Spain is generally fulfilling its obligations under the European Charter of Local Self-Government, and decentralisation is at the core of Spanish democracy. However, some issues need to be addressed, notably the insufficient funding of the local municipalities and the lack of clarity in the division of responsibilities between levels of government, according to a report adopted today by the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.

The report welcomes that the European Charter of Local Self-Government is incorporated into Spain’s national law, which enables legal interpretation by the domestic courts, and that the local governments can directly challenge national laws that negatively affect their local autonomy.

The Congress also expresses satisfaction over the right of the citizens to participate in local affairs and the revised legislation that newly fixes a minimum and maximum threshold for remunerating local elected officials.

Conversely, the Congress is concerned that the division of responsibilities between levels of government has not been clarified and that the competencies of municipalities have been narrowed to limited matters and subjected to several conditions. The report also points out that the consultation and cooperation between levels of government may be improved.

A longstanding issue is the persistent transfer of powers to municipalities without adequate financial resources. In addition, the distribution of economic resources between smaller and larger municipalities is uneven, which leaves especially smaller and depopulated municipalities lacking resources to address the needs of the residents.

Other concerns are that Spain has not yet signed the Additional Protocol to the European Charter of Local Self-Government on the right to participate in the affairs of a local authority and that the participation of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) to the Conference of Presidents of Autonomous Communities and to the Sectorial Conferences is not defined in law.

In light of these findings, the Congress recommends Spain to grant local authorities power to exercise their initiative in any matter which is not excluded from their competence, to clarify the division of responsibilities among the levels of government, to ensure sufficient funding for local authorities, including the transfer of resources from richer to poorer municipalities, and to sign and ratify the Additional Protocol to the European Charter of Local Self-Government on the right to participate in the affairs of a local authority.

Addressing the Congress plenary session following the adoption of the report, Miryam Álvarez Páez, Secretary General for Territorial Coordination of Spain, explained the steps the Spanish government is planning to implement the recommendations issued today.

The Congress issued its recommendations based on a report prepared by the Congress members Bryony Rudkin (United Kingdom, SOC/V/DP) and David Eray (Switzerland PPE/CCE).
 

Media contact: Jaime Rodriguez, Spokesperson/Media Officer, tel. +33 6 89 99 50 42

 Video of the speech by Miryam Álvarez Páez 

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