentives are given – especially in certain areas - provided that EU strategies, e.g. the EU 2020
Strategy, are taken into account at territorial level. Through these means, the EU can influence
local decisions to make them as convergent as possible with EU orientations. In this case, local
authorities have to integrate EU priorities in their operational programmes in order to receive EU
funding (“carrot method”).
3
Energy Cities Magazine : Energetic Territories, 2011
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Some other EU policies are neither linked with regulatory nor incentive EU instruments
addressing the territorial level. In this third case, it is up to local decision makers to decide whether
they want to align their policies with those of the EU. Here, neither stick nor carrot can work to
force or influence local authorities to take EU policies and strategies into account.
In addition, there are many policy areas falling under local authorities’ responsibilities for which the EU
is not competent, because these fields are not covered by the EU Treaties such as social issues.
In this context, a new governance model is needed to mobilise all levels of government to
develop policies leveraging the potential of cities, especially where the EU cannot use the stick
or the carrot methods.
The example of the Climate and Energy EU policy and the Covenant of Mayors
The EU and its Member States are committed to the Kyoto Protocol, and engaged through the Climate
and Energy Package (so-called the ‘’3x20 by 2020’’). According to this, member states have to reach
two binding targets (CO2 and renewables), and are encouraged to reach the energy efficiency
objective through a specific set of measures.
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Local authorities have neither obligations nor incentives from the EU to meet these goals (with
the exception of programmes such as the cohesion policy funds, on research and innovation that can
help investigate new paths for action and requirements and/or support of national governments). In
spite of this absence of obligations or incentives, 5,500 local authorities have decided to voluntarily
commit to achieving and going beyond the 20% CO2-reduction target. More than 3,500 of them have
already submitted their Sustainable Energy Action Plan, whilst first implementation reports are being
delivered. 250 regions, provinces, agencies and other organisations are supporting the process, as
well as dozens of associated partners.
In the framework of the Covenant, mayors have proved that:
-
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They have a role to play at their level, as a civic commitment, in addressing global challenges
such as climate change
They help governments to achieve their goals through their voluntary commitment, and expect
some support in return: “we help you achieve your goals, just help us help you!’’
Although the climate and energy package is a commitment of the EU and member states,
achieving its objectives is only possible at local level, where buildings, transport and mobility
systems, local resources, etc. are actually located and can be acted upon
Acting on energy issues at local level entails benefits in terms of local development, new
business opportunities, job creation, fighting fuel poverty, involvement of stakeholders and
citizens, and ultimately improvement of quality of life; there is an objective convergence between
the local and the EU processes, each of these levels fulfilling its own duties.
Lessons learned in terms of governance
- When an EU policy is attractive enough, well marketed and translated at local level in simple
terms, it can be very powerful to create a bottom-up movement on a voluntary basis.
- When an issue or objective is clear and simple (for instance the ‘’3x20’’), it is much easier to get
a large number of local authorities and a wide spectrum of stakeholders involved.
- Mayors willing to engage in this process need to be sure to work for themselves and their
citizens, simultaneously with EU topics, but not only as executives implementing EU policies (topdown approaches are not appropriate)
-
The traditional approach of subsidiarity (in brief, one problem to be solved by one level) is not
suitable for addressing the majority of the challenges we are facing. It is better to give to all
levels (from citizens to the EU) the opportunity to act, using their own capacities and
responsibilities in order to provide the best policies and actions possible. Applying this
approach prepares the ground for a circular and open negotiation process between all levels
(local, regional, national and EU), which will allow for achieving common objectives.
Energy Cities believes that this new governance model combining voluntary commitment of
mayors with facilitation and coordination efforts from the EU and the Member States, and the
collaboration with other stakeholders and citizens, should be replicated to other domains.
4. HOW should an EU Urban Agenda be implemented?
To ensure the smooth implementation of the EU Urban Agenda, all stakeholders need to be involved
at every stage of the process, starting with the development phase. The proposed new governance
model should be implemented after a thorough analysis of the Covenant of Mayors and of how it can
be replicated in other fields. In addition, measures for enhancing cooperation between all levels of
government and within the European Commission, as well as for evaluating and monitoring the
agenda need to be taken.
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Energy Cities therefore suggests for the implementation of the EU Urban Agenda that:
Local Authorities be part of all steps of the development phase of the agenda that will follow this
consultation as well as of its implementation and monitoring.
The European Commission:
- Conduct an impact assessment of the Covenant of Mayors, of its results and process in terms
of European governance, subsidiarity, multi-stakeholder engagement, and achievement of EU
targets, in order to examine how it could be inspiring for replication to other policy sectors;
- Appoint a person who would be responsible for urban issues in each Directorate General;
-
Set up an inter-service task-force on urban issues;
Regularly gather EU, national and local representatives at the EU urban agenda conference to
evaluate and monitor the EU urban agenda;
Member States set up equivalent structures at national level and involve local authorities when
developing policies or adapting EU legislation
Energy Cities is eager to take an active part in the development and implementation of the EU
Urban Agenda. We strongly believe that it will contribute to getting Europe back on track
toward smart, inclusive and sustainable growth and a high quality of life for all.
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