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 {SEC(2008)2570}
Date: 2008-10-08
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, EU relations, company constituted under civil law, cooperation policy, development policy, non-governmental organisation

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 8.10.2008 
COM(2008) 626 final 

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 

{SEC(2008)2570} 

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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 

1. 

LOCAL AUTHORITIES: AN EMERGING DIMENSION OF DEVELOPMENT POLICY 

In  the  framework  of  an  initiative  for  reconstructing  the  market  in  Majunga  city  in 
Madagascar,  the  French  city  of  Mulhouse  is  providing  know-how  and  advice  to  its  partner 
city  on  the  management  and  organisation  of  the  market's  activities,  for  the  duration  of  the 
reconstruction  works.  A  small  Italian  municipality  -  Santa  Croce  Sull'Arno  (Population 
13,000) - has been instrumental in developing the previously non-existent capacity to register 
births in five municipalities in Burkina Faso. With the support of the Burkina Faso Ministry 
of Local Administration and Decentralisation, this experience will now be rolled-out to other 
regions.  

Since  the  1990s  local  authorities  have  increasingly  been  viewed  as  players  in  development 
policy1.  Most  recently,  the  European  Consensus  on  Development,  the  revised  Cotonou 
Agreement and a number of EU institutions' Conclusions, Resolutions and Opinions2 reiterate 
local  authorities'  significant  expertise  not  only  in  terms  of  service  delivery  but  also  as 
catalysts  for  change,  conflict  prevention,  decentralisation  and  confidence-building  in  the 
development process. 

Local Authorities (LA) in some EU Member States allocate considerable financial resources 
to  development  (representing  nearly  15%  of  national  ODA  in  Spain  for  instance),  and  have 
developed specific instruments for aid delivery (programmes, co-financing instruments, city-
to-city links, direct cooperation agreements). At the same time, there has not been a thought-
out,  strategic  approach  at  EU  level,  to  facilitate  and  recognise  the  various  facets  of  this 
increased involvement of LAs in EU development policy. 

The  increased  participation,  the  volumes  of  financial  resources  mobilised  and  the  growing 
diversity  and  numbers  of  the  actors  involved  suggests  a  need  to  qualify  and  quantify  this 
evolution  and  to  put  forward  the  basis  of  a  coordinated  approach  for  the  structured 
involvement of LA's in development cooperation policy. A strategic approach at the EU level 

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The UN conferences (Rio de Janeiro 1992, Istanbul 1996) on Environment & Development and Human 
settlements,  the  2000  Millennium  Summit  and  the  2002  Johannesburg  World  Summit  on  Sustainable 
Development formally recognised their role. 
Communication Governance and Development COM 2003, 615 final, Opinions of the Committee of the 
Regions  on  Decentralised  Cooperation  in  the  reform  of  the  EU's  Development  Policy  2006/C115/09. 
Opinion  on  Governance  in  the  European  Consensus  on  Development  2007/C197/09.  European 
Parliament Resolution of 15 March 2007 on local Authorities and Development Cooperation 2006/2235 
INI. Africa-EU Joint Strategy and Action Plan 2007. The EC Communication on the EU Strategy for 
Africa: Towards a Euro-African Pact to Accelerate Africa’s Development COM 2005, 489 final. 

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will  facilitate  a  more  coordinated  involvement  of  LA's  in  EU  development  policy,  while 
recognising the principle of subsidiarity3. 

The  purpose  of  this  Communication  is  therefore  two-fold.  On  the  one  hand,  it  seeks  to 
recognise the importance of this recently emerged phenomenon. On the other, it attempts to 
draw  out  the  first  elements  of  a  response  strategy  that  will  allow  capitalisation  and 
maximisation  of  LA's  experience  as  partners  in  development  policy.  It  seeks  to  launch  a 
process  that  will  reinforce  their  participation  in  the  design  and  implementation  of 
development activities, in a coordinated and strategic manner. 

