Governance and citizenship

The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) called for the setting-up of an established partnership between local, regional, national and European authorities as an interpretation of multi-level governance, at the occasion of a.Hungarian EU presidency conference held from 21 to 23 March 2011 in Gödöllo, Hungary.

 

'The burden of economic and financial recovery, for instance, must be shared," declared CEMR secretary general, Frédéric Vallier, 'especially when decentralisation and local and regional autonomy are being hindered by certain decisions taken at the national level. National administrations must cooperate very closely with associations representing local and regional authorities so as to best meet the needs of citizens."

 

The conference, which saw participants discuss territorial cooperation (EGTC) and multi-level governance, aimed at ensuring the effective representation of local government within the EU and at pushing for increased cooperation between the different levels of governance.

 

The event was the last of a series of meetings organised by the current EU presidency trio, composed of Spain, Belgium and Hungary, in the framework of an agreement signed by the member states in 2010. This agreement committed the three countries to giving momentum to the participation and coordination of local and regional authorities in the European decision-making process over a period of eighteen months as a means of overcoming the crisis.