Metropolitan regions are seen as the engines of the Member States'
economies and centres of economic growth, however they are also a hub
of research, innovation and creative potential. According to Eurostat,
MRs are defined as NUTS3 regions or combinations of NUTS3 regions where
at least half of the population lives in a functional urban area that
has no fewer than 250 000 inhabitants. NUTS, Nomenclature of
territorial units for statistic, is a hierarchical system of division
of territory into regions. The OECD defines MRs in terms of function,
whereby an urban centre with high population density and job
opportunities is connected to the rest of the area by heavy daily
commuting into it.
This opinion drafted by the Rapporteur Juraj Droba (SK/ECR), points out
that although metropolitan regions (MRs) are seen as engines of Member
States' economies as well as hubs of research and innovation, MRs have
to face great and diverse challenges such as the protection of the
environment and adaptation to climate change, urban poverty, social
inclusion, integration of migrants, youth unemployment, criminality or
economic transition. MRs play a central role in adapting to the
consequences of climate change.
At the same time, MRs have to grapple with an expanding demand for
quality public services, putting a huge pressure on MR budgets. This
has a marked effect on the population's overall quality of life. Budget
revenues in some MRs bear only the slightest relation to their economic
success and high GDP, therefore the CoR recommends to go beyond the
mere GDP per capita indicator and take account of social, demographic
and environmental aspects.
“The aim of the opinion is to draw the EU’s attention to the issue
of metropolitan regions. These are regions which, in several cases,
are statistically the most common; but the reality in their
territory is often different. Because of increasing urbanisation,
they have to face challenges such as increasing demand for quality
public services and infrastructure, problems associated with
housing and the environment, and social exclusion, while lacking
adequate resources from their own budgets. Still, these are regions
with great potential, where suitably set support could lead to the
development not just of metropolitan areas, but could also
contribute to a fair distribution of benefits to outlying regions
and to stronger rural-urban linkages, and thereby significantly
help to overcome regional disparities. This is a crucial period for
preparatory work on the new cohesion policy and for deciding on the
size of EU funds after 2020, and I think that this was the right
time to initiate this opinion. I am happy to have received the
support of the members of the Committee and I believe this is a
step in the right direction”,
said Mr. Juraj Droba.
The Rapporteur points out that the ongoing process of drawing up
cohesion policy post 2020 is an opportunity to take on board the need
for a specific approach to MRs in the framing of future partnership
agreements and the operational programmes for cohesion policy funds.
The European Committee of the Regions calls for:
- The direct involvement of MRs in the framing of cohesion policy and
the implementation and evaluation of operational programmes and EU
projects;
- The attention of the EC to start looking into the potential added
value of support to MRs as a way of reducing regional disparities;
- The establishment of conditions and support mechanisms, by the EC,
for knowledge transfer, exchange of experience and best practice in the
area of metropolitan governance between MRs;
- All partnerships in the new EU Urban Agenda to address the ongoing
metropolitanisation of areas or for a new partnership for the
metropolitan dimension of the Urban Agenda.
The increasing
urbanization
as a global trend creates lots of opportunities but also forces us to
address new challenges, requiring the collaboration between
institutions and players in the MRs. These proposals aim to guarantee a
better performance of MRs and intend to meet the cohesion objectives.
Background:
Metropolitan regions currently include three fifths of the EU
population – a proportion that is expected to increase in the future.
These regions constitute important poles of innovation, research and
economic growth, while also offering a wide variety of educational,
cultural and professional opportunities to their inhabitants. For an
overview of Metropolitan regions in EU cohesion policy, please read
this
briefing
.
Contact:
Débora Teixeira (CoR)
Tel. +32 22822499
Mobile +32 493 93 23 09
debora.teixeira@cor.europa.eu
Pierluigi Boda (CoR)
Tel. +32 22822461
Mobile +32 473 85 17 43
pierluigi.boda@cor.europa.eu