What is Europe’s future? In a contribution to CEMR’s new publication “Europe 2030: Local leaders speak out“, the Mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb, reflects on several issues that will shape the future of the European project.

We are witnessing a global trend with the development of more and more megacities. People, wherever they are, wherever they come from, they find their future in urban areas. And this renewed urban focus is also being reflected by EU policy makers: for many years several initiatives have been aiming at promoting sustainable urban development, but despite all the best intentions, they were often piecemeal and limited to a few specific sectors. The last years this has been changing through initiatives such as the Intergrated Territorial Investments and Smart Cities and Communities that are aiming to support urban development in a more intergrated manner.

And since 2016, we have an Urban Agenda for the EU subscribed to by the member states in the Pact of Amsterdam. This represents an important step for the EU because until today the Treaties have not included the word “urban” or “city”.

It is a fact, we are on the eve of a major shift in our economies which will drive the urbanisation process further in several fronts. But this change will be, above all, led by towns and regions.

To read more about what the Mayor of Rotterdam had to say on the issues of climate change, jobs and innovation, migration and Brexit as they relate to towns and regions, click here.