2. 

LOCAL AUTHORITIES: WHY DO THEY MATTER? 

2.1. 

Local Authorities in Europe 

The  term  "local  authority"  encompasses  many  different  actors  at  different  levels.  LAs  in 
Europe  include  more  than  91,000  authorities  at  local  level  (municipalities),  1,150 
intermediary  level  organisations  (districts,  counties)  and  more  than  100  regional  bodies4. 
While some local authorities have attained a true devolution of central government's powers 
in  development  policy,  the  involvement  of  others  comes  as  an  additional  effort  to  that  of 
central  governments.  For  some  LAs  Decentralised  Cooperation  is  central  to  their  external 
relations  strategies,  while  for  others,  it  is  spin-off  of  their  increased  presence  on  the 
international scene. Decentralised cooperation is most often in concert with other local actors 
(e.g.  NGOs,  universities)  but  also  includes  direct  delivery  or  through  multilateral  partners 
(e.g. UN).  

Local  Authority  is  used  in  this  Communication  in  its  widest  sense  to  encompass  the  large  variety  of  sub-
national  levels  and  branches  of  government  i.e.  municipalities,  communities,  districts,  counties,  provinces, 
regions etc. Concerning development cooperation there is substantial heterogeneity in the mandate, finance and 
functions at each level and within each level.  

Decentralised  Cooperation  is  used  here  to  describe  the  publicly  and  privately  funded  aid  provided  by  and 
through local authorities, networks and other local actors. 

As  the  contribution  of  LAs  to  the  development  process  is  increasingly  acknowledged  by 
policy  makers  and  donors  at  EU  level,  it  is  timely  to  reflect  upon  how  to  capitalise  on  this 
expertise and to ensure more effective communication and cooperation between actors. LAs 
have initiated a great diversity of mechanisms to structure themselves in order to coordinate 
their activities, create economies of scale, make their work more efficient and to be heard at 
sub-national,  national,  European  and  international  level.  These  include  associations,  fora, 
regional and national observatories, thematic and regional networks etc. 

2.2. 

Local Authorities in development 

While  the  involvement  of  local  authorities  in  external  cooperation  and  development  policy, 
especially through town twinning, has a long history, the last decade has witnessed a radical 
change  in  its  nature.  Decentralised  Cooperation  has  emerged  as  a  new  and  important 
dimension  of  development  cooperation.  It  has  become  more  comprehensive  and 

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Subsidiarity  is  an  organising  principle  by  which  matters  should  be  handled  by  the  most  appropriate 
level.  
Council of European Municipalities and Regions: The state of Europe's local and regional government 
in 2006/2007 Edition 

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professionalised;  relying  on  institutionalised  networks  with  outreach  into  developing 
countries; utilising a diversity of tools in all the regions of the world and with an exponential 
increase in financial allocations (see Box 1). 

Box 1 – An emerging dimension – Catalonia, Spain 

The Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation, created in 2003 is responsible for managing the Government 
of Catalonia’s development cooperation based on a comprehensive 4 year master plan with 11 priority countries 
in  areas  such  as  access  to  health  and  drinking  water;  education,  productive  capacities  and  food  sovereignty; 
peace  building;  gender;  governance  and  human  rights;  and  environment.  Catalonia's  development  cooperation 
budget has doubled in the last three years from a total of Euro 30.5 Million in 2004 to just under 60 Million in 
2007. The target being to reach budget allocations of 0.7 % of taxable income by 2012 totalling just under Euro 
80 Million. Institutionally LAs have a high degree of coordination. Many Catalan local authorities are involved 
in decentralised cooperation and have created the Catalan Cooperation Fund, formed by 290 LAs, most of them 
being municipalities but also councils, deputations, other local entities or NGOs and social entities. 

