Mayors and Governors from Europe and Latin America call on the European Union-CELAC Summit to prioritise territorial development
Mayors and governors from Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean, representing the main associations and networks of local and regional governments from both continents, met yesterday (7 November) at the Mayor’s Office in Bogotá, as part of the preparations for the European Union-CELAC Summit of Heads of State and Government, which will take place in Santa Marta, Colombia, next week.
Under the auspices of the EU-CELAC Local and Regional Governments Forum, more than fifty mayors and subnational authorities from more than ten countries met to discuss the bi-regional cooperation agenda and call on Heads of State to prioritise territorial development.
Local governments as actors closest to citizens and territories
At the event, held in the Aulas Barulé of the Mayor’s Office of Bogotá, Céline Papin, Deputy Mayor of Bordeaux (France), representing the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) and PLATFORMA, President of the Latin American and Caribbean Dynamics of Cités Unies France (CUF), and Member of the Executive Board of the French Association of CEMR (AFCCRE), highlighted the role of local governments, as actors closest to citizens and territories, in the effective implementation of the cooperation programme between the two regions in the service of local development, communities and the response to global challenges. Likewise, Rodrigo Neves, Mayor of Niteroi, Brazil, and next President of the Mercociudades network, pointed out the importance of adequate financial instruments to accompany territorial development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
On behalf of the Government of Colombia, pro tempore president of CELAC, Eleonora Betancur González, Director General of the Presidential Agency for International Cooperation of Colombia (APC Colombia), welcomed the attendees and stressed the importance of ‘territorialising’ international cooperation in order to address the major challenges of social exclusion facing the region.
Representing the European Commission, Félix Fernández-Shaw, Director of Latin America and the Caribbean, Relations with Overseas Countries and Territories at the Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA), stated that local and regional governments play an essential role in every society. Due to their proximity to citizens, they are the first to identify the priorities of their communities and are best placed to provide effective and sustainable responses to social, economic and environmental challenges. He presented the Global Gateway Strategy, which seeks to promote sustainable, high-quality infrastructure that generates prosperity, employment and services for local communities, with a comprehensive approach that also encompasses human capital, social cohesion and sustainable ecosystems.
Adopting a territorial approach to development policies
Colombian mayors and governors also participated in the event, representing the leadership of the National Federation of Departments, the Association of Intermediate Cities of Colombia, and the Colombian Federation of Municipalities.
The Forum was the venue for the official launch of the study ‘Territorial Development and Decentralisation in Latin America: a comparative study of 22 countries’, funded by the European Union and carried out by the German Cooperation Agency (GIZ). The study highlights the urgency of adopting a territorial approach to development policies, strengthening subnational governments as pillars of local democracy. It also identifies challenges in the region, such as continuing with fiscal reforms that make decentralisation effective, promoting inter-municipal and metropolitan cooperation, and preparing municipalities and local governments for the challenges posed by digitalisation and artificial intelligence.
A Forum Declaration
At the end of the event, mayors and governors formally presented the Forum Declaration (link in Spanish) [1] to representatives of CELAC and the European Union, with the aim of transmitting it to the Heads of State and Government in Santa Marta. This is the fourth time that the Forum has been held with the aim of conveying the political position and proposals of sub-national governments on the bi-regional agenda to the Summit. The aim is to strengthen political dialogue and institutional relations between local and regional authorities on both continents and to promote the building of decentralised cooperation partnerships between the EU and CELAC.
[1] The Declaration was signed by PLATFORMA and several of its partners: AFCCRE, CEMR, CLGF, CUF, DIBA, GenCat, FEMP, SALAR and UCLG.