The Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, held from January to June 2024, placed the spotlight on cities’ essential role in shaping Europe’s sustainable and prosperous future. With urban policy led by the Brussels-Capital Region, the Presidency was a unique opportunity to ensure cities’ priorities were amplified in EU policymaking.
Under the banner ‘A Presidency that cares about cities,’ the Belgian Presidency emphasised the importance of supporting multilevel governance, strengthening collaboration across urban centres, and aligning city priorities with the EU agenda.
During the Presidency, one of the standout features was its unique political setup. A city region – the Brussels Capital Region – chaired the informal EU Council on Urban Policy. This intergovernmental meeting on urban matters brings together representatives from the European Commission, the 27 member states and cities.
At the heart of these efforts was Antoine de Borman, CEO of perspective.brussels, the urban planning agency for the Brussels region. Throughout the Presidency, Antoine played a pivotal role in coordinating urban policy priorities.
We spoke with him about the Presidency’s successes and challenges, including how it advanced urban priorities at the EU level, the importance of urban planning in tackling Europe’s challenges, and the enduring legacy of the Brussels Declaration of European Mayors.
From addressing the “triangle of hell” in urban planning, to navigating the complexity of EU regulations on land use, Antoine provides a compelling vision for integrating urban policies into EU decision-making.
The Belgian Presidency slogan was ‘A Presidency that cares about cities’. How did you translate this into practice?
Perspective places great importance on consultation and cooperation. One year before the start of our Presidency, we engaged with cities, urban networks like Eurocities, and various stakeholders, to get their input in terms of priorities, messages and activities to develop during our Presidency. This involvement and cooperation continued throughout the course of our Presidency where we invited mayors, civil servants and representatives from urban networks to be actively involved in the many events we organised.
The result was a comprehensive programme of meetings and discussions dedicated to European cities. The aim was to give cities the possibility to express their messages and priorities towards the European institutions; put cities and their challenges at the heart of the European political agenda for the next five years; and increase the involvement of cities and mayors in the EU decision-making process and EU policies and programmes.
These messages were gathered in a declaration, co-constructed with European cities, metropolitan areas, European urban networks and others urban actors. The Brussels Declaration of European Mayors was our red thread, guiding the entire presidency. It was an opportunity to deliver bold messages to the European institutions when it comes to cities’ priorities in urban policies, and to provide a set of recommendations to the European institutions.
Despite being at the forefront of challenges and crisis, cities cannot tackle their challenges alone. We need to remain attentive to the principles of multi-level governance and partnership when defining the programme and implementing investments of the European urban policy. There is a strong demand from cities in the future to tackle the issues of housing, social inequalities and cooperation between urban centres and suburban areas.
The declaration can still be signed! We invite cities to join us and share these important messages: https://perspective.brussels/en/studies-and-observations/presidency-council-european-union/declaration-european-mayors
Your Presidency focused on recognising urban planning at EU level. As director of the planning agency for the Brussels region, could you explain more about this?
Urban planning is pivotal in shaping sustainable, adaptable cities. Yet it has often been overlooked at the EU level. During our presidency, we advocated to make urban planning a strategic EU focus, to help cities address key challenges such as demographic change, environmental resilience or social cohesion.
In Brussels and other European cities, we encounter what I call a ‘triangle of hell’ in urban planning. We have to conciliate goals which play against each other. The first challenge, demographic shifts, requires flexible planning approaches for population growth or decline. Growing cities need expanded housing and services, while shrinking cities benefit from redevelopment and adaptive reuse to sustain accessibility and quality of life.
The second challenge, climate resilience, is urgent. With the IPCC predicting significant climate impacts across Europe, planners must adapt urban spaces to withstand these changes.
The third challenge, social cohesion, intersects with demographic and environmental needs. This brings us to the heart of our triangle of hell of urban planning. We need to anticipate likely demographic changes and develop a different city model, while also ensuring cohesion and social justice within the urban whole.
