II Euro-Arab Cities Forum

“Cooperation experiences and prospects for facing common challenges”

Malaga, Spain, 25-26 February 2011

Speech by Herwig van Staa, President of the Chamber of Regions of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities - Council of Europe

Mr Chairman,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for me to open the 2^nd Euro-Arab Cities Forum here, in the beautiful city of Malaga. I wish to thank the Malaga municipal authorities and personally our colleague, Mayor de la Torre Prados, who is a Congress member, for their effort and commitment to organising this event. It is all the more symbolic that we are meeting in Spain because it is on Spanish soil that the foundation for the Euro-Arab cities’ dialogue was laid down, with the signing of the friendship and cooperation agreement between Arab and European towns, in 1984 in Valencia.

And, of course, we in the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe are already familiar with the hospitality of our hosts, who once opened their doors for a Congress session here, in the birthplace of Picasso, three years ago.

I also wish to express my gratitude to the Steering Committee of the Forum, which has set the tradition of holding regular exchanges between European and Arab municipalities on a firm track of continuity, following the success of the first Forum in Dubai.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Our Forum is taking place in a particular, crucial moment of history in the making, the period that could become a turning point in the development of the southern rim of the Mediterranean. The popular revolt spreading across the Arab world, peaceful transition of power in Tunisia and changes in Egypt are stunning proof of the fact that the drive of people for taking charge of their own destiny and managing their own affairs is unstoppable. Twenty years ago, we have seen it in central and eastern Europe. Today, we are witnessing it in the Arab world.

A new page is being turned over today in Tunisia, Egypt and other countries, bringing about hope for democratic change – change that will certainly open the door for new opportunities at the grassroots level, opportunities for local authorities and for cooperation with their counterparts across the Mediterranean.

I am convinced that our Forum must seize this opportunity and momentum created by the drive for democracy to bring our communities closer, in the process of Euro-Arab cities’ dialogue. For its part, the Congress stands ready to accompany the changes that are being brought about by the current events with its expertise and assistance in building a democratic, citizen-oriented local self-government in these countries, focused on people’s needs.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The current events in the Arab world also serve as resounding proof of the world’s interdependence today, already creating repercussions around the globe, first and foremost in Europe.

Indeed, our world is growing ever more global and interdependent, bringing to the fore the need for getting to know one another, learning about each other’s cultural ways and approaches, and respecting them. This is best achieved through dialogue and direct interaction. Most importantly, it is through dialogue and cooperation that we become familiar with the common problems facing us, and share our experiences in finding solutions to them.

We in the Congress are convinced that this dialogue and cooperation must begin at the grassroots level, at the level of municipalities, at the level of regions. It is at this level where people interact with each other most directly, where they live and work side by side, and where they have to face concrete challenges in their every-day lives. Local and regional authorities are the first to cope with these challenges, which are today strikingly similar anywhere in the world – in Asia, in America, in Europe, in Africa. And because we, European and Arab local and regional authorities, operate in such proximity from each other, our responses to these challenges, our solutions to common problems must also be common. It only makes sense, and this is what has brought us here today.

Indeed, if we look at the issues at stake, suggested for discussions over these two days, we can see that, paradoxically, it is the problems that unite us:

-          the need  for better governance and better performance of local and regional authorities;

-          the challenges posed by the global phenomena of climate change, the economic crisis, migration, and the ageing population;

-          the issues linked to the necessity of sustainable development and social cohesion, and greater citizen participation;

-          as well as the growing cultural diversity of our societies and communities.

These are only some common concerns that we should reflect upon together, and that we should approach in as practical way as possible, looking for solutions that would be applicable in our cities and regions.

Let me give you a concrete example that shows that both shores of the Mediterranean have to cope with the same issues. Only last week, a conference in Paris focused on the common problems of local and regional governments in the countries of the Western Balkans, “just across the sea” from North Africa. During this conference, the key challenges were identified as:

-          political and financial dependence of local and regional authorities on central governments;

-          the need for clear delimitation of competences between different tiers of government, and for more competences for local and regional level;

-          the need for appropriate local and regional financing, and action to respond to the economic crisis;

-          the need to improve local and regional governance through greater transparency, accountability, and citizens’ participation in order, among other things, to fight corruption;

-          finally, the overall need to strengthen the countries’ capacity for public administration at local and regional level, including through better training for elected representatives and their staff.

I am sure that these problems sound all too familiar to our counterparts on the southern rim of the Mediterranean, which is one of the reasons why we are here today.

So, what does the Council of Europe Congress bring to this table, to the Euro-Arab cities’ dialogue?

First of all, our toolbox of instruments that would put the functioning of local authorities on a legal base, and make it easier. The most fundamental of these instruments is the European Charter of Local Self-Government, a key treaty that sets out the principles of local democracy and the rights of local communities, to be guaranteed and protected by national governments. The new, Additional Protocol to the Charter, opened for signature in November 2009, also provides guarantees for greater citizen participation at local level, which is an imperative in today’s world.

The Charter has already inspired the worldwide decentralisation guidelines, adopted by the United Nations, and – I am pleased to say – prompted discussions in the Arab world as well, in particular in Morocco. We are convinced that the Charter’s implementation and the respect of its principles serve as the foundation upon which we can build good governance. In particular, applying the principles of the Charter on the southern rim of the Mediterranean, as it is done in Europe, would set the development of local self-government on the right track, and would respond to many basic problems.

For example, if we insist on the full recognition and respect of the principle of subsidiarity, which entails the transfer of competences to the local level, and the principle of local financial autonomy which would imply the necessary financial and human resources, the dependence of local authorities on the largesse of central governments would be considerably reduced.

The principles of the Charter are also applicable to regional governance, and, in this regard, the Congress is pleased to be involved in the ongoing dialogue on regionalisation, underway in Morocco. Today, we can bring to this process another recent instrument – the Reference Framework for Regional Democracy, also adopted in November 2009, as a practical tool for setting up regional structures and apportioning responsibilities.

I could also mention the European Code of Conduct for political integrity of local and regional elected representatives, which is a useful instrument to boost transparency of local governance and to help fight corruption at local level.

Secondly, the Congress can offer the process of Euro-Arab dialogue its experience in promoting networking of local and regional authorities and experience-sharing between them, in particular by establishing their national associations as a framework for such cooperation. We were instrumental in creating the national association of local authorities in Morocco, and we have among observers in the Congress the Association of Palestinian Local Authorities, and, of course, the Arab Towns Organisation. We stand ready to continue this practice in other countries of the southern Mediterranean and of the Arab world in a broader sense.

Finally, the Congress is available to join forces with Arab municipalities in establishing concrete cooperation projects, and to put forward specific proposals in the areas of common interest – such as, for example, sustainable development, delivery of public services, water and energy, transport and mobility, integration and social cohesion, or intercultural dialogue. In this context, it is heartening to see that one of the Congress’ initiatives – the European Local Democracy Week – is beginning to take root on the southern rim, with the participation of Moroccan municipalities scheduled for 2012. We hope that more Arab cities will join in this annual event, aimed at boosting citizen participation at local level and their involvement in local processes.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that the Congress is firmly committed to pursuing and strengthening the dialogue for cooperation and democratic development between European and Arab municipalities. Further to our fruitful relationship with Morocco, we are ready, willing and able to extend our cooperation to other countries of the southern Mediterranean, and beyond.

I hope that this Forum will give a new momentum to this process, and I wish all of us every success in this endeavour.

Thank you.