The Congress organised two roundtables in Fier and Lezha, on 27 and 28 April 2016, to consult with the Albanian Mayors, Heads of the Region and local governance associations on the preparation of a draft Council of Ministers’ decree establishing the Local and Central Government Council following the enactment of Law No. 139/2015. Seventeen Municipalities and eight regions directly contributed to these initial consultations. The Congress supports consultation as a vital feature of the decentralisation process in Albania. Congress member Majlinda Bufi (Albania, SOC) shared the lessons learnt from a study visit organised within the project in Latvia. By making reference to the structure of the Latvian national association, its role in advocacy and in budgetary negotiations, she stressed the importance of jointly addressing the central government and of setting-up constructive dialogue between stakeholders to enable effective local democracy and decentralisation. She noted that Based on outcomes of the roundtables, the Congress will submit a draft decree to the government of Albania on 9 May 2016.
News 2016