Local  authorities  are  bringing  unique  added  value  to  development  processes  (Box  2).  In 
addition to the concrete actions in developing countries, local authorities are key to mobilising 
different stakeholders to work together, thus generating collaborative approaches for attaining 
common development goals and are keen communicators for development (increasing public 
awareness  and  rallying  additional  support  for  development).  Due  to  their  proximity  and 
territorial  presence,  as  well  as  knowledge  of  local  needs  and  expertise  in  traditional  sectors 
conducive to poverty reduction – urbanisation, water and sanitation, assistance to vulnerable 
groups and poor populations in remote areas – LAs can participate greatly in maximising the 
effects of development assistance by bilateral and multilateral donor institutions (Box 3). LAs 
have direct experience of and valuable skills in territorial development, decentralisation and 
strengthening  democratic  governance.  The  evolution  in  the  concept  and  delivery  of 
development  assistance  has  further 
the  focus  on  good  governance  and 
increased 
democratisation,  processes  in  which  local  authorities  play  a  central  role.  This  has  been 
paralleled  by  increased  representation  of  EU  local  authorities  on  the  international  political 
scene and in their aid activities.  

BOX 2: LAs added value 

A wide field of action: 

Social sector: cooperation between the city of Barcelona and Puebla (Mexico) on gender violence. Actions led 
in Puebla could also be used in Barcelona to fight against gender violence among the Latin American immigrant 
communities in Barcelona. 

Rehabilitation  of  urban  areas  or  livelihoods:  Lower  Saxony  (together  with  the  Jayawickreme  Foundation), 
supports  the  families  of  fishermen  in  Weligama,  Sri  Lanka  where  the  2006  tsunami  wreaked  devastation, 
destroying both homes and livelihoods (boats and nets). 

Health:  partnership  between  the  Rhône-Alpes  Region  and  the  region  of  Khammouane  /  LAOS  gathering 
different  type  of  partners  such  as  NGOs  and  universities.  Participation  of  Catalonia  to  a  SWAP  in  the  health 
sector in Mozambique. 

Humanitarian  solidarity:  Übach-Palenberg  and  a  major  industrial  donor  are  partners  in  building  a  school  in 
southern Sri Lanka, providing free schooling for girls from the region affected by the tsunami.  

Catalyst for change: in the course of the implementation of its project aiming at urbanising an area of the city 
of  Gaza,  the  City  of  Barcelona  promoted  participative  approach  and  succeeded  in  making  work  together 
Palestinian  municipal  authorities  and  representative  of  the  neighbourhood.  A  network  gathering  the  different 
cities having cooperation actions in Gaza has been set up (EuroGaza) and meets at least once a year to coordinate 
activities. 

Long-term  partnerships  and  twinning:  Leipzig  established  a  partnership  with  the  region  of  Ambalangoda 
(southern  Sri  Lanka)  which  began  with  a  fund-raising  campaign  for  emergency  aid  for  drinking  water  and 

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electricity  and  was  further  developed  in  education  projects  and  reconstruction  of  technical  and  social 
infrastructure.  

Responsiveness  to  local  needs:  The  Tuscany  region  has  set  up  a  long-term  cooperation  framework  in  which 
cooperatives  in  Burkina  Faso  collaborate  on  the  production,  commercialisation  and  delivery  of green  beans  to 
Italian supermarkets without the need for parallel market structures.  

Multi  actor  partnerships:  The  City-to-City  link  between  Nueva  Guinea  in  Nicaragua  and  Sint-Truiden  in 
Flanders, Belgium originated from civil society groups in Sint-Truiden and Nueva Guinea. The Nueva Guinea 
municipal  council  has  built  on  this  twinning  to  give  impetus  to  youth,  environmental,  educational,  and  area 
planning and management projects, and encouraging civil society participation in local authority affairs.  

Awareness raising: the Rhône Alpes Region is supporting various different networks aiming at promoting fair 
trade, the city of Barcelona is working with the regional department of education of the Cataluña region to try to 
develop curricula on development. 

