12 March 2010

Development cooperation in the post-2004 EU member States - The role of LRA

Bucharest, Romania

The seminar took place in Bucharest on 12 March 2010 and focused on the role of local and regional authorities in cooperation for development within those countries having joined the EU after 2004. This role is relatively new for the local authorities of these central and oriental European States. Nonetheless these local/regional bodies have a major role to play in raising citizens’ awareness on development issues.

 

Civil society in Central and Eastern Europe, represented at the seminar, also plays a crucial role in development education. As such, it was recalled that civil society organisations are instrumental partners of local and regional authorities in the implementation of development education activities.

 

Representatives of Romanian, Latvian and Estonian local/regional bodies highlighted their experiences in terms of cooperation with their Maldivian, Ukrainian and Georgian counterparts.  They called for the European Commission to establish more solid links between its development policies and its neighbouring policies.