European Union Declared Actions

Summary

The EU declared actions corresponds to initiatives being implemented by the European Commission and its partners. Follow-up is ensured for their implementation by the relevant services and regular activities are organised to implement the different type of support they correspond to. The EU and its Member States are renewing the three commitments they made in 2016. All these initiatives are being extended and continued : - The EU and its Member States recently decided to renew the Urban Agenda for the EU. This is part of our commitment to fostering multi-level governance and improving the urban dimension of EU policies. - The Degree of Urbanisation, proposed together with our partners, was adopted by the UN Statistical Commission as a new global method for aggregating subnational urban data. We support countries implementing it with tools and data developed by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. More and more countries are using the method for wider comparability, better measuring and reporting on the implementation of SDGs at local level. - We have also extended our International Urban and Regional Cooperation Programme (IURC), which supports cooperation between cities and regions globally. This is to enable them to work on sustainable solutions to common urban challenges, in the green and digital transitions and for recovery. • In addition, we are putting forward three new voluntary commitments to accelerate the delivery of the New Urban Agenda : - As a fourth commitment, EU support to external cooperation and partnerships. Within the framework of the Global Gateway and the external dimension of the European Green Deal, the EU will significantly scale up its engagement in, and support to, integrated sustainable urban development in EU partner countries, including enhancing access to finance through the European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD+). The EU will work in concert with EU Member States for greater coordination, scale and impacts within the Team Europe Initiatives. - The EU and its MS wish to present the mission on climate-neutral cities by 2030 as a fifth commitment. We will support 100 European cities to act as hubs of experimentation and innovation for green, digital and inclusive transformations. In turn, these cities will serve as models and inspiration for cities worldwide, through initiatives such as the global Urban Transitions Mission that we developed with the Global Covenant of Mayors under Mission Innovation. - Finally, a new sixth commitment is introduced with the New European Bauhaus. This initiative aims to inspire a global green transformation while simultaneously addressing other global challenges -such as the digital transition- by combining sustainability, inclusion and aesthetics.it involved multiple sectors in a creative process. The approach is innovative, transversal and human centred, and has the goal to improve all aspects of citizens’ lives, from buildings and public spaces to products, services and ecosystems, to mind-sets and behaviours.