The Committee on Development adopted an own-initiative
report by Eleni THEOCHAROUS (EPP, CY) on the role of local
authorities in developing countries in development
cooperation.
Members considered that strategic planning at
national and local level was absolutely essential to the
promotion and integration of the three main dimensions of
development: the social, economic and environmental
dimensions.
The report highlighted the need for translating
the
Commissions new guidelines on local authorities and on
recognising their role as state stakeholders into the
effective implementation of European cooperation, both in terms of
the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) and in terms of the
Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI).
Members urged the EU to promote decentralised
cooperation as a way of implementing the development framework post
2015.
To this end, they called on the Commission to (i)
consider the possibility of making decentralisation a priority
funding sector for its external aid financing instruments, starting
with the DCI and the EDF, and to (ii) step up efforts to
include local authorities as full stakeholders in the
implementation of the 11th EDF in partner countries,
regions, and in relation to sectorial and budgetary
assistance.
For their part, Member States should accord an
appropriate role in their development programmes to local
authorities and to coordinate their activities with those of
the Commission and of other Member States.
The report stressed the importance of the following
points:
- ensuring a fairer transfer of resources from national
level to sub-regions, towns and municipalities, ensuring also that some European budgetary
assistance be allocated to funding local authorities, and
establishing a genuine political dialogue among local authorities
as part of European cooperation;
- bearing in mind the role
of local authorities in the implementation of the
Millennium Development Goals: the
MDGs revealed the crucial role of LAs in the fight against poverty
and in the delivery of community services, such as water and
sanitation, primary healthcare and education; additional resources
should be allocated to strengthening the capacities of
decentralised authorities so that they could provide high-quality
public services;
- setting reliable targets and indicators for the
Sustainable Development Goals that
match the contexts, needs and worries of local populations; the
post-2015 process should provide a clear vision for an
implementation of Rio+20 outcomes that recognises the role of local
authorities;
- establish a renewed effective global partnership (with
civil society, the private sector, etc.) with a clear definition and division of
responsibilities among partners;
- strengthening
partnerships with the private sector
by supporting: (i) the emergence of a middle
class through the promotion of private entrepreneurship; (ii)
local, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in job creation
and promoting sustainable and inclusive economic growth, notably
through public-private policies; (iii) effective implementation of
accountability mechanisms and definitions of mandatory social and
environmental safeguards;
- strengthening partnership
with civil society: the
post-2015 global development agenda needed to change the role
and impact of civil society organisations (CSOs). The report wanted
to see the setting up mechanisms for regular dialogue between CSOs
and Member States;
- supporting domestic accountability and capacity
building: governments must be
accountable both to domestic stakeholders and to the international
community. The report stressed the importance of promoting good
governance at local level by promoting the principles of
accountability, transparency, participation, responsiveness and the
rule of law; strong efforts needed to be made to improve the
capacity of LAs to deliver public services;
- engaging indigenous people in the preparation of local and regional development
and investment plans;
- creating an enabling environment for the transfer of
technologies through cooperation that
should also include longer-term investments;
- providing in the Commissions partnership plans
support for the management of a sustainable urbanisation
process adopting a territorial
approach to address issues such as waste management and urban
poverty
- stepping up international cooperation to tackle illicit financial flows and
decentralising power to combat corruption, including corruption
originating from multinational companies;
- strengthening the mobilisation of
resources: the report stressed the
urgent need to consolidate LA capacities in partner countries in
the area of municipal taxation and budgetary planning. It asked the
Commission to encourage the mobilisation of innovative sources of
financing for decentralised cooperation, and urges the European
Union to hence bolster the decentralised budgets that are a
prerequisite for local development.