Newsletter – n°32 – April 2015

News from the Secretariat

PLATFORMA Political Council and Steering Committee brought together political representatives and staff of PLATFORMA members to discuss the work accomplished this past year and the future network’s working agenda and priorities, less than three months after two major events, the Signature of the first-ever Strategic Partnership with the European Commission and the addition of ten new members to the network.

The Political Council, held on April 10, and chaired by Hans Janssen, mayor of Oisterwijk (the Netherlands) and spokesperson of PLATFORMA, allowed political representatives to exchange on the European Union development policy and on the challenges to work in partnerships with local and regional governments in partner countries. Among the highlights of this day, political representatives had the opportunity to share their initiatives to raise awareness of citizens on development issues in the light of the European Year for Development, as well as to discuss two important dossiers: the ongoing consultation on the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and the European Parliament report on local authorities in development being drafted by MEP Eleni Theocharous (EPP, Cyprus).

On April 9, members of the Steering Committee discussed in a series of thematic workshops their activities in the Eastern and Southern Neighbourhood and in the context of the European Year for Development, among others. The meetings enabled members involved in the same fields and sharing similar priorities to exchange ideas and brainstorm on possible synergies. This will hopefully foster greater coordination and a new working dynamic within the network. Overall members embraced the idea that a greater coordination within PLATFORMA members would lead to a larger impact of LRGs in international development.

The next step in the process leading up to greater synergies, mobilization and promotion of LRGs’ international actions will be the signature of the grant agreement with the European Commission, as part of the Strategic Partnership framework, in the course of 2015.