Commissioner Mimica insists on local governments but forgets decentralised cooperation

Neven Mimica, EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, met yesterday (27/09) with the European Parliament Committee on Development for an exchange of views on the revision of the European Consensus on Development. 

Commissioner Mimica told MEPs he would like to see more direct implementation of EU development projects by local governments, which is one of PLATFORMA’s key messages. Moreover, he stressed that the ultimate objective of the new Consensus would continue to be the eradication of poverty, while pointing out that development cooperation cannot be a “stand alone policy”. It should build linkages with humanitarian assistance, environmental policy and other fields of action.
However, the issue of decentralised cooperation was totally absent from Commissioner Mimica’s intervention. Therefore, PLATFORMA will continue to call for a place for decentralised cooperation within the revised Consensus. EU local and regional governments have a long tradition of peer-to-peer exchange with their counterparts in developing countries and should, as a result, be considered as full-fledged development partners by the EU.
The revision process started with an open consultation to which PLATFORMA contributed. In the coming months, the European Commission and the European Parliament are expected to present their visions on the new Consensus on Development.
PLATFORMA will continue to advocate for its vision as outlined in the position paper “Fighting inequalities with the local and regional perspective: Revising the European Consensus on Development”.