Examples such as these open a plethora of opportunities as regards the potential role of LA in 
development  policy.  But  at  the  same  time,  the  multitude  of  actors,  combined  with  the 
extensive  sectoral  scope,  makes  the  playing  field  even  more  complex  and  multi-layered. 
Multi-actor partnerships are significant in this regard, since they combine the respective added 
values of LAs and Civil Society Organisations, and fostering this kind of partnerships has a 
strong  potential  of  having  positive  effects  on  LAs'  contribution.  In  order  to  leverage  the 
potential  of  this  diversity  and  avoid  the  risk  of  further  fragmentation  of  development 
assistance,  due  consideration  is  needed  as  regards  LAs'  contributions  in  the  field  of  aid 
effectiveness and the impact of development actions. 

That opens opportunities for the building of more strategic and long-term vision partnerships 
embedded  in  wider  processes.  This  is  of  utmost  importance,  especially  now,  when  the 
international  community's  commitments  for  financing  for  development  and  reaching  the 
MDGs look bleak. 

The Commission has been extensively involved in supporting local authorities in the EU and 
partner  countries,  more  specifically  through  direct  support  to  decentralisation  through 
geographical  programmes,  as  well  as,  the  decentralised  cooperation  through  the  thematic 
programme 'Non State Actors and Local Authorities'5. The rationale for strengthening the role 
of  local  authorities  as  development  actors  within  EC  cooperation  is  to  firstly,  effectively 
contribute  to  poverty  reduction  and  achievement  of  the  MDGs  and  secondly  mainstreaming 
democratic governance at the local level. 

Indeed  some  LAs  mobilise  significant  financial  resources  for  development  (see  box  3). 
Although  data  is  difficult  to  collect,  these  amounts  are  clearly  increasing  as  evidenced,  for 
instance,  by  amounts  devoted  to  this  type  of  activities  by  German  local  authorities,  rising 
from € 607 millions in 2003 to € 764 millions in 2006. 

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Non State Actors and Local Authorities COM 2006 19. 

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BOX 3: AN IMPORTANT FINANCIAL WEIGHT6 

EU wide budgets for decentralised cooperation indicate substantial allocations which are rapidly increasing. There 
is  no  aggregate  up  to  date  comprehensive  information  concerning  the  financial  weight  of  LAs  actions  in 
international cooperation. This information is fragmented and difficult to collect and thus the purpose of this box is 
only to give an idea of the importance of such phenomenon. This is why actions envisaged under paragraph 3.3.2. 
are essential. 

4  EU  Member  States  –  Spain  Germany,  Belgium,  and  France  –  provide  significant  volumes  of  development 
assistance. Other EU Member States either do not report LAs' development assistance or are not involved in regular 
activities. 

SPANISH LOCAL AUTHORITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT  

In  2006,  €442.8  million   in  ODA  were  contributed  by  LA,  representing  around  14,8  %  of  Spanish  ODA 
indicating  a  substantial  net  increase  over  the  last  5  years.  For  example,  at  a  regional  level  during  the  period 
  Navarra 
2004-2006:  Catalonia  has  doubled  decentralised  cooperation  funding  from  €  18,  9  to  €  44  million;
from  €  15,  5  million  to  €  16,  4  million;  and,  Cantabria  from  €  3,  2  million  to  4,4  million.  In  addition,  5 
communities have adopted the 0.7% of GNI international target (by 2012). 

GERMAN LOCAL AUTHORITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT  

German  LAs  accounted  for  10%  of  German  ODA  in  2006.  LA  funding  of  decentralised  cooperation  has 
substantially increased to 764 million in 2006 from € 607 million in 2003 7. 

BELGIAN LOCAL AUTHORITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT  

In  Belgium  a  similar  trend  exists.  Belgian  LAs  account  for  4%  of  Belgium  ODA.  LAs  have  incrementally 
increased the financial allocations to decentralised cooperation: € 53,5 million in 2003; € 58,2 million in 2004; € 
63, 5 million in 2005; to € 64, 9 million in 2006 . 

