PLATFORMA
PLATFORMA
PLATFORMA coordinates the voice of European local and regional governments active in decentralised development cooperation.
ID: 144630225519-73
Lobbying Activity
Response to New Agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean
9 Feb 2023
Decentralised cooperation - subnational cooperation such as city-to-city twinning and region-to-region cooperation - presents a clear opportunity to enhance cooperation between both regions. It is a successful tool to strengthen equal international partnerships. By involving sub-national cooperation schemes, policymakers and other stakeholders like CSOs in coordination with national associations of local and regional governments its also a fundamental tool for policy coherence for development. In a context where recentralisation movements are advancing as a result of political narratives on securitisation, future cooperation between both regions should pay special attention to respect decentralisation processes. Democracy and human rights are at the core of the EU-LAC partnership and citizens calls for more effective good governance should be answered. Trade based-cooperation through Mercosur and the post-Cotonou Agreement with the Caribbean are positive developments, however, these agreements should indicate their positive impact in advancing policy coherence for development and not harm public services. The impacts on local economies, as well as human and labour rights should also be assessed. The EC has encouraged, facilitated and supported this city-to-city cooperation, however concerted efforts should be maintained. An example is the URB-AL Programme a fundamental tool not only for promoting bi-regional cooperation between local governments but, above all, for improving the quality of public policies in key areas such as democratic governance, gender equality, social cohesion, local economic development and the fight against climate change. URB-AL placed city networks at the heart of the agenda and left a legacy of numerous projects with proven results, like the Observatory for Decentralised Cooperation. The joint communication should adapt EU priorities for the green transition to the reality and needs of the LAC region. Policy coherence for development in this case is a crucial tool to make sure EUs green ambition does not have a negative impact on partner countries,territories and agriculture. These messages were defended in view of the TTIP negotiations and are key in the framework of agreements between LAC-EU regions. With the vast majority of people in both regions living in urban areas, promoting partnerships for sustainable cities continues to be crucial through successful city-to-city cooperation on sustainable urban development initiatives like the Global Covenant of Mayors. DC initiatives such as study visits for local elected representatives and technical staff in the framework of climate mitigation projects can foster knowledge sharing and learning. Indigenous and local communities should be considered as allies and holders of scalable models for biodiversity conservation as well as contributors to sustainable use of land, environmental goods and nature based solutions. To achieve the green transition, local and regional governments should have access to dedicated funding, as balanced and multi-level regional development is an important precondition for achieving the objectives of the Green Deal and Agenda 2030. In view of the CELAC-EU summit, integrating local and regional governments and their associations in the run-up, during and after the 2023 Summit is a must. Formal and regular channels for engagement must be developed in line with previous experiences with other regions, such as Sub-Saharan Africa. An efficient method to further engagement with local public authorities, besides the Member States level and CSO could be to engage with networks specialised sub-national governments cooperation in the LAC region, like Mercociudades and FLACMA and PLATFORMA in the EU.
Read full responseMeeting with Jutta Urpilainen (Commissioner) and OXFAM INTERNATIONAL EU ADVOCACY OFFICE and
1 Dec 2022 · Speech at the 2nd GAP III Structured Dialogue with CSOs
Meeting with Jutta Urpilainen (Commissioner) and Climate Action Network Europe and
1 Feb 2022 · Roundtable with CSO: Preparation of the AU-EU Summit and the Africa-Europe Week 2022
Meeting with Sandra Bartelt (Cabinet of Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen)
28 Sept 2021 · SDGs and Team Europe Initiatives
31 May 2021
In every Regions of the World, local and regional governements and their national associations must be able to participate to the programming and MIPs, and maintain a regular policy dialogue with EU delegations at country and regional levels.
In addition, decentralised cooperation including cross-border cooperation, must clearly appear as a priority area of support from the European Union. Cooperation between European local and regional governments and their peers in partner regions and countries, helps different aspects of development: strengthening local governance and public institutions, as well as improving local public policies (and localise the SDGs), including with the participation of other types of stakeholders (civil society organisations, think tanks, private sector, citizens, etc.). In addition, supporting national associations of local and regional governments and their representative associations at continental level allows to raise the voice of local and regional governments of all sizes and build their advocacy capacities: it enables them to actively contribute to the policy work and policy dialogue with continental institutions (African Union, Mercosur, ASEAN, etc.), highlighting and defending the local perspective.
