Conference of Regional and Local Authorities for the Eastern Partnership CORLEAP

Poznan 8 September 2011

Speech by Natalya Romanova, Vice-President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe

(check against delivery)

I am  pleased to be here to-day for this Conference of Regional and Local Authorities for the Eastern Partnership. The development of closer relations with the European Union very often enjoys public support in Eastern Europe and it is then necessary to reinforce the links between the EU and its neighbours.

In Eastern Partnership countries people wish to transform the societies in which they live.  The process of change is ongoing: progress towards democracy has been made but major economic challenges are present. We do know that the efforts for economic growth have to proceed in parallel with the respect of democracy, human rights and the rule of law: economic growth and democracy should proceed together. This is the main preoccupation of the Congress of the Council of Europe, that I represent here to-day together with Dr Van Staa.

Allow me to go straight to the purpose of this thematic discussion by mentioning some ideas on concrete regional policy approaches that the Partnership could  take.  The Congress was pleased to welcome during its last session in march the Eu Commissioner for regional policy Johannes Hahn. I share his view that local and regional bodies must be fully involved in policy design. At national and European level, local and regional authorities have to be involved more closely to the definition and implementation of regional policies.  

The improvement of the electoral exercises at local and regional level in the Eastern Partnership countries could be an important part of the future cooperation activities. The Committee of the Regions and the Congress have already started working together on this ground. The participation of the Committee of the Regions to the Congress’ observation missions - including in the Eastern Partnership countries - is a concrete example of the synergies that can be realized.  

We also need to build confidence and trust in local elected representatives and foster greater transparency at local level. What we could do, is to improve the leadership capacities of local elected representatives and empower local leaders to engage in constructive dialogue with the central authorities and with the citizens. We need to act on the role and responsibilities of local elected representatives, the decision making mechanisms, public ethics, citizen’s participation and the implementation of human rights at local level. We need to establish a clear separation between the economic and political spheres in decision making (in particular on the financing of political parties) in order to avoid conflicts of interest and ensure better enforcement of laws.

I really expect that the local and regional Partnership that we are launching to-day will contribute to fill the trust gap which persists between the ruling elites (political and economic) and the rest of the society. This is a priority for our future action: to propose solution to the widespread public discontent with the management of public money, shadow economies, money laundering and corruption which are present all over Europe. Allow me to say that these phenomena are present in Western and Eastern countries.

I also believe that energy efficiency and prevention of environmental disasters are fundamental for the Eastern Partnership countries. It is a matter of protecting the quality of life of citizens.  We can welcome the fact the European Union consider them as priority fields of action.

What for me is of fundamental importance, to boost cross-border between Eastern Partnership territorial authorities and the EU cities and regions, it is of. Our experience in the Congress shows that cross-border cooperation not only provides concrete solutions to problems for people living on both sides of a frontier but also fruitful exchanges of experiences and people-to-people contact.  I therefore share the view that cross-border cooperation should play a major role in the Eastern Partnership initiatives to be implemented.

For all this, we need to build bridges through decentralised approaches and partnerships, between the European Union and its partners.  The Congress and the Council of Europe are good platforms for launching programmes of action to implement their principles. The Council of Europe is launching action plans for Ukraine and Armenia and other plans will follow for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Moldova. In this respect, the European Union financial support becomes essential.

I expect that this conference will contribute to improve the relationship between the EU local authorities and its neighbors  and that its conclusions will be definitely implemented.