EN Official Journal of the European Union C 200/18

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on local authorities: actors for development

(2009/C 200/05)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

— welcomes the communication of the European Commission which, as its title suggests, openly acknowledges the role played by local and regional authorities (LRAs) in international cooperation with developing countries;

— is pleased to note that most of the points it made in its previous opinions of 2005, 2007 and 2008 on the subject have been taken on board;

— while stressing the specific contribution of the LRAs, recognises the need to harmonise cooperation activities at all levels and calls for progress on integrating the LRAs of the developing countries fully into development and cooperation policies;

— welcomes and accepts the proposal that it act as a contact point among the European institutions for a structured dialogue on development with LRAs, a proposal which is fully consistent with the role conferred on it by the Treaties;

— undertakes to take the necessary steps to organise, jointly with the European Commission, the annual conference on decentralised cooperation, involving ‘all those active in this system of cooperation’ and proposes that it be held after a CoR plenary session, with the first conference being held if possible before the end of 2009;

— proposes, in partnership with the European Commission, to establish and organise a decentralised cooperation ‘stock exchange’ in the form of an Internet portal, which would be an extension of the conferences by virtual means;

— recommends that documents be drawn up taking into account the information needs of LRAs on EU development policy;

— points out that it is essential to know ‘who does what and where’ in order to avoid duplication and to ensure that work in this area is based on the available information.

Rapporteur : Mr Christophe Rouillon (FR/PES) Mayor of Coulaines

Reference text

Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament and the European Economic and Social Committee and Committee of the Regions — Local Authorities: Actors for Development

COM(2008) 626 final

I. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

A. General comments

1. welcomes the communication of the European Commission which, as its title suggests, openly acknowledges the role played by local and regional authorities in international cooperation with developing countries;

2. also welcomes the Commission's initiative, based on this acknowledgement, which aims to structure progressively the relationship between European development policy and the decentralised cooperation activities of local and regional authorities. Finally, it suggests a number of ways of putting this recognition of local and regional authorities (LRAs) as development actors into effect;

3. points out that, since the publication of this communication, the Third European Development Days were held in Strasbourg on 15 and 17 November 2008. Against the backdrop of the world economic crisis, they focused on the local dimension of development and offered an opportunity to showcase the wide variety of LRA activities in a number of ways and to a wide audience: official presentation and dissemination of the European Development cooperation Charter in support of Local Governance, which accompanies the Commission communication; official launch of the new local and regional authority development platform, the establishment of which the Committee of the Regions called for in its opinion of November 2005; promotion of decentralised development cooperation and twinning arrangements through a ceremony attended by the Commissioner responsible for development and humanitarian aid and the president of the Committee of the Regions;

4. appreciates the Commission's presentation of the LRAs' specific contribution to the development process and to local governance and — a new departure — calls on a number of specific examples to demonstrate the variety and wealth of these activities;

5. is pleased to note that most of the points it made in its previous opinions of 2005, 2007 and 2008 on the subject of LRA development cooperation activities have been taken on board;

6. does not wish to repeat unnecessarily all the aspects of decentralised cooperation which it has already dwelt on in detail. It therefore restricts itself to simply pointing out that this is characterised by the diversity of its legal bases from one EU Member State to another, and by the significant added value it brings to the development process throughout the world. Its effectiveness derives from the presence of local elected representatives on the ground, where they are closest to the needs of the beneficiary populations. The LRAs involved in decentralised cooperation accumulate experience which gives them a capacity for advice and expertise which is particularly valuable in combating poverty and contributing to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (1);

7. also points out that the LRAs are able to play a leading role in international cooperation in fostering democratic governance at local level. The Committee of the Regions therefore welcomes the fact that the principles and areas of intervention of the European Development Cooperation Charter in Support of Local Governance, referred to in point 3, complement the Commission communication. It calls for the widest possible dissemination of this text, which is the result of a consultation carried out between the Member States and the partners in the developing countries and which stresses the need for coordination between the various actors at local level, but also between all levels of intervention (local, national and global);

8. points out that, alongside democratic governance encouraging public participation, the cooperation of local and regional authorities is a powerful factor for local development by virtue of the variety of its areas of activity and of the public and private actors on which it can call. It can also stimulate the organisation of production, and commercial and economic activity which benefits local people and the environment. This dimension is particularly useful to less favoured rural areas, as it provides a way of combating poverty, rural depopulation and the temptations of clandestine migration;

9. is appreciative of the fact that the communication highlights the role of the LRAs in raising public awareness of the issues of development and combating poverty throughout the world. It is convinced that the impact of this awareness-raising will be all the greater if it is based on cooperation between a European local authority and one or more authorities in developing countries. These awareness-raising activities are the tangible expression of the partnerships formed by development associations and groupings, as they are mainly based on the support of local associations bringing together citizens interested in development issues. Moreover, by sensitising the general public to the urgency of development, local and regional authorities can also contribute to better integration of people of immigrant origin. These activities inspired by solidarity and the desire to share can offer an opportunity for people of immigrant origin to rediscover their native cultures and to overcome their feeling of alienation;

