Tangiers, 20/05/2008 (Agence Europe) - “Globalisation does not mean there are no endogenous factors in development” says Michel Vauzelle, President of the Provence-Alps-Côte d'Azur region. “Decentralised cooperation is not an aside, a diversion in the regional development strategy of the Tangiers-Tetouan region. It is an integrated element of it”, says Abdelhadi Benallal, President of Tangiers-Tetouan Regional Council. It is on these two comments that Xavier Gizard, General Secretary of the CPMR and FOGAR, pulled together a summary of work carried out by the workshops that took place in Tangiers on Tuesday 13 May as part of the second international convention for a regional development approach (EUROPE 9663, 9661 and 9659).
Globalisation. Mario Pezzini (OECD) placed emphasis on Mr Vauzelle's comment by repeating the new regional and local disparities. He confirmed that it is at regional level that some of the points for growth are earned. But it is also necessary to have conditions for mobilisation and revalorisation of available resources. Georges Canelos (Alaska) stressed North American regional inequalities. The first dictum to come out of the round tables and workshops is that of local and regional ownership of development, Xavier Gizard noted. But beware of putting too great a focus on the local level, warned Carolina Mayeur (Spain's cooperation agency). In order to work as it should, local and regional ownership has to meet the following conditions, explained Xavier Gizard:
(a) Methodological tools and human competence are needed to make the role of animation and cooperation of territorial authorities possible as well as the constitution of fruitful partnerships as a component of regional society. “Good local governance” is a subject that has been broadly dealt with by the workshop devoted to research and training, and especially by Wilmer Encalada (Latin America), Ahmed Arafa (Morocco) and by the “Asia” workshop.
(b) Approaches undertaken must also be the subject of exchange of best practice in capitalisation and evaluation. This was highlighted by the economic and social workshop. It is at the heart of this necessary set of tools that we find the ArtGold programmes developed on the five continents (this has been developed by, among others, Philippe Cichowlaz, Carolina Mayeur, and the “Africa”, “Latin America” and “Asia” workshops.
(c) In addition to the local conditions, national conditions will make the success of regional development strategies possible, above all because there is no national strategy without macro-economy and without a national development strategy, as Abdelhadi Benallal put it. No more than without a national institutional framework that allows a regional initiative. The Moroccan minister of state, Mohammed El Yazghi, gave an illustration of this by describing the decentralisation and development strategy of his country.
(d) A multi-level government is also needed if decentralisation is to work. Gordon Keymer, Vice-President of the Committee of the Regions, remarked that “multi-level governance is not limited to within the borders of the EU. It is a reference without being a model for duplication”.
(e) It is also necessary to have national financing conditions to ensure that part of public resources go to national authorities and as much as possible without pre-allocation. This was highlighted by the “Africa” workshop with regard to the financial instrument for West Africa, expounded on by Mario Pezzini and Abdourahim Agne (Senegal).
(f) It is also necessary to have the right legal conditions, in particular so that regional authorities control the task in hand to avoid having to apply to others for their projects, stressed Ahmed Arafa.
(g) Emphasis was also placed by participants on the supranational institutional conditions needed for deployment of a national development strategy. This is necessary in the event of crossborder problems, noted Alexandre Padilha (Brazil). European experience was highlighted by Lambert van Nistelrooij of the Netherlands (MEP of the EPP-ED Group and president of the association for European crossborder regions).
(h) The level of organisations, continental political and economic groupings and sub-continental groupings is becoming increasingly important. Danuta Hübner, Commissioner for Regional Policy, spoke of experience gained from European regional policy, the transition from a sectoral approach to an integrated regional approach. This was shared by Georges Canelos, Abdourahim Agne and Hamza Ahmadou Cissé (West Africa)
(i) the world level is important to the pursuit of the Millennium goals and the necessary reform of the United Nations (Pablo Mandeville, Head of UNDP in Uruguay, Jose Antonio Gonzalez Mancebo, UNCP, New York). Back on the world scene comes the need for good governance between all levels, running through all public policies, like “a skeleton which holds and shapes the human body”. Nicolas Levrat, Head of the European Institute of the University of Geneva, gave a summary of its main points through the institutional and non-institutional regional bodies. The Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the Mercosur Advisory Committee are good examples of the former, and the CPMR, FOGAR and FOGAR organisations are good examples of the latter.
Decentralised cooperation. As Benallal pointed out, decentralised cooperation “is an essential component of a regional development strategy in an open world”. It's a key instrument, said the president of the Catalan Junta. It's a vitally important cohesion policy instrument for the Mediterranean, stressed the Mediterranean workshop. The idea put forward was that of a “decentralised cooperation charter”. French Socialist and CoR expert Juliette Soulabaille said that the EU was currently working on a “European Charter in support of local governance of development policies”, which was due to be adopted in Strasbourg in November 2008, during the European Development Days, under French Presidency of the EU. The FOGAR and the CPMR are both currently involved in drawing up the draft Charter.
During the debate, Manuel Chavez Gonzalez, President of the Region of Andalusia, noted that financial globalisation, the food crisis, immigration and climate change were scourges which required action. This presupposed the need to “enhance multilateralism, international cooperation, regional organisations and to embrace globalisation like the FOGAR”. “With cohesion policy, we have been able to again take back a European awareness. Cohesion policy must adapt to the specific needs and characteristics of the regions,” he said.
President of the Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaër region and Secretary General of the International Association of Francophone Regions (AIRF) Abdelkedir Berkia said that “the future of the world depends on new regional cohesion policies across the world. This depends on the political will for international solidarity with the countries of the South. A worldwide contract is required. Regions are major players in a fair and just world”. (G.B.)