FRENCH LOCAL AUTHORITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT  

France  has  seen  increasing  financial  allocations  to  decentralised  cooperation  from  €  115  million  in  2005  to   € 
150 million in 2007 of net ODA8 or 1.5% of France's ODA. This includes the activities of 3250 LA (regions, 
departments,  communes  and  inter-communal  structures)  establishing  nearly  6  000  cooperation  relations  (of 
which  1983  involving  development  cooperation)  in  115  countries.  For  example,  the  Rhône–Alpes  Region 
disbursed € 5,7 million in 2003 and € 6,3 million in 2005; the Ile de France Region from € 4,3 million to € 5 
during the same period of time. 

3. 

LOCAL AUTHORITIES IN DEVELOPMENT: TOWARDS AN EU RESPONSE  

In  relations  with  developing  countries,  the  EU  should  facilitate  the  elaboration  of  a 
framework  for  local  authorities  as  actors  for  development.  This  would  recognise  the 
significance and importance of this emerging dimension of development, build on the recent 
evolution in aid architecture, recognise the value of decentralised assistance, and celebrate the 
long  history  and  importance  of  LAs'  activities  in  the  development  field.  To  this  end,  the 

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It is difficult to account for an overall set of amounts mobilised by LA to development cooperation, 
because of the diversity of actors involved, the varied and dynamic nature of initiatives, and means and 
tools developed for that, and the fact that existing international nomenclature and categorisation (i.e. 
OECD/DAC) is not adapted to the specificities of this form of decentralised cooperation.  
90% of these amounts relate to imputed students cost 
60  M  EUR  is  declared  to  OECD/DAC  however  the  'Délégation  pour  l'action  extérieur  des  collectivités  locales' 
(DAECL) estimates the overall amount to 115 MEUR. 

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Commission  encourages  the  participation  of  LAs  on  a  European  and  national  level,  to 
engage in development policy and implementation. 

In  doing  so,  this  framework  should  focus  on  the  general  principles  adopted  at  international 
level  in  the  field  of  development  cooperation  and  their  operational  translation  for  LA 
activities,  such  as:  country  specificity,  which  implies  a  tailored  support  according  to  the 
specific country context; ownership and partnership, taking account of country processes and 
national decentralisation frameworks; flexibility and pragmatism, adapting to the dynamics of 
reform  processes  and  responding  to  new  challenges  and  priorities;  alignment  and 
harmonisation,  including  donor  complementarity;  building  of  strategic  alliances  to  reduce 
transaction  costs  and  burdens  on  partners'  administrations;  and  that  this  will  be  a  long-term 
and gradual process, requiring comprehensive and incremental support. 

3.1. 

Local Authorities: a Structured Dialogue 

Considering the weight of their presence and activities, LAs as sub-national actors should be 
better  represented  on  the  EU  scene.  LAs  in  the  EU  and  in  partner  countries  can  organise 
themselves  in  order  to  make  their  voices  heard  in  the  various  international,  bilateral  and 
multilateral donor groups. LAs need to make better known the added value they can bring in 
various  fields,  such  as  the  fight  against  climate  change,  conflict  resolution  or  reaching  the 
Millennium  Development  Goals  (MDGs),  but  also  in  order  to  participate  in  certain 
debates/actions from which they have so far been excluded, notably on aid effectiveness. This 
should be the case for instance in using existing Country Strategy Papers, or already existing 
mission reports, and in participating in the division of labour at local level etc. 

