Decentralisation and the transition towards a greener, more sustainable economy were centre-stage at the Enlargement Day conference held by the European Committee of the Regions.
The event, on 27-28 May, was the European Union‘s largest event of the year dedicated to EU enlargement from a local and regional perspective.
The two topics – sustainable development and decentralisation – will form part of the backbone of the collaboration over the next five years between the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and local and regional authorities from candidate and potential candidate countries.
In a video message, Marta Kos European Commissioner for Enlargement, described the role of the CoR as a “bridge” to the sub-national level in enlargement countries as “incredibly important”.
Adam Szlanka Minister for the European Union for Poland, which currently holds the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union, said that local and regional authorities are the level of government “closest to the citizen, and in the end, it is the people that play a decisive role here. The prospect of joining the EU and the pace of reforms depends on them.”
Momentum towards EU enlargement has strengthened over the past year, with Ukraine and Moldova the most recent countries to have started accession talks, the event heard.
The changed dynamic was reflected during the two days of the event by the launch by the CoR of a joint consultative committee with Albania and of working groups with Moldova and Kosovo.
The conference came at a moment when there is heightened attention to local governance in the EU’s neighbourhood. In April, the CoR adopted a resolution condemning the arrest and detention of the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, and other local politicians in Türkiye – criticism repeated during the Enlargement Day conference.
In addition, the EU’s adoption of major support packages for the Western Balkans and Ukraine – the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans and the Ukraine Facility – has turned extra focus to how economic development plans can better help local communities and how local and regional authorities should be involved.
Participants agreed that effective decentralisation makes governance more efficient, strengthens democracy at the local level, and increases stability.
They also stressed that, while each country needs to find its own appropriate balance of powers, the process of decentralisation is improved by consulting sub-national governments in other countries.
Nikola Dobroslavic, prefect of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and chair of the JCC Montenegro, said, “The Committee of the Regions has for many years been a champion of the EU enlargement, and of local and regional involvement in the process.
“We have never tired of talking about it, keeping the flame lit even when it was not as high on the political agenda. Enlargement needs to be anchored in a whole-of-society approach. Local and regional authorities implement most of the EU acquis, almost 70%, and local and regional leaders are very well placed to explain and promote the benefits of enlargement.
“This will help shape a narrative of our common work, which is anchored in facts and figures, as opposed to populist and alarmist rhetoric.”