Moreover, when speaking about institutional building, it is important to target and specify different levels of governance: competences at local, regional, national levels, are complementary and must often work in coordination. Local and regional governments are often in charge of organising and delivering many public services, such as waster and water management, adaptation to climate change, circular economy but also in shaping adequate policies in their territories, including be prepared for future crisis.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has piled on unprecedented challenges for people and for municipalities and regions, being the closest governance level to people. Pressure was added to an array of areas related to human development & to local and regional governments’ competences and management ability to cope with, notably educational and health systems and living standards and well-being, but also local finances, emergency management & curfew, housing (in many situation informal settlement), digital gap it put to light in terms of both territorial coverage, digital public services & skills, the strong impact on the cultural sector which allows normally to create lively & more inclusive cities, pressure on waste management, food system to still be effective, local business shutting down, misinformation. All were severely impacted by the crisis.
This has severe consequences on territorial and social inequalities and the way people can access basic services. It has highlighted major disparities in the response between territories, inside them, and among the population, and put emphasis on the need to connect territories and develop an integrated approach in the response. It is also about giving to municipalities and regions the ability to respond to increasing demand of public services while the tax bases and local finances are shrinking. As regards women and gender equality in particular, municipalities & regions have a key role to play in empowering women in local politics, but also as a basics for their economic autonomy, their involvement in local life & protection in private life and public space. The EU must support the development of action plans at local level, for example on climate adaptation & mitigation, health management, disaster prevention, local economic development, etc.
The rebuilding will not be just economic, of course it should focus on basic infrastructures but also many dimensions of human development are put at risk. It is about building resilience for the future, and ensuring democratic principles remain central.
Finally building global citizenship is an essential issue for municipalities towards the localisation of the 2030 Agenda, in an interconnected world.
Read full responseMeeting with Jutta Urpilainen (Commissioner) and OXFAM INTERNATIONAL EU ADVOCACY OFFICE and
25 May 2021 · Roundtable on Human Development
Response to Communication on the Global Approach to Research, Innovation, Education and Youth
9 Apr 2021
According to the roadmap, the upcoming Communication on the Global Approach to Research, Innovation, Education and Youth, will set out the revised strategy for international cooperation in Research and Innovation, with the support of education and youth.
While the renewal of such strategy to adapt to global challenges, geopolitical changes, the COVID-19 crisis and the Recovery Plan is welcomed, it is not clear how local and regional governments and their associations’ competencies and cooperation initiatives in the topics addressed by the roadmap are going to be included to accelerate efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda and enhance policy coherence, achieve efficiency and to deliver EU priorities.
--> The EU and the Member States cannot go alone if the upcoming communication aims to adopt and follow a truly global approach. Future regional partnerships should be reinforced from the regional and local levels.
If the communication aims to have a global dimension, then decentralised cooperation carried out between local, regional and national governments and stakeholders in the EU and outside of the EU should not be left out. In fact, while the text of the roadmap recognises that for developing and implementing sustainable responses to global environmental, economic and social challenges, Europe cannot do this on its own and that there is a need to strengthening partnerships with different regions of the world, there is no reference to how these partnerships are going to be reinforced from the local and regional governments levels. Cities and regions in the EU and outside of the EU that cooperate in research and innovation projects should also be involved in the revision of such strategy. Their experience and potential contribution should be taken into account for better and stronger coordination with the EU and member states. Research and Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialisation (RIS3) policies and activities were implemented from 2014 to 2020 as an example of EU regions’ role in adapting to social, economic and environmental changes. To facilitate their involvement, involving national associations of local and regional governments in the consultation and revision process of the strategy can also help ensure that no one and no place is left behind.
The upcoming communication and future initiatives should also seek complementarity with actions and programmes financed under the current EU development policy instrument, Global Europe, known before as the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI). This could also help to further link the messages of the 2030 Agenda and its 17 SDGs together with the EU’s priorities, from the bottom up and together with the global dimension. The aforementioned is particularly relevant in view of the roadmap aiming to strengthen partnerships with other regions such as Wester, Balkans, Eastern and Southern Neighbourhood and Africa.
--> International cooperation in education and youth included as support should also be considered from their global perspective, local impact and synergies with existing programmes.