B. Comments

10. wishes to make a number of comments which it considers essential to better defining the role of the LRAs in European development policy;

11. has reservations about the definition of decentralised cooperation set out in the communication (Introductory box — page 3 of communication). Previously the Commission defined decentralised cooperation as cooperation carried out at sub-national level, whatever the nature of the many actors involved in it. The Committee points out that it considers decentralised cooperation to be strictly speaking that carried out by local and regional authorities;

12. calls on the Commission to recognise that decentralised cooperation also plays a key role in protecting and improving the natural environment as well as providing a local-level response to current global concerns about the dangers of climate change and a way of raising people's awareness of the problem;

13. wishes to point out that the reference to the LRAs' financial contribution to official development assistance (ODA) should not obscure the importance of their qualitative contributions. The added value of their action derives first and foremost from the fact that their activities at local level are based on partnerships which they have decided to establish, and not on the implementation of commitments entered into by States. The example could be cited of small authorities without significant financial resources which nonetheless conduct substantial and relevant activities;

14. reiterates that cooperation by local and regional authorities is the local dimension of a global strategy of solidarity between the rich and the poor regions of our planet. It is in this way that authorities have been able to form groupings in various ways. This coordination effort was welcomed in the Conclusions of the Council of the European Union of 10 November 2008 on the Commission Communication;

15. recognises the need to harmonise development cooperation activities at all levels and considers that the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness represents significant progress. It therefore expects the Commission, assisted by its delegations in the beneficiary countries, to concentrate initially on fostering the development of useful partnerships, while respecting the principle of subsidiarity and taking account of the specific features of the activities of the local and regional authorities;

16. with a view to better governance, the ownership (2) of cooperation and development policies and strategies is one of the key principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. The Committee of the Regions particularly wishes to stress this principle and considers that, by virtue of its proximity to the grass roots, decentralised cooperation is a particularly suitable vehicle for this. In this connection it calls for progress on integrating the LRAs of the developing countries fully into development and cooperation policies.

II. OPERATIONAL ASPECTS

17. welcomes with the greatest interest the proposals presented by the Commission for translating its recognition of local and regional authorities as development actors into action, and would like to make the following comments:

On the organisation of a structured dialogue

18. particularly welcomes the Commission's proposal that a dialogue on development be held with local and regional authorities. In this way it is responding to the ongoing efforts of these authorities over recent years to secure recognition not only as actors but also as fully-fledged discussion partners in the groups of international, bilateral and multilateral donors;

19. welcomes and accepts the Commission's proposal that the Committee act as a contact point among the European institutions. This proposal is fully consistent with the role conferred on the Committee by the Treaties of expressing the views of the European local and regional authorities;

20. undertakes to take the necessary steps to organise, jointly with the European Commission, the annual conference on decentralised cooperation proposed in the communication and approves the idea of involving ‘all those active in this system of cooperation’ at European level. Without excluding other participants, this suggests that the European Commission could be represented both by the directorates-general concerned and by several of its delegations, as European cooperation pioneers in the various countries which would be from different regions of the world. In addition to the CoR, local and regional authorities from Europe and developing countries would participate, in some cases through their associations. The Committee of the Regions reiterates its call for financial support from the European Commission to supplement the resources which it itself mobilises. To enable Committee members to be fully involved in the debates of this conference, it would be a good idea for it to be held immediately after a CoR plenary session, with the first conference being held if possible before the end of 2009;

On the tools for a concerted approach

21. The Committee of Regions welcomes the Commission's plan to draw up ‘operational guidelines’, but wonders whether these would apply to the Commission's delegations in the countries — to guide their relations with LRAs more effectively — or rather to local and regional authorities themselves. At all events, it considers welcome any document which would help clarify the role of the various actors, if only to encourage the coordination of their respective activities;

22. If these ‘guidelines’ were to apply directly to LRAs, the Committee considers that they should take account of the specific features of decentralised cooperation and of the accumulated experience of local authorities in this field. It considers that it is less a case of ‘guiding’ than of taking into account the information needs of local authorities and enabling them to understand the objectives, logic and mechanisms — not to mention the terminology — of EU development policy, the complexity of which too often makes it a matter for specialists;

23. It therefore recommends that documents be drawn up on the basis of consultation between the Commission and the local and regional authorities. It is important that the content of these documents should be appropriate, that they should be clearly drafted and that they be an authentic expression of the structured dialogue entrusted to the Committee of the Regions, in order to ensure that they are widely used. This would enable local authorities, particularly those with limited staff available for cooperation activities, to become more effectively involved in European development activities and in the EU's international environment;

On identifying decentralised cooperation actors and activities

24. wishes to point out that from its very first opinion on the subject it expressed the view that identifying decentralised cooperation actions was a priority. It is essential to know ‘who does what and where’ in order to appreciate the contribution of this kind of cooperation, but also in order to encourage authorities in the Member States to combine forces in their areas or, in the interests of synergy, to distribute activities in line with the clear interests of the beneficiary authorities;

