Support has to be given to the reinforcement of a "structural" involvement of cities in EU policy making, e.g., cities as part of advisory groups, biennial urban forums, etc.; - required the adjustment of EU policies, including concrete priorities, to better respond to urban realities, e.g., setting policy priorities that are meaningful for cities and urban contexts, etc.; - rethinking of EU policy delivery to better reflect cities’ role as implementers of EU policy, e.g., a focus on two/three major societal challenges, such as CO2 reduction, climate adaptation or inclusion, to be addressed mainly through urban policies and by cities, etc.; strengthened coordination of EU policies directly or indirectly impacting on cities e.g., an urban Europe 2020 coordination platform, urban impact assessment, etc.; - better articulation and coherence between EU, national and local level policy making e.g., a strengthened role given to the intergovernmental cooperation on urban development, etc.; - better monitoring of cities involvement and use of European funds, especially European Structural and Investment Funds; - Using macro-regional strategies as a model for how an EU urban agenda could be conceived and implemented; - Strengthened and more coordinated knowledge-base, networking and learning (especially with regards to the Reference Framework for Sustainable Cities (RFSC), the URBACT city networking programme, the ESPON programme, the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Environmental Agency (EEA), Urban Europe Joint Programming Initiative, etc.).