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Charter for Multilevel Governance in Europe opens for signature
On the occasion of Europe Day on 9 May, the EU's Committee of the Regions (CoR) called on all local & regional authorities to sign up to the "Charter for Multilevel Governance in Europe". The Charter is available online and is open for electronic signature by cities and regions.
What is the Charter for Multilevel
Governance?
Adopted by the CoR on 3 April 2014 and supported by the
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of
Europe, the Charter is a political
manifesto from European cities and regions inviting all public
authorities to make "multilevel governance" a reality in day-to-day
policy-making and delivery. This primarily involves working in
partnershipbetween the different levels of government (local,
regional, national and European) and applying a set of principles that should
guide efficient policy-making, such
asparticipation,cooperation, open
ness, transparency, inclusiveness and policy coherence, all of which are
essential conditions to guarantee the success of public policies in the
interest of the citizens.
CoR
President Ramón Luis Valcárcel said:
"On Europe Day, two weeks ahead of the European elections, the launch of
the signatory campaign on the Charter for Multilevel Governance by the CoR
marks the strong will of regional and local authorities all across Europe to
become fully-fledged partners in EU policy making. Only by acting together can
responsible actors at all levels of governance close the 'delivery gap'
ensuring the EU meets its objectives on sustainable growth, quality jobs
creation and territorial cohesion."
Although not legally binding, the Charter will commit
its signatories to use multilevel governance in the management of public
policies, to launch projects in partnership with both the public and private
sectors, to further develop territorial cooperation and to modernise their
administration. This is all part of the CoRs' commitment to ensuring a good
application of "subsidiarity", which places
decisions at the most effective level and as close to citizens as
possible.
Who can sign?
- Signature of the Charter is open to all European Union local and regional authorities, i.e. city, county, district, metropolitan area, province, region, etc.
- European and national associations of local and regional authorities, as well as local and regional authority networks, are also invited to give their formal support.
- Politicians at all levels of governance can give their support by signing the Charter.
For what purposes?
By
adhering to the Charter, signatories will aim to:
- use multilevel governance to foster a "European mind-set" in their region/city by co-operating with political and administrative bodies from the local to the European level, and vice-versa;
- promote cross-border collaboration with other regions/cities whilst overcoming administrative hurdles and geographic frontiers;
- modernise their administration , taking full advantage of digital and innovative solutions, increasing transparency and openness, whilst offering quality public services easily accessible to the citizens;
- promote citizen and civil society participation in the decision making process, hence further developing participatory democracy.
What are the
benefits?
Adhesion will allow signatories' initiatives, taken
in accordance to the Charter, to gain morevisibility. Such
initiatives will be highlighted on the website of the Charter and
at high-level events organised for local and
regional authorities, Member States and European
institutions.
The
Charter website and events will serve as platforms for exchange
to:
- identify good practices and innovative projects launched by other signatories;
- look for potential partners before launching joint initiatives;
- prepare and monitor EU policies at the local and regional level, but also together with the European institutions.
How to join?
- To sign or support the
Charter, local and regional authorities and their networks/associations must
complete a short online form available at:www.cor.europa.eu/mlgcharter
Background
With its 2009 White Paper on Multilevel
governance , the CoR launched a public consultation for drafting the
charter in order to include a common and shared understanding of European
governance in the core values of the European Union. The CoR then renewed this
commitment in a report on " Building a European culture of
multilevel governance: follow-up to the Committee of the Regions' White
Paper " . Since then the CoR has been actively
developing a method for monitoring usage of multilevel governance by European
institutions, regularly produces a scoreboard on the issue, and
is working on compiling good multilevel governance practices in cooperation
with the European Commission.
Multilevel governance is recognised as a guiding
principle in the new EU rules for the management of the Structural and
Investment Funds 2014-2020.
More information:
• For any questions about the Charter, write to: mlgcharter@cor.europa.eu.
• For any questions about the Charter, write to: mlgcharter@cor.europa.eu.
Contact:
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For
press enquiries:
Tel. +32 2 282 24 99
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For
questions regarding the Charter/signing process:
Tel. +32 2 282 20 96
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