At the EU level, the Commission proposes the establishment of a structured dialogue on 
development policy with LAs. This could take place under the aegis of the Committee of the 
Regions  (CoR),  given  its  role  in  providing  local  authorities  with  a  voice  at  EU  level,  and 
include  LAs  and  LA  Networks.  This  dialogue  could  take  the  form  of  annual  assemblies, 
involving all those active in this system of cooperation in order to strengthen these networks, 
enhance  aid  effectiveness  and  assure  sustainability  of  one-off  and  pilot  actions.  Such  a 
privileged dialogue with the Committee of the Regions would not exclude holding a bilateral 
ad hoc dialogue with LAs or their associations on specific issues. 

In this context, the EU could develop specific tools which would allow LAs to participate in 
such  a  structured  dialogue  and  to  put  in  place  a  more  effective,  coherent,  coordinated, 
leveraged and complementary basis for their actions. As a first step the Commission proposes 
to  elaborate  operational  guidelines  to  enhance  the  involvement  of  LAs  in  aid  programming 
and  delivery  and  policy  dialogue  at  partner  country,  regional  and  EU  level,  thus 
complementing activities by the Commission9. 

3.2. 

Local Authorities in the Developing Countries 

Local authorities in the Partner Countries are also of paramount importance as they can be key 
actors  for  enhancing  local  governance  and  in  delivering  public  services,  in  particular  in  the 
context of decentralisation. A large number of partner countries are in fact currently involved 
in some form of decentralisation. These processes face many challenges that stronger relations 
with LA in EU MS could help to overcome. 

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Community  support  has  been  mainly  directed  through  geographic  programmes  and  through  thematic 
programmes and more specifically the "Non State Actors and Local Authorities" programme 

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Areas  where  LA's  could  have  a  comparative  advantage  range  from  implementing  local 
democracy  (entailing  the  devolution  of  powers  to  elected  local  bodies  enjoying  relative 
autonomy)  and  local  governance  (involving  a  shift  from  an  only  vertical  accountability 
dimension  to  a  horizontal  and  downward  accountability,  connected  with  principles  of 
participation, transparency and accountability, in which civil society plays a crucial role) to a 
new paradigm of local (economic) development (in which local governments play a catalytic 
role)  and  territorial  (regional)  planning  which  integrates  local  development  into  a  broader 
spatial  context  and  stimulates  synergies  between  different  actors  from  private  and  public 
sector. 

Owing to their potential role in local development and the challenges they have to meet, local 
authorities in partners countries can therefore benefit from a more structured and permanent 
dialogue  with  their  counterpart  in  the  EU  on  these  subjects  as  well  as  from  cooperation 
activities in support to local governance. 

3.3. 

Local Authorities in Cooperation: Nurturing our Understanding 

The following could form the basis of the future European approach: 

3.3.1.  Local actors – Aid Effectiveness and EU Local Authorities 

The complex, multi-level governance described above, involving a multitude of actors from 
the EU and partners, places aid effectiveness considerations at the very heart of the debate 
on LAs as actors for development. The need for such considerations is further increased by 
the  fact  that  few  local  authorities  adhere  to  internationally  set  objectives  and  guiding 
principles  for  delivering  coordinated  development  assistance.  Some  EU  regions  and  cities 
have committed to the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (Paris Declaration), but the vast 
majority  still  use  their  own  competencies  and  prerogatives  as  the  basis  on  which  to  design 
development activities. To this end, progress is needed on key aspects of the Paris Declaration 
agenda,  which  are  as  essential  to  development  cooperation  via  local  actors,  as  they  are  for 
through 
donor-partner  country  relationships.  These 
operationalising  and  implementing  the  principles  of  the  EU  Code  of  Conduct  on 
Complementarity  and  Division  of  Labour,  enhancing  the  use  of  country  systems,  and 
promoting democratic ownership, areas in which local authorities play an important role.  

