Newsletter – n°24 – October 2013

News from partners

On the occasion of a conference on municipal partnerships between German and African cities, Frédéric Vallier, CEMR Secretary General also representing PLATFORMA, reminded that municipal partnerships were a unique framework for learning and sharing, based on long-lasting and reciprocal relations.

He underlined that the economic crisis put great pressure on these partnerships throughout Europe, but that this aspect was not the only challenge local authorities had to face, as an efficient partnership needed a minimum of autonomy and decentralisation for local authorities in partner countries.

In this perspective, he reminded that the European Union had established specific support programmes for the international activities of local authorities and supported the decentralisation processes in many countries, a dimension which will be strengthened during the next programming.

There are approximately 163 municipal partnerships between German and African cities. These partnerships allowed increasing the role of local authorities in the establishment of democratic and sustainable structures.

The conference was organised by the city of Hamburg and Engagement Global.