A3-0385/93

Resolution on the problems of and prospects for conurbations

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the motions for resolutions by:

(a)Mr Waechter on the problems of and prospects for conurbations (B3-1388/90),

(b)Mr Kostopoulos on the setting up of Community funds conditional upon the implementation of projects to reduce environmental pollution in urban centres (B3-1484/90),

(c)Mr Kostopoulos on aid to promote special programmes to transfer industrial plants and cottage industries away from urban centres

(B3-1081/91),

- having regard to the Treaty on European Union establishing the Community's policy on economic and social cohesion and that on subsidiarity,

- having regard to the Commission's communication 'Europe 2000, an outlook for the development of the Community's territory' and its resolution of 16 September 1992 thereon,

- having regard to information received at its hearing of 5 November 1992 on 'Large Conurbations, Prospects and Problems',

- having regard to the amended regulations for the Structural Funds 1994-99,

-having regard to the proposal for a European Parliament and Council decision concerning the fourth framework programme of the European Economic Community activities in the field of research, technical development and demonstration (1994 to 1998) (COM(93)0276 - C3-0413/93),

-having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

-having delegated the power of decision to the Committee on Regional Policy, Regional Planning and Relations with Regional and Local Authorities, pursuant to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Policy, Regional Planning and Relations with Regional and Local Authorities (A3-0385/93),

1.Stresses that urban settlements have for centuries been an important source and focus of European cultural creativity, expressing, in many forms, a cultural heritage that deserves to be maintained and given a fresh impetus while allowing for further development; remains convinced that this task should be carried out in the cities themselves through elected local and regional authorities and through inhabitants' active participation so as to guarantee the continuing creativity, quality of life and respect for tradition that is the basis of a city's specificity and identity;

2.Underlines that, with the exception of housing, all services provided by urban settlements (medical care, transport, energy, trade, culture, education etc.) are generally open to people other than the city's inhabitants alone;

3.Recognises negative consequences of concentrated social and economic problems in urban areas and recommends support for vocational training, further training and retraining geared to the requirements of the regional labour market and employment prospects;

4.Points specifically to the risks of concentrated urban settlements such as environmental pollution, unsatisfactory treatment of waste, transport congestion, derelict areas and run-down housing;

5.Draws attention to the growing concentration of service industries in cities, with the result that the inhabitants of city centres are forced to move to dormitory towns and commute, which in turn causes serious congestion and means that much time is wasted on travelling;

6.Draws attention to the municipal planning strategies in large cities which, regardless of the situation which has developed in such cities, should consider the creation of conditions designed to retain and recover residents as a priority and to view residents as an element of any city's heritage;

7.Considers, therefore, that a fresh approach to conurbations is needed which takes particular account of problems such as noise, air pollution, the disposal of waste and waste water, the rational use of energy and energy saving and in which environmentally friendly means of transport take priority over individual transport;

8.Calls on the authorities responsible for urban development to transfer industrial plants which cause pollution to outlying areas as recommended in motion for a resolution B3-1081/91 and to support action to provide training opportunities, jobs and housing in a closely interconnected area;

9.Calls on the authorities responsible for urban development to formulate industrial policy strategies for the use of abandoned industrial sites and to take measures to revitalize run-down residential areas;

10.Recommends that the authorities responsible for urban development take greater account of the interests of families, children, the elderly and people with disabilities in future urban planning;

11.Is especially concerned at the human and social costs of ill-adjusted urban life, often acute in large conurbations, as observed in human and social segregation, social exclusion, above-average unemployment, crime, lack of access to or non-participation in urban networks at large;

12.Regrets that the Treaty on European Union contains no specific provisions for a Community urban policy; given that some 80% of the Community's population live in urban areas, all policies implemented by the EC concern and influence the urban population and their way of life;

13.Notes with interest that the European Council, in its conclusions of 29 October 1993 on policies for 'Growth and Employment', besides other criteria for the selection of projects which can be financed by the 'Edinburgh Facility', has added 'urban renovation', 'equipment for the transport sector' and 'energy production';

14.Acknowledges and respects the principle of subsidiarity and therefore agrees that decisions on urban affairs must be taken by those regional or local authorities elected to carry out policies for their respective areas;

15.Considers nevertheless that the Community, in pursuing policies within its competence, has an obligation to consider consequences for urban communities;

16.Endorses the Community's cohesion policy as pursued through support of economic and social activities (Structural Funds), improving living standards (energy, environment, transport, telecommunications and cultural centres) and investments in human resources (social policies, research and development); considers these instruments a considerable Community contribution to urban communities;

17.Recalls in this connection its resolution of 28 October 1993 on the future of Community initiatives under the Structural Funds, which called for a 'specific integrated urban development programme aimed at (...) parts of the Community's major urban areas' which would in future be implemented where existing Community instruments proved inadequate;

18.Reminds national authorities that they, in partnership with regional and social partners, are primarily responsible for the content and priorities for projects of interest to urban communities when applying for Community support through structural aid (development plans) or for participation in Community projects (other sectoral programmes);

19.Expresses the hope that the amended Structural Fund regulations, covering the next six years, are sufficiently flexible for Member States to propose development programmes where urban problems are in focus, most noticeably for Objective 2, 3 and 4 regions; notes that the number of large cities which can apply for and draw on Objective 1 funding has increased considerably for the period 1994-1999 compared to the previous funding period 1989-1993;

20.Points out that Community initiatives provide a unique opportunity to propose projects specifically for urban communities, provided the projects have a general European interest and an innovative character;

21.Reiterates its recent decision to create an additional budgetary line (B2-1405) for a Community initiative on 'Urban Policy' (to add to the six other general policy areas) intended for the financing of programmes connected with urban policy;

22.Recalls further its above-mentioned resolution of 28 October 1993 where, in connection with a 'human resources' programme, a specific integrated urban development programme is suggested, aimed at major urban areas suffering abnormally high unemployment and stimulation of local economic development seen as essential to the regeneration of run-down urban areas and to the provision of ready access to services and systems to support local entrepreneurial activity;

23.Draws attention to the activities under the fourth framework programme for research and development, in particular 'Targeted socio-economic research', which deals with social exclusion and technological contributions to solving such problems; other research and technology programmes centred on industrial competitiveness and employment could facilitate structural adjustment;

24.Considers that new growth opportunities for urban communities can be provided through intensified cooperation with their indigenous hinterland and region; the centre-hinterland relation should, when and wherever possible, be enlarged to encompass adjacent regions and/or urban areas;

25.Considers that a balance should be reached between the development of towns and the promotion of rural development so as to prevent the adjustment of agricultural structures and regions following the reform of the CAP from leading to over-concentration in towns to the detriment of regions with a rural vocation;

26.Considers that more rigorous coordination between the Community's sectoral policies is vital in order to be able to guarantee consistency between these policies and a more effective use of the appropriations available; considers that such coordination would not only favour an urban policy at European level but would also release new financial resources for the implementation of specific programmes for towns;

27.Proposes small scale funding (for its catalytic effect) of pilot projects and town-networks for exchange of information on instruments for urban development; thousands of such national projects are carried out anyway - knowledge gained could usefully be exchanged through an EC observatory or a network for urban development or urban regeneration schemes;

28.Supports selective Community incentives, for instance within policies promoting small-and medium sized enterprises, for setting up businesses in deprived urban areas or such projects offering integration of those excluded from social economic activities, in particular unemployed young people and women;

29.Recommends the inclusion of projects to aid the integration of ethnic minorities and immigrants and facilitate coexistence between people of different nationalities;

30.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and Council.