include  reducing  fragmentation 

The  Commission  therefore  proposes  that  local  actors  enhance  at  the  EU  level  development 
cooperation  in  support  of local governance including LAs.  The  aim would be to increase 
the coherence, complementarity and effectiveness of different local actors. The key principles 
and  modalities  to  which  they  could  voluntarily  subscribe  would  include  the  application  at 
local  level  of  the  principles  of  the  Paris  Declaration  on  Aid  Effectiveness,  support  for  local 
democratic  governance,  the  enhancement  of  national  frameworks  as  the  basis  for  local 
governance  and  the  promotion  of  social  and  economic  development.  A  text  to  this  effect  is 
currently  being  elaborated  by  concerned  actors,  the  latest  draft  of  which  is  found  as  an 
accompanying  document  to  the  present  Communication.  The  results  of  a  similar  initiative 
underway  in  Africa  could  be  shared  through  the  dialogue  foreseen  within  the  framework  of 
the Africa-EU Strategic partnership on Democratic Governance and Human rights. 

3.3.2. 

Identifying actors and activities  

Development cooperation undertaken by LAs is an evolving concept with the challenge of a 
lack  of  data.  In  order  to  better  identify  the  actors  and  activities  involved,  with  a  view  to 

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identifying  coordination  or  other  needs  and  proposing  solutions,  mechanisms  should  be 
established  to  report  more  effectively  on  LAs'  development  cooperation.  This  may 
include  an  Atlas  of  Decentralised  Cooperation  to  map  activities;  a  compendium  of  best 
practice; or an observatory built on existing capabilities. 

3.3.3. 

"Stock exchange" - matching supply and demand 

Fragmentation,  duplication  and  lack  of  information  are  often  major  obstacles  which  reduce 
impact and opportunities of LA activities. There is a scope to create a system to disseminate 
information  and  match  offers  and  demands  for  LAs  development  cooperation  -  to  match 
expertise and finance, enhance the network of EU LAs involved in territorial cooperation, and 
create partnerships. The Commission proposes that the EU supports the implementation 
of  an  information  exchange  platform  –  "Stock  Exchange"  -  under  the  aegis  of  the 
Committee of the Regions, involving key EU and partner country LA networks. 

The aim of this "Stock Exchange" would be to act as a point of contact for LAs in the EU and 
partner  countries  and  as  a  facilitating  tool  for  creating  new  partnerships  between  EU  local 
authorities  who  are  seeking  partners  in  pursuing  decentralised  cooperation  actions.  This 
system will also help to filter duplications and concentrate cooperation where there is added 
value. 

3.3.4.  Networks  in  the  EU  and  in  partner  countries  –  strengthening  partnerships  /  Local 

Authority twinning 

The reinforcement of cultural and institutional twinning between LAs in the EU and partner 
countries has a long history of achieving successful partnerships. Many of the partnerships on 
which  Decentralised  Cooperation  is  based  originated  in  the  twinning  process.  The 
Commission  proposes  that  the  EU  supports  more  extensive  exploitation  of  these 
development  partnerships  (twinning),  to  enhance  the  exchange  of  experience  and  build 
closer and more long-term partnerships for development. 

The  EU  and  EU  LAs  should  support  the  role  of  national  associations  of  LAs  in  partner 
countries, in order that they can participate in their national political  dialogue (for instance 
during  the  elaboration,  with  the  European  Commission,  of  Country  Strategy  Papers)  in  line 
with the principles of ownership and mutual accountability. Support for national associations 
of LAs in the EU and partner countries is also important in order to advance internal mutual 
accountability between local and central governments. 

4. 

NEXT STEPS 

This Communication seeks to highlight the importance of local authorities' recent emergence 
as key actors in development, as well as to identify the first elements of a response strategy at 
EU level. It seeks to launch a process that will reinforce their participation in the design and 
implementation of development activities, in a coordinated and strategic manner. 

The  Commission  therefore  invites  the  Council,  the  Member  States  meeting  within  the 
Council, the Committee of the Regions, the European Social and Economic Committee and 
the  European  Parliament,  to  support  the  development  of  a  holistic  approach  to  local 
authorities as actors in development, at global, European and national level, using tools such 
as outlined above. 

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