CORLEAP

Development of the Local and Regional Dimension of the Eastern Partnership

Dorin CHIRTOACĂ, Mayor of Chişinău, EaP Co-chair of CORLEAP

Brussels 16 May 2013

CORLEAP – a network of networks

- 36 elected regional and local politicians: 18 from partner countries (3 from each country), 18 from the EU - CORLEAP is a network for multilateral cooperation between local and regional authorities from the EU and Eastern Partnership countries- Communication channel between local and regional authorities, with the aim of engaging more local and regional authorities, enhancing dialogue between them

In their official declaration from Warsaw Eastern Partnership Summit in 2011, the Heads of State and Government welcomed the creation of CORLEAP

“Local and regional authorities have a key role to play in narrowing the gap between the population and institutions, promoting a culture of political participation at local level and ensuring that policy decisions take local needs into account.”

Joint Communication "Delivering on a new European Neighbourhood Policy states" JOINT (2012), 14 final, page 7

Recognition of the role of local and regional authorities

Annual meeting in Chisinau in September 2012 agreed on three priorities for CORLEAP work in 2013

Based on a needs analysis of local and regional authorities in 2012 the following priorities have been identified for the report to the Heads of State

Public administration reform Fiscal decentralisation Territorial cooperation

The annual meeting in Lithuania on 3 September 2013 will adopt a political report covering all those issues and develop recommendations for the EaP Summit in November

CORLEAP Priorities for 2013

Local and regional authorities are hindered to fully exercise their potential :- A lack of financial autonomy and limited fiscal capacity- Need for a boost in public administration reform including local and regional authorities- Need to speed up the development of local democracy, transparency and citizen

participation- Need to share experiences and increase cooperation with EU counterparts in specific

areas of relevance to LRAs such as environment, climate change (housing modernisation, social well-being, territorial development, immigration and promotion of contacts between people)

- Need to strengthen further citizens’ participation at local level for policy making and partnership

- Limited awareness of the financial assistance mechanisms available to local and regional authorities in the Eastern Partnership countries from EU programmes

- Need for capacity building to engage in EU programmes and projects

Some important points of work towards the report

Public administration reform which includes also local and regional authorities

Increasing citizen participation in the development of local democracy

Increase awareness of assistance mechanisms available to local and regional authorities in the partner countries form EU Programmes (Guide to available funds for local and regional authorities)

CORLEAP could help and is ready to play a greater role in achieving the Partnership goals

Future tasks

Local and regional authorities and their public services should have access to support within the framework of all EU instruments financing the EaP policy

The proposed Eastern Partnership Pilot Regional Development Programmes could play a role in addressing the problems the LRA are dealing with and could serve to demonstrate the impact of cohesion-type policies on territorial development, growth and jobs

Support for, and the involvement of, local and regional authorities in community development must be a horizontal issue and should not be restricted to a single instrument

Limited awareness of the financial assistance mechanisms available to local and regional authorities in the partner countries form EU Programmes

Challenges to support local dimension on EaP

Activities in 2013

Conference “Fiscal decentralisation in the Eastern Partnership – challenges and opportunities” 14 May 2013 CoR seminar “Cross border cooperation on the European Union’s Eastern border” 17 June , Iasi (RO) Polish standing conference on the International cooperation of local governments “Experiences and perspectives regarding the role of Polish local governments in the strengthening of the local and regional dimension of Eastern Partnership” will be organised under the patronage of CORLEAP on 28 June in Poznan (PL)

Corleap Annual meeting in Vilnius 3 September in cooperation with the Lithuanian presidency

CORLEAP is looking forward to co-organise a panel on Public Administration Reform of LRA in EaP countries in cooperation with Czech MFA and EEASJoint EURONEST-CORLEAP Workshop on “Eastern Partnership's cooperation in reforming public institutions and administrations for 2014-2020“ Strasbourg (FR), 10 October 2013 Together with ETF, CORLEAP will develop common activities in the field of vocational training dedicated to LRA from EaP countries and will co organise a seminar on these issues in 2014

CORLEAP calls for local and regional authorities to have access to all EU instruments financing the training and networking within the EaP policy

Following the CORLEAP conclusions from 2012 regarding the cooperation with the European Training Foundation, a MoU with was signed at the CORLEAP Bureau meeting on 14 May 2013

Comprehensive institution building programs within the EaP could be a motor for reform and the sharing of best practice across the EaP region

Training

Thank you for your attention!

Further information:

corleap@cor.europa.eu