Paris, France, December 2018 – Efus was selected together with the city of Nice (FR) to coordinate the new partnership of the European Union’s Urban Agenda dedicated to urban security in public spaces.
Over a period of three years, this partnership will allow the EU to include for the first time the topic of urban security in the work carried out as part of the Urban Agenda. There are already 12 such partnerships on topics ranging from urban mobility, poverty, the inclusion of migrants and the adaptation to climate change, to name a few.
Through this partnership, local authorities, Member States and European institutions will work together to strengthen the role of cities in European security policies, to increase the sharing of knowledge and good practices, and to advocate at European level legislative reform and new funding frameworks.
In choosing Efus as coordinator together with the city of Nice, the EU recognises its expertise in urban security and its capacity for mobilising European local authorities. Members of this partnership are: the cities of Brussels (BE), Helsinki (FI), Lille (FR), Madrid (ES), Mechelen (BE), Riga (LV), and Torun (PL), the Union of Romagna Faentina communes (IT), the Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic, the Hungarian Ministry for Construction and Urban Planning, and the European Investment Bank.
The EU’s Urban Agenda is an initiative launched in 2016 as part of the Pact of Amsterdam. It is a new, multi-level working method that favours cooperation between Member States, local and regional authorities, the European Commission and other relevant stakeholders in order to “stimulate growth, quality of life and innovation in European cities and identify and successfully tackle social challenges.” [NB1] One of the objectives is to involve local and regional authorities in the design and implementation of EU policies while strengthening the urban dimension.
Efus was selected as coordinator of the new partnership because of its 30-year experience. It will reaffirm at EU level that security and crime prevention are essential aspects of urban and sustainable development. Indeed, issues of crime and delinquency are important in people’s daily life, and managing them is key to promote well-being and peaceful coexistence.
Through the exchanges that will be held within this partnership, Efus will reassert the need to reflect on issues as early as in the design of urban programmes rather than in reaction to problems that arise in the urban environment.
