ABSTRACT
The New European Union (EU) Urban Agenda crystallised in the so-called “Pact of Amsterdam” agreed upon by the Member States on 30 May 2016 at the end of the Informal Ministerial Meeting on the Urban Agenda. The reinvention of the EU Urban Agenda by the Pact of Amsterdam brings to the fore fundamental questions of EU urban “governance of governance” that is, of metagovernance. In some Member States, such as at the Lander level in Germany, such EU discussions have been met with great suspicion as a strong EU urban agenda might result in a centralisation of urban issues at the national level since the federal government is the one representing Germany in the EU. The fact that Dutch officials have been historically invested in EU urban issues was seen as a tool to help the Netherlands influence other EU policy areas given the developed know-how they had on urban matters.
