“The commitment of local and regional authorities is the key to ensuring the concrete implementation of strategies adopted at the national level,” said Congress Vice-President Xavier Cadoret (France, SOC/G/PD) at the Normandy World Peace Forum on 2 October 2020. “The management of the Covid-19 crisis illustrates this fundamental role of the territorial level, which benefits from better knowledge of the situation on the ground and the needs of the population. The transmission of information to central governments makes it possible to co-ordinate common strategies and each level of governance complements the action of the other,” he explained, speaking at the debate on “Global challenges, local responses: what solutions for the climate?,” organised by the Assembly of European Regions (AER).
The Vice-President also stressed the need to share good practices in an institutionalised framework, especially in crisis situations. This is the aim of the platform “COVID-19: local and regional responses”, launched by the Congress, which presents a set of resources deployed by local and regional authorities, partner networks and other organisations.
“Local and regional authorities must be recognised for their true value and be provided with the appropriate competences as well as the financial and human resources needed to carry out their missions,” stressed Xavier Cadoret. He recalled that the Congress ensures the respect of the rights and freedoms of local and regional authorities guaranteed in the European Charter of Local Self-Government, through systematic monitoring of the implementation of the Charter and close dialogue with the governments of Council of Europe member States.
“The influence and participation of local and regional authorities in the decision-making process at the international level depends greatly on the competences attributed to them: the more weight they have vis-à-vis their national governments, the more they will be able to be involved at European and global levels, in particular through their national associations,” concluded Mr. Cadoret.
