EU-Africa Summit: the place of local and regional authorities in the new policy on partnership
Lisbon, 7th December 2007
1. On the occasion of the 2nd EU-Africa Summit, which brings together the Heads of States and governments of the member states of the European Union and the African Union in Lisbon on 8 and 9 December, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and its African and European sections (UCLG-Africa and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, respectively) call on the Heads of State of the European Union and African Union, as well as the Presidents of the European Commission and the Commission of African Union, to highlight the role of local and regional authorities in the new policy on partnership.
2. The local and regional authorities of Africa and Europe hail the ambitions of the States to use this new strategy to build a wider and more democratic partnership. They recognise the importance of the strategic priorities defined in the Joint African-European Union Strategy. However, in agreement with the parliamentarians and representatives of non-governmental organisations, they do ask that the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, including the struggle against poverty, the defence of human rights, gender equality and access to basic services, be placed at the centre of the Joint Strategy’s Action Plan.
3. They also request that the growing role played by local authorities in democratic governance and development cooperation be given greater recognition in the Joint Strategy. In effect, in major documents such as the revised Cotonou Agreement and the DCI, the European Union has already committed itself to systematically involve local and regional authorities in EU development aid strategy design processes, particularly in Africa. Local authorities are keen to recall this commitment and would like to see this confirmed in the framework African-European Union dialogue. Local authorities also believe it is indispensable to promote models of governance that guarantee the practice of democracy and respect for human rights at all levels.
4. The Joint Strategy - where the aims and methods of participation in long-term policy dialogue are defined - makes practically no mention of local authorities. Meanwhile the ongoing process of decentralisation and urban explosion trends put local authorities at the centre of current development challenges. Although local authorities are mentioned in the 2008-2009 Action Plan, their role is limited to mere policy implementation previously adopted at other levels. Yet from now on, the EU recognises them as a policy partner which should be involved prior to making political and strategic choices; this should also be the case for the African Union.
5. Local authorities are convinced that the construction of a “broader community-based partnership” as called for by the EU and Africa should be based on the wider participation of local communities in the dialogue vis-à-vis the design, implementation and monitoring of the Joint Strategy.
6. Mechanisms and means should be clearly defined to allow for a better structured and systematic participation, in particular in Africa where the organisations of the local authorities are more recent or even in the process of consolidation or, in same cases, of establishment. Local and regional authorities should therefore take a full part in the policy monitoring mechanism of the Joint Strategy to be put in place by the Heads of State and Governments in Lisbon.
7. The partnership between European local and regional authorities and their African counterparts should cover all of the goals of the Action Plan, and in particular the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, in order to support the coordination anticipated in the 2005 Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness.
8. In accordance with the goals set by the United Nations and the OECD, the States should respect their pledges to increase the amount of Official Development Assistance in order to contribute thereby to the Millennium Development Goals, particularly in Africa, within the agreed timeframes. UCLG also proposes to promote the strengthening of the engagement of local government in decentralised cooperation, in partnership with the States, the European Union and the African Union.