27 September, Ptuj, Slovenia
On 27 September 2021 the meeting of the National territorial cohesion contact points (NTCCP) took place. SI presidency organised it live, attended by representatives from 18 EU Member States and European institutions and networks in the field of spatial development and territorial cohesion, the European Commission, the Committee of Regions, ESPON EGTC, CEMR, and the European Association of Planners. The meeting was focused to the TA2030 communication and implementation activities. Within quality of life, the focus theme of the Slovenian presidency, ESPON EGTC presented the elements and the process of preparation the policy brief which will be tabled for the Directors’ general meeting in October.
The importance of continuous communication on TA2030 objectives and implementation achievements was highlighted in the discussion; the #territorialagenda.eu website was reiterated as the main communication channel. NTCCP confirmed the agreement on the tasks of the communication group set up to support to the presidencies. The proposal of a new TA2030 Pilot Action on limitation of land take and urban sprawl put forward by Belgium gained a lot of interest among the NTCCP members who support its further development. The Presidency outlined the second ESPON Pilot Lab which will be on 20 October 2021 in support of the learning process from the TA 2030 Pilot actions.
In line with the Slovenian priority to support the Western Balkans, the Presidency presented the interest of the Territorial group of the Western Balkan Network on the Territorial Governance to cooperate in the Territorial Agenda related activities, and the Presidency’s intention to invite the group to future events. Based on the current Trio initiative to link the TA2030 and Urban Agenda for the EU the joint meeting of the NTCCP and Urban development group (UDG) was held, discussing topics and means of closer cooperation. As the topics of common interest the following were recognized: polycentric development and the role of small and medium sized cities, functional areas and territorial governance, and land take and land use planning.