Promotion of International Partnerships between Turkish and Spanish Municipalities International Twinning Conference  26-28 October 2009

Efes, Turkey 26 October 2009

Message by Yavuz Mildon, President of the Congress of the local and regional authorities of the Council of Europe

Mr. Mayors,

Your Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me begin by saying that it is a great honour to address you at the beginning of this international conference.

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities – previously known as the Standing Conference –  from its very first session in 1957 – has been a “promoter” of town twinning in Europe.

In 1974, we published a list of twinning or pairings between towns and local authorities; an up to date version was published in 1986. Why did we have this emphasis on twinning between European towns and regions?

The twinning system is certainly one of the most effective means that municipalities, towns and regions have for influencing public opinion in favour of the European ideal.

Local people naturally regard twinning as an opportunity to become actively involved in community affairs and make their contribution to the achievement of the European ideal.

European associations of local and regional authorities have played a very active, and essential part in the process, in particular CEMR. We now observe the development of a new generation of twinning aiming to secure technical co-operation, foster solidarity between more developed and less developed municipalities or regions.

These partnerships take place in Europe, but also with cities in Africa, Asia, or America

Ladies and Gentlemen,

When we faced the conflicts in the Balkan region, the Congress tried to convince local and regional authorities from all over Europe to develop new partnerships with their counterparts in the former Yugoslavia. At the occasion of the 6 Forums of Cities and Regions of South East Europe organised by the Congress between 2000 (Skopje) and 2005 (Sinaia, Romania), we always insisted on the promotion of partnerships with South East Europe. The commitment of the city of Barcelona by the side of the city of Sarajevo, both before, during and after the conflict, was often held up as an excellent example of town twinning during these forums.

It has been even suggested that a database of existing partnerships should be set up to facilitate exchanges.

May I also recall that at the Forum which took place in November 2001 in Istanbul, an impressive exhibition showed all the cities with which Istanbul has established twinning all around the world!

Partnerships between cities can also play an important role for promoting conflict prevention: we can call this “City Diplomacy”. The growth of city diplomacy initiatives show the important contribution that cities can give to develop mutual trust. This is why the Congress recommended member states to support city diplomacy initiatives as “a promising tool for fostering long-term peace and support civil society initiatives”. However, cities should also realise that diplomacy is a complex activity and is always complementary to other efforts at national and international level.

The Congress also contributed to the development of the co-operation in Adriatic and Black Sea areas by the creation of 2 Euroregions. The aim is to develop co-operation between cities and regions of the European Union and their neighbours outside the EU. The Adriatic Euro-region has launched several projects of great importance. Concerning the Black Sea, after Conferences organised in Constanta, Samsun and Odessa, a Euroregion was created in September 2008.  This co-operation platform allowed local administrations, surrounding the Black Sea, to launch projects related to environment, tourism, as well as inter-cultural and social cohesion.

Other networks have also been created by the Congress which are not twinning as such, but which also contribute to the development of partnerships between cities and regions in Europe.

In the South-East of Europe, the Congress gave birth to two networks:

- In the early 1990s, in the former Yugoslavia, the Congress set up Local Democracy Agencies (LDAs). Their objectives are to assist the region in a smooth and stable transition towards democracy and European integration. Since 1999, the Association of Local Democracy Agencies (ALDA) facilitates collaboration with the 12 existing LDAs in the Western Balkans and in the Southern Caucasus. Town twinning is an important part of their actions.

- The second is the Network of Local Authorities Association of South-East Europe (NALAS) which was created in 2001 following the first Forum in Skopje (November 2000). This network brings together 14 Associations representing more than 4 000 local authorities, directly elected by more than 80 million citizens.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In September 2006, a network for the exchange of experiences in the field of integration of migrants at local level amongst cities, called CLIP (Cities for Local Integration Policy), was created with the support of the Congress.

The goal is to establish a set of guidelines for “what works” in different urban contexts and with populations coming from different types of immigration.

The network currently numbers around 30 cities with a mix of cities including medium-sized and larger cities like Istanbul.

To draw attention to the responsibilities of local authorities towards children, as members of their communities, was created by the Cities for Children Network promoted by the city of Stuttgart: with the support of the Congress, the CEMR and the Committee of the Regions of the EU. It offers, over the past 3 years, European cities the possibility to develop concepts on how to promote the well-being of children, young persons and parents in the urban environment. Over 50 cities from 26 European countries actively take part in these Network activities.

These are the major activities of the Congress concerning partnerships.

I wish you all a fruitful Conference.