Brussels, 04/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 3 April, the Committee of the Regions adopted a multi-level governance manual for local and regional public authorities, with its adoption of a resolution on the subject at its plenary session.
The decentralised public authorities are invited to sign up to a multi-level governance charter on 9 May, Europe Day. This will mean that the local and regional authorities will undertake to reflect the concept in their policies and to carry out projects in partnership with the various levels of authorities. The signatory cities and regions of the charter will modernise their administration in this spirit and work with other levels of authority to ensure that this principle is taken on board. The charter promotes a commitment underpinned by the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, but also of transparency, participation and partnership (particularly with the citizens), and respect for human rights. Luc Van den Brande (EPP, Belgium) was behind the initiative of this charter, in response to the fact that decision-making is increasingly dispersed and “top-down”. He recommends governance which seeks to be participative in order to “get more for the citizens”. The resolution emphasises that multi-governance is vital in order to achieve the EUROPE 2020 objectives of job creation and poverty reduction. Commissioner for Social Affairs Laszlo Andor, who attended the plenary session, agreed, but pointed out that the objectives would be “very difficult to achieve”. He stressed that the youth guarantee should also be managed by the local authorities. (MD)