European sustainable urban development policy in the light of priorities of the Europe 2020 Strategy

The main aim of this article is to present and discuss the role of European cities in realization of the Strategy Europe 2020, as well as to briefly assess opportunities and conditions for SUD resulting from the targets adopted in the Strategy. First, the concept of SUD, the key steps of evolution of the European sustainable urban policy as well as the importance of urban areas for the EU are presented. Then, the role of cities in the context of priorities of the Strategy Europa 2020 is elaborated and dilemmas regarding SUD and the implementation of the Strategy Europe 2020 are discussed.