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Urban Dimension of the EU Policies and the New “EU Urban Agenda”

At the end of the 1980s the intensification of the European integration process began, which ultimately led to significant changes in the status and role of the sub-national levels of government. By implementing the European legislative framework, local government units, particularly the cities, have initiated a number of structural and functional reforms in order to achieve stated goals such as effectiveness, responsiveness and quality of service delivery. In addition, the new public management reforms emphasize the economic role of sub-national levels of government and the necessity to direct their activities toward the promotion and/or strengthening of local development and growth. Although the European regional policy is primarily geared toward strengthening the position of the regions, the importance of the local levels of government cannot be ignored. Cities, which represent larger self-governing units, are economically more prosperous, and are therefore progressively taking the lead in the economic development of a wider territory. In this regard, European institutions recommend strategic planning and participatory democracy as the instruments necessary for achieving economic prosperity, social cohesion and environmental sustainability. The main purpose of the application of these instruments is to achieve a greater effectiveness in the process of political decision-making and to raise the awareness of the diversity of problems of local communities. In the first section of the paper, the author analyzes the European (European Union and Council of Europe) policies and standards for good local governance, with special emphasis on local development policies and the role of European cities in their implementation. The implementation of the European urban acquis into the legal framework of the Republic of Croatia is explored in the second part where the focus is placed on the measures which Croatian cities have adopted so as to encourage local development and growth. The concluding part of the paper contains comments gained from insight and a critical review of the involvement of Croatian local units in the implementation of European trends. Also, proposals are given for the strengthening of the economic role of sub-national levels of government and a further adaptation of Croatian cities to the European development policy.

urban management, development policies, strategic planning, participatory democracy, Croatia

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