Newsletter – n°14 – September 2012

News from the Secretariat

PLATFROMA organised two sessions in the framework of the CEMR General Assembly, which was held from 26 to 28 September in Cadiz (Spain).

During the first session, speakers discussed the state of decentralisation in the world, at a moment when the consequences of the economic crisis are severe in Europe, and not negligible in partner countries.

It was reminded that, although decentralisation processes differ greatly between countries and there certainly aren’t any perfect models, the same acknowledgement can be made everywhere: decentralisation is not an aim in itself, but a means by which we can establish policies to address local challenges and improve citizens’ lives. Decentralisation should thus be envisaged not only under the angle of good governance, but in a transversal manner, in all policies (education, health).

The panel finally underlined that certain conditions for an efficient decentralisation, such as the financial autonomy of local communities, the clarification of competences, adequate human resources, are very often not met, and that we have to work with central governments in order to remedy this situation.

Besides this session, PLATFORMA also gathered political representatives from Europe and Latin America in order to discuss three important themes in view of the future Communication on local authorities in development: the conditions for inclusive growth at local level, the role of local authorities in addressing global challenges and in international negotiations and capacity building.

It was underlined that development cooperation practices, which had already greatly evolved these past years, especially due to the debate on development efficiency, constantly involve new actors, and local governments must accompany this evolution in their partnerships.

CEMR General Assembly took place in Cadiz (Spain), from 26 to 28 September and gathered over 700 European and world local leaders.