Hungary has taken on the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from 1 July-31 December 2024, the last of the Spanish-Belgian-Hungarian Presidency trio for 2023-2024.
Read on to get details on the Presidency’s urban priorities and upcoming meetings.
Urban policy priorities
The priority theme for the Hungarian Presidency in urban matters is family-friendly cities. A family-friendly city is a place that prioritises the well-being and the needs of families. It offers a safe and healthy environment, good schools and childcare, recreational activities and amenities suitable for all ages.
Hungary will introduce the theme through case studies, study visits and presentations held by representatives of cities considered family-friendly (e.g. playful, community-led placemaking).
Another priority for Hungary is to ensure continuity with previous Presidencies – especially the Belgian Presidency, which just concluded in June. Hungarian officials informed URBACT of its plan to follow up on topics raised during the Belgian Presidency, like ‘the increasing impact of EU regulations and policies in land-use’, ‘the necessity to avoid urban sprawl and develop qualitative density’ and the Other Forms of Cooperation based on the Ljubljana Agreement, which established the new phase of the Urban Agenda for the EU (UAEU). For reference, the main forms of cooperation under the UAEU are ‘thematic partnerships’.
The Hungarian Presidency will continue discussions on the topic of Other Forms of Cooperation to support the possibility of launching this new type of Cooperation under the Polish Presidency during the first semester of 2025.
What’s on the agenda, when
The Hungarian Presidency will organise at least three main events on urban matters (accompanied by several online Urban Agenda Technical Preparatory Group meetings throughout the second half of 2024):
- 25 September: Urban Development Group meeting
- 29-30 October: URBACT Monitoring Committee meeting, where the URBACT Good Practices will be selected and announced (the last call closed in June)
- 27 November: Directors-General on Urban Matters meeting
The Hungarian Presidency plans to introduce its priority theme of family-friendly cities by presenting the policymaking behind it, some case studies and a good practice. The state of play of the UA EU, partnership statuses, state of the Cohesion Policy, discussions about the Other Forms of Cooperation and the state of the new EU regulations and urban development are also planned to be on the meeting agenda.
Stay tuned
Looking to the months ahead, the Hungarian Presidency hopes to see professionals, decision makers and other stakeholders from all around the EU at its meetings in urban matters.
Stay informed of updates on the official HU24 website.
More information on Hungary’s involvement in URBACT can be found on the National URBACT Point page here in Hungarian.