25. notes with satisfaction that, in its Conclusions of 10 November 2008 on the Commission communication, the Council encouraged the Commission to work in this direction on the basis of available information. In fact, the rudiments of databases already exist, either on the initiative of certain Member States or through the observatory set up in Barcelona, which includes among its activities relations between European and Latin American LRAs;

On the establishment of new partnerships

26. has just stressed how important and urgent it is to know about existing decentralised cooperation relationships if exchanges of information and new partnerships are to be established which meet the expectations of local and regional authorities in developing countries which are confronted with new responsibilities arising from increasingly widespread decentralisation policies. The Committee therefore wishes to draw attention to the need to reduce as far as possible the risk of confusion or fragmentation which might arise from the creation of new partnerships which do not take account of what already exists and which, rather than promoting coordination which is conducive to good governance, would result in duplication, which is exactly what should be avoided;

27. proposes that these ‘new partnerships’ should be of a qualitative nature and appreciates the support given to the proposal put forward in a previous CoR opinion that a mechanism be established to promote the exchange of information: the decentralised cooperation ‘stock exchange’ mentioned in the communication should be designed as a tool for permanent dialogue with and between the local and regional authorities of all the regions of the world involved in decentralised cooperation activities. The CoR therefore proposes, in partnership with the European Commission, to establish and organise this ‘stock exchange’ in the form of an Internet portal, which would in a way be an extension of the annual decentralised cooperation conferences by virtual means. During the design stage of the ‘stock exchange’, the Committee will take account of existing initiatives in order to avoid the risk of duplication;

On the strengthening of existing links between authorities

28. is aware that not all links between the European and developing country local authorities are decentralised cooperation activities in the strict sense of the term, assisting the partner authority in structuring its development in accordance with the principle of good governance;

29. shares the idea that ‘friendly’ relations could develop into more substantial activities if the opportunities for decentralised cooperation are better understood by all local authorities. As the European institution representing European local and regional authorities at all levels, the CoR considers that it can play a key role and help to develop the involvement of local and regional authorities in development activities through true decentralised cooperation initiatives. Depending on the needs of the partner authority, these could in some cases take the form of short-term technical exchanges;

30. as stressed in its first opinion on decentralised cooperation, considers the role of the representative bodies or national associations of local and regional authorities of partner countries to be key. Not only do they establish links and enable exchanges to take place between local elected representatives facing similar problems, but they can also establish dialogue with central governments on the definition of strategic priorities, taking appropriate account of the sub-national levels of development;

31. therefore recommends that they be encouraged to develop and structure themselves, with support being given to the establishment of regional groupings, and calls for general mobilisation to this end, in the form of support from counterparts in European countries or from the European Union;

Additional remark:

32. strongly recommends that consistency be ensured between the principles set out in the text and the European Union's support programmes, whatever area of the world is concerned and whatever the European cooperation instrument involved. For example: — examining the relationship between budgetary aid mechanisms, through which the bulk of the contributions of the EU and the Member States will in future be channelled, amounts reimbursed to local authorities by central government and the powers conferred on them by devolution laws adopted in many countries benefiting from the aid; — the Charter for governance affirms in various ways — and the validity of these assertions has been confirmed from other sources, including studies carried out by the World Bank and the OECD — that beneficial devolution depends on a fruitful interaction between all the levels of government, which requires that central government be both viable and effective. The Committee therefore considers that, in the course of the mid-term review of the thematic programme Non-State Actors and Local Authorities, scheduled for 2009, the question should be addressed of whether it is appropriate to provide support for local authorities in countries where, as the programme suggests, conditions are difficult; — as far as the available financial resources are concerned, the thematic programme is only the tip of the iceberg. The CoR would like the stakeholders concerned, both in Europe and in developing countries, to be given precise information on the way in which local authorities are effectively involved in the implementation of cooperation agreements, so that, where necessary, improvements can be made. Information on, and dissemination of, good practice would be very welcome;

33. considers that, on the whole, the Commission document represents a major step forward, and the Committee in particular highlights the document's positive attitude to decentralised cooperation implemented by local and regional authorities; expresses its conviction that it is essential to maintain a permanent, constructive dialogue between all the stakeholders concerned, in order to support in an appropriate way the commitment which the local authorities, both in Europe and in beneficiary countries, bring to the process of development cooperation. In this regard, the Committee wishes and is ready to play to the full the role which falls to it as the European institution bringing together and representing European local authorities at all territorial levels.

Brussels, 22 April 2009 The President of the Committee of the Regions Luc VAN DEN BRANDE

(1) In 2005, 5 years after the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals (objectives set for 2015), the report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations (A/59/2005) pointed out that more than one billion persons are still living below the poverty threshold, on less than one dollar a day. For the complete report see:: http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N05/270/79.

(2) Ownership is one of the first ‘partnership commitments’ listed in the 2005 Paris Declaration. Under this commitment: ‘Partner countries exercise effective leadership over their development policies, and strategies and co-ordinate development actions’: See the text of the Paris Declaration and other documents relating to its implementation on the OECD website www.oecd.org.