Free, Safe and Just Cities for All

On the occasion of its General Assembly meeting held in Augsburg (DE) on 26 June 2019, the European Forum for Urban Security (Efus) adopted the Declaration of Augsburg, “Free, safe and just cities – a European success story and its future”. It includes a series of recommendations for the European Union and MEPs.

Efus member cities & regions call the European Union and MEPs to:

• recognize the indispensable role that cities and regions play in shaping European security policies through the establishment of an Intergroup on security at the European Parliament that will be led by Efus and its members;
• promote and foster security policies founded on co-production, notably through the active involvement and participation of citizens;
• prioritize crime prevention and rebalance the other priorities announced in the EU’s programme on security;
• assert the key role played by cities and regions in the governance of security and propose new budget lines and expenditure management in the 2021-2027 European programming that are more adapted to local and regional authorities’ needs and constraints;
• design integrated security policies aimed at all groups in society and respectful of human rights;
• keep supporting the role played by cities and regions in fighting terrorism, notably through designing local initiatives to prevent violent radicalisation and support victims;
• recognize in the new Urban Agenda the link between security, crime prevention and urban spaces in terms of urban planning and management;
• ensure structural funding for Efus in order to enable this network – the only one gathering European cities and regions to work together on issues of urban security – to grow and develop in all EU countries.

Learn more about Efus