Newsletter – n°21 – May 2013

Initiative worth following

Ahead of the EU Council on Foreign Affairs and following the stimulating discussions on the post-2015 development framework held in the context of the Assises of decentralised cooperation last month, PLATFORMA addressed a letter to Joe Costello, Irish Minister for Trade and Development, putting forward eight recommendations:

The recently adopted Communication “Empowering local authorities for enhanced governance and more effective development outcomes” should have a cross-cutting impact on the overall EU development strategies;

Local and regional governments should be associated to the definition and implementation of the 2015 development framework;

Each country should adapt the future objectives not only to national but also to local contexts (as rising inequalities within countries called for tailored actions);

The efforts should be kept focused on the poorest and most fragile countries;

The development of democratic governance and democratic institutions at all levels, should be made a cross-cutting priority of the new framework;

Decentralised cooperation should be recognised as one of the implementation means of the new development agendas;

Make sure that decentralisation processes lead to effective devolution of competences, financial and human resources;

In the context of budget support special envelope should be dedicated to sub-national governments.

The EU Council on Foreign Affairs which gathered on 27-28 May endorsed draft conclusions on the post-2015 overarching development framework. The formal conclusions will now be adopted in the second half of June by the Council on Environment and by the General Affairs Council.