Regions of the Black Sea: Common borders, Common solutions

Days of Regional Development

Round Table “Regional policy in the Republic of Croatia and EU: perspectives”

23-25 May 2011, Sibenik, Croatia

Speech by Dubravka Suica, Vice-President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, Council of Europe

Dear Chair,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for me to address this round table, both as a Vice-President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and as a member of the City Assembly of Dubrovnik. The participation of the Croatian delegation in the Congress, much as our participation in the Parliamentary Assembly and the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe is resounding proof of the European dimension of this country, and a direct result of European integration and Croatia’s integration efforts.

Today, there is no doubt in our minds that these efforts, and this integration process, will continue. However, as we discuss the perspectives for EU accession, let us look at the current situation and the existing obstacles on this path – obstacles that are present and to a different degree similar in all the countries of the Western Balkans. I would to address them today from the perspective of the Council of Europe Congress. They have been recently discussed in depth at a two-day conference on the European perspective of the Western Balkans and the contribution of local and regional authorities, organised in Paris in February this year, and I would like to refer you to the proceedings of that conference for more details.

There are several key challenges faced by regional governments – and local governments as well, I should add – in the Western Balkans:

- 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.

From the perspective of the Congress, the two underlying issues in responding to these challenges are the legal framework for regional development – and its implementation in practice – and good regional governance. The legal framework and practice means, on the one hand, the application of principles of local and regional democracy and, on the other hand, a clear delimitation of local and regional competences. It also implies a gradual transfer of such competences from the national level, a transfer which, in accordance with the principles of local self-government, must be accompanied by matching financial resources.

The principles of local and regional democracy are set out in the European Charter of Local Self-Government, which is also applicable to regional authorities. Monitoring the Charter’s implementation has been the core mission of the Congress, in the Western Balkans as elsewhere in Europe. Last year, for example, we carried out our first full monitoring of Serbia, and a follow-up monitoring of Slovenia. The latest recommendation of the Congress on local and regional democracy in Croatia was adopted in 2007. This recommendation stressed in particular the need for further decentralisation, training for local and regional authorities and stronger inter-territorial cooperation between local and regional communities – all issues highly relevant to responding to integration challenges. A follow-up mission is foreseen in the near future.

Speaking of regional development and the principles of regional democracy, I should also point to the European Reference Framework for Regional Democracy, presented in 2009 at the instigation of the Congress. The Framework contains specific recommendations with regard to regional self-government, and should be actively used on a par with the Local Self-Government Charter. I am very happy that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in its meeting on 19 April 2011encouraged the governments of member states to take account of the Reference Framework” which is considered “a useful and practical reference for those considering institutional reforms and governance a t the regional level.”

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In the Congress, it is our firm conviction that the full respect of the principles of local and regional democracy is the foundation upon which we can build good regional governance, and address many of the challenges which I have mentioned earlier. For example, if we insist on the full recognition and respect of the principle of subsidiarity, which entails the transfer of competences, and the principle of financial autonomy which would imply necessary financial and human resources, the dependence of local authorities on the largess of central governments would then be considerably reduced.

Good regional governance is essential for overcoming the lack of project-management capacity and for fighting the blight of local and regional corruption. These two issues represent major obstacles to the disbursement of EU accession assistance funds to local and regional level. Regarding corruption, the Congress held a major conference in Messina, Italy, last year to launch pan-European action for combating this scourge in our local and regional communities. I should add that corruption ranks high on our common agenda with national governments today.

Good regional governance also means creating proper conditions at regional level for the enjoyment and exercise of human rights by our citizens. Respect for human rights is part and parcel of any democracy, and this respect must begin at grassroots, in our cities and regions. This is why one of the Congress priorities today is promoting human rights at local and regional level and raising awareness of the role of local and regional authorities in human rights implementation.

The authorities at grassroots play a crucial role in putting in place conditions for the exercise of human rights, often without even realising it. For example, such issues as housing, health care, local employment, education are all within the remit of local and regional authorities – and they all constitute access to social rights which are an integral part of human rights. The state of the human rights situation in our regions is certainly a major contributing factor to both regional development and EU accession.

As for increasing the project-management capacity, and overall capacity for public administration at regional level, I have already mentioned the need for better training of regional elected representatives and their staff, as well as for the skills transfer. I should stress in this regard the importance of inter-municipal and interregional cooperation as a factor both in achieving this objective and in responding to the challenge of the economic crisis. Decentralised cooperation between local and regional communities, including their cooperation across national borders, offers at least partial solutions to the need for training and skills transfer, and the problems linked to the economic downturn – through the experience-sharing and even staff-sharing, and through possible economies of scale as a result of inter-municipal and interregional teamwork.

Driven by this conviction, the Congress continues to provide support to the networking in the Western Balkans and the broader region of South-East Europe, having helped to create such cooperation frameworks as the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe (NALAS), the Association of Local Democracy Agencies (ALDA) and, finally, the Adriatic Euroregion whose headquarters are located in this country, in Pula. I strongly hope that Croatian regional authorities will be actively participating in such interregional cooperation and encourage local authorities in their regions to do so, and that the Croatian government will continue to strengthen the legal framework for this cooperation.

I should add that the legal basis for cross-border cooperation in Europe – the 1980 Madrid Convention on transfrontier cooperation – was complemented in 2009 by a 3^rd additional protocol which facilitates such networking between EU and non-EU communities. Croatia has not yet signed this Protocol, and on behalf of the Congress, I am calling on my country’s authorities to sign and ratify it as early as possible, to allow for a better cooperation flow between Croatian regions and bordering EU regions.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to conclude by underlining the opinion of the Congress that the countries of the Western Balkans, and Croatia in particular, have made a tremendous progress compared to where they started. Their future lies, of course, in the European integration – there is no alternative to it. Today, at a time of disappearing borders, at a time of globalisation, at a time of economies of scale and inter-municipal cooperation as one response to the economic crisis, this integration passes by way of empowering our communities, and building the capacity for good governance at the grassroots level.

Thank you.