Regional networks denounce the lack of attention to regions in the European Neighbourhood Policy
LADDER Consortium and PLATFORMA, two networks advocating for subnational authorities in the field of development, have issued a Joint Declaration on the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) review, published in November 2015 by the European Commission. Untitled “The new European Neighbourhood Policy needs greater recognition of local and regional governments”, the text denounces the lack of attention to intermediate governments and that this may endanger the success of the EU foreign policy.
The ENP was launched in 2004 in the context of the European Union enlargement, with the aim of reinforcing political association and economic integration with some of the countries they share land or maritime borders with. The promoters of the Declaration denounce in the text that “a number of important issues remain unaddressed, notably in relation to the role of local and regional governments (LRG). This might endanger the ENP’s effectiveness in partner countries and its capacity to achieve its objectives”.
For this reason, LADDER and PLATFORMA claim there is a need to reinforce the powers of the regions where the ENP is applied and to pay more attention to the decentralisation process. The Declaration is structured in eight sections that deal with the main deficiencies detected in the strategy: “The recognition of the LRG role in the priority areas is insufficient”, “the potential of decentralised cooperation remains unexplored” and “the democratic governance must be a priority” are some of their vindications. Despite that, the promoters acknowledge the advocacy of the ENP for regional and subregional cooperation with their south and east neighbours.
Related content:
Joint Declaration by Platforma and Ladder Consortium: http://bit.ly/1Sx7rLs
Ignoring local and regional authorities can endanger the effectiveness of the new ENP. Platforma, 19/02/2016
European Neighbourhood Policy review: http://bit.ly/1T0lBTf