Untangling this triangle is not impossible, but ‘more of the same’ makes the joint achievement of these objectives increasingly distant. Emphasis on regulating land use and the development of new ways in urban development are the cornerstone of the responses we can identify.
Your presidency authored an important study showing how many EU regulations impact on land use, despite urban planning not being a direct EU competence. Could you tell us more about this?
It is interesting to note that, formally, the European Union has no competences in spatial planning. However, a number of European policies embodied in sectoral directives and regulations do have major impacts on spatial planning.
We discovered with this study – ‘The impact of EU regulations and policies on land use in cities’ – that there is a diversity of regulations, not only environmental, that directly influence land use and the functions that can be, or need to be, developed on the land.
Moreover, these legislations sometimes have a contradictory influence on spatial planning, reflecting some lack of internal coherence in European regulations. These are not prepared by the same departments at the European Commission and are not necessarily discussed in the same formations or working groups at the Council of the EU. Though once they are adopted, these legislations must ‘land’ somewhere.
Planning agencies and city departments responsible for urban planning need to cope with the contradictory demands coming from the EU. For instance, some legislations ask for more space for nature while others are asking for more space for transport or renewal energies. This requires us to adapt our plans and develop strategies to comply with these European legislations.
But sometimes it is impossible to combine contradictory demands because the territory where they are implemented remains limited and cannot always accommodate the different requested functions. That is why we also refer to creativity for urban planning: we need to identify new ways to conciliate these different objectives within a defined territory.
One recommendation from our study is to “Provide adequate room for information and exchange on EU regulations with impacts on land use, spatial planning, and urban development in the intergovernmental cooperation on urban matters”.
At the intergovernmental level, it is important that the the meeting of Directors of urban affairs in European Member States, known as the DGUM, is at least informed about these regulations which have an impact on cities.
How do you think the EU can address the urban planning dimension while respecting the subsidiarity principle?
As demonstrated in our study, urban planning plays a crucial role in integrating diverse sectoral dimensions and translating them effectively at territorial level. During the Belgian presidency, we shared our conviction that achieving the ambitious sectoral goals of the EU (including environmental sustainability, affordable housing, green energy, etc.) requires their integration into territorial planning frameworks and dialogue with urban planners and urban planning agencies.
While respecting the subsidiarity principle where urban planning remains a national, regional or local competence, it is important for the EU to involve and engage with urban planners as soon as possible when drafting new legislation or policies so we can better inform policy-making decisions.
Urban planning agencies are key players in guiding decisions on land use, resource allocation, and the integration of public services. We bring a multidisciplinary, long-term perspective, balancing technical expertise with a commitment to sustainable development goals. As agile, flexible institutions, planning agencies are instrumental in helping local authorities implement policies that prioritise resilience, inclusivity, and ecological balance.
European institutions can also be more active in promoting cooperation between the different level of governance responsible for urban planning, as well as the cooperation between urban centres and their peripheries.
Now the Presidency is over, how do you think we can keep momentum on this important topic? The European Commission is expected to prepare a new policy agenda for cities. How can cities and partners continue to promote your message?
It was such a reward seeing that several of our messages and priorities have been included in the mandate of the new European Commission, notably the ambitious policy agenda for cities or the strong focus on affordable housing.
We need to keep the ball rolling. From our side, we will keep promoting these priorities in the different fora we have access to. We also worked with the Hungarian and Polish presidency to create a continuum on some aspects such as the impact of regulation on spatial planning, the urban and rural cooperation or the need of a strong EU Cohesion Policy supporting cities.
Having worked closely with urban networks to define these messages together, we are confident they will continue to promote them, as these messages also reflect their own priorities.
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Read the Belgian Presidency’s report ‘Urban Policy in Belgium,’ presenting the urban policies of three regions representing Belgium in the Informal Council on Urban Affairs.
Read the conclusions and recommendations of the Belgian Presidency in relation to the urban agenda.
Read the Belgian Presidency’s report ‘The impact of EU regulations and policies on land use in cities.’
