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Informal meeting of ministers for housing, urban development, regional development and cohesion policy

Terça-Feira, 25 de Novembro de 2008

editorial staff

Réunion informelle des ministres du logement, du développement urbain, de l'aménagement du territoire et de la politique de cohésion

The informal meeting of ministers for housing, urban development, regional development and cohesion policy will take place from 24 to 26 November in Marseilles.

The informal meeting will bring together the ministers for policies relating to sustainable land use planning, i.e. the ministers for housing, urban and regional planning and cohesion policy.

The French Presidency would like to explore the development of possible regional synergies between actions taken by local authorities, at national level and at EU level. The ministers will discuss the social and environmental as well as urban and regional components. The objective is to stimulate and enhance horizontal work on the sectoral policies for which coordination on the ground is indispensable for sustainable development and social inclusion.

The first part of the meeting will focus on housing, with the French minister for housing convening his counterparts for a working meeting on the issue of access to housing for people in difficulty. It will be an opportunity to study the different strategies used by the countries of the European Union to ensure access to housing for everyone. The ministers responsible will examine the impact of European policies and discuss the relevant instruments used in their country. The second part of the meeting will focus on sustainable cities in the context of the charter for integrated urban development adopted in Leipzig. After reviewing its implementation, the urban development ministers will focus on matters concerning social cohesion, mobility, energy and urbanism, important elements of integrated urban development. Lastly, spatial planning and cohesion policy ministers will go over the progress of the European Union's regional agenda and will continue discussions on the future of the cohesion policy and its adaptation to the major challenges that concern Europe and regional cohesion.

The European Union has managed to reduce differences in the development of its constituent regions through the economic and social cohesion policy. Confronted with new challenges - globalisation, social exclusion, demography and climate change - it needs to connect regional policy instruments more effectively with community policies and take better account of the specific challenges concerning the way cities function in connection with the region in which they are situation. Against this backdrop in 2007 it adopted the territorial agenda and the Leipzig charter on sustainable European cities, which recognises the European city as a shared heritage and an asset in facing these challenges.

Press contacts:
Press office: 33 (0)1.40.81.27.65 Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Town and Country Planning (Regional Development)
Chrystelle de Crescenzo - 33 (0)1.40.81.34.21 (Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Town and Country Planning (Regional Development) - Secretary of State for Regional Development)
Caroline Wallet: 33 (0)1.42.75.74.08 or 33 (0)6.25.52.58.58 (Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs)
Lilia Bouarour: 33 (0)1.44.49.80.12 or 33 (0)6.21.78.42.88 (Ministry of State for Housing and Urban Affairs)

"Access to Housing for persons with difficulties"
- November 25: Statement of the Housing Ministers Meeting of Nov. 24
- EHF statement , in English
- d'intervention EHF , en français
- Draft communiqué ENG
- Communiqué Final, FR
- Program ENG , Programme FR
- Summary of Reports from EU countries ; ENG
- Synthèse du report logement l´UE, FR
- Background paper ENG , Note de préparation FR