"NALAS and the Congress share a common objective: strengthen local self-government and representating and defending the interests of local and regional authorities," stressed Congress Vice-President, Johan van den Hout, at the General Assembly of the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe (NALAS) and the Cities Dialogue Conference on 11-12 April 2019 in Skopje, North Macedonia.
Co-organised by NALAS and the World Bank-Austria Urban Partnership Programme, the Conference "Cities - Drivers of Economic Growth - Vision 2030" brought together representatives of local and regional authorities and their associations to discuss their contribution to local economic development in the Western Balkans economic area.
This development and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) require "strong and constant collaboration between territorial levels, through cross-border cooperation and the active participation of all levels of governance", underlined Vice-President Van den Hout.
He also emphasised the crucial and strategic role of local authorities in facilitating dialogue and improving communication with national authorities, as well as between citizens and institutions. "It is important to define the roles and responsibilities of local authorities according to the principles established by the European Charter of Local Self-Government in order to strengthen the structures closest to the citizens", he added, welcoming NALAS' proactive role in creating a space for exchange between local authorities and for dialogue between local authorities, regional governments and organisations.
In addition, the Vice-President highlighted the need for further decentralisation and a strengthened system of local self-government to pave the way for "the sustainability and resilience of our local communities".
"Financial and fiscal decentralisation, a principle set out in the Charter, is essential to enable local and regional authorities to stimulate local economic development" he concluded.
