UfM: moving forward on a Euro-Med strategy for sustainable urban development

Senior officials and experts of the Union for the Mediterranean have met in Barcelona to discuss the UfM's Euro-Mediterranean Sustainable Urban Development Strategy.

Following a presentation on the framework for Sustainable Euro-Mediterranean Cities and Territories, participants praised the work done by the UfM Secretariat, saying the framework had become a mature document which would meet the needs of the UfM region. Some participants made additional comments that will be reflected in the new version to be presented in the coming meeting.

Regarding the Urban Projects Finance Initiative (UPFI), which responds to the second element of the strategy, namely a call to donors to favour the emergence of sustainable urban development projects likely to be labelled by the UfM, it was announced that the Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF) Board is to give its final approval to the financing of the Technical Assistance Programme on 19 October 2012. The financing of the Project Identification Study for its part, had already been secured by the French Development Agency (AFD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), and discussions will continue on the kick-off meeting regarding the Study.

Concerning the third and fourth elements of the strategy, namely the award for urban innovations to identify and promote best practices and the preliminary study to determine if the creation of a coherent mechanism such as an Urban Agency for the Mediterranean is needed to support sustainable urban development in the Mediterranean, the Secretariat informed that it had decided to initiate a tender process for both studies.

This meeting follows from the First UfM Ministerial Meeting on Sustainable Urban Development, held in Strasbourg in November 2011 which entrusted the Senior Official Experts to formulate the Euro-Mediterranean Sustainable Urban Development Strategy with the support of the Secretariat.