Enhancing synergies and complementarity with international education and youth activities calls for strengthening the links with Global Citizenship Education (Development Education and Awareness-Raising, DEAR) actions planned to be implemented by actions financed through the NDICI thematic programmes. These also aim at tackling the global dimension of current challenges that affect the EU.
Please find the full input of the PLATFORMA network attached.
Read full responseMeeting with Renaud Savignat (Cabinet of Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen)
8 Jan 2021 · Presentation of the position paper on how the local and regional governments can contribute to the EU Programming
Meeting with Mónica Silvana González (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)
1 Oct 2020 · The impact of climate change on vulnerable population in developing countries
Meeting with Koen Doens (Director-General Directorate-General for International Partnerships)
10 Jun 2020 · The role of Local Authorities in the next programming cycle. Participation of Local Authorities in Team Europe and EC’s COVID response.
Meeting with Mónica Silvana González (Member of the European Parliament)
22 Apr 2020 · Cooperación descentralizada
Meeting with Mónica Silvana González (Member of the European Parliament)
17 Apr 2020 · Cooperación descentralizada
Meeting with Mónica Silvana González (Member of the European Parliament)
6 Apr 2020 · Proyectos Platforma
Response to EU Action Plan of Gender equality and women’s empowerment in external relations for 2021-2025
3 Apr 2020
Gender Equality & women’s empowerment in #EU external relations cannot happen without local governments & regions!
The contributions of local and regional governments (LRGs) are crucial for socially, economically and ecologically sustainable development. In their democratic functions, as service providers and employers they pivotal to achieving all of the global agendas, including the 2030 Agenda and the Beijing Platform for Action.
The partners of the PLATFORMA network have identified the following priority themes for the EU’s external action in coming years: equal representation in decision-making/politics; economic empowerment and decent work; efficient and accessible public services; gender mainstreaming and gender-responsive budgeting; and eliminating gender-based violence. These should be pursued through the three “R” method: Representation, Rights Resources, while taking into account the diversity of women and the intersections of their identities, otherwise policies risk addressing the same groups and stakeholders in the “mainstream” development space, thus excluding the most marginalised.
These aims can be realised through decentralised cooperation activities of LRGs: peer-to-peer learning, networking and exchange of best practice examples and experience between the municipalities, cities and regions of the EU and partner countries.
In their role of administration closest to citizens and civil society, including women's movements, LRGs should lead in the development of feminist policies and measures that foster women and girls’ empowerment. Thanks to their particular competences, the local level of government can be a strong lever to achieve a more gender-equal society. National associations of LRGs are also central actors in promoting gender equality and should considered as key enablers.
o LRGs and civil society organisations are in a position to ensure that awareness-raising efforts and advocacy reach all age groups and social backgrounds in order to achieve lasting results.
o LRGs, together with civil society organisations, foster a bottom-up approach to projects as actors who are familiar with the specific needs of their population from a gender perspective.
If the EU wants to seriously promote SDG 5 through GAP III, then it has to:
o Recognise the essential role of LRGs as levers for action and promotion of equality between women and men, based on the content of the European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life
o Promote LRG inclusion at all stages and consider LRGs as key development policy actors in their own right
o Further promote the equal representation and influence of women within decision-making roles, especially in all spheres of government, from the local through the national level
o Establish a multi-stakeholder group with the participation of LRGs and LRGAs within GAP III
o Develop and encourage a culture of gender audits by including a “Gender Audit Check-list” as an annex in all of the projects
o Include local stakeholders in the design of indicators and evaluations
In order to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all girls and women (SDG5), and more broadly, the entire 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the PLATFORMA network calls for specific funding lines within GAP III dedicated to:
o Localisation of SDG 5 by LRGs and their associations (projects, communication, etc.), including raising awareness in local communities on gender issues/inequalities and building capacity for gender mainstreaming, through training, technical support and opportunities for peer exchange
o Signatories of the European Charter for Equality in EaP countries to draft and implement equality action plans
o Networking, exchange, mentoring and sponsorship for women elected representatives in different regions in order to achieve equal and diverse leadership
o Strengthening gender mainstreaming capacity of LRGs
Please find the full input of the PLATFORMA network attached
Read full responseMeeting with Estelle Goeger (Cabinet of Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni), Jakob Wegener Friis (Cabinet of Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni)
5 Feb 2020 · Sustainable Development Goals
Meeting with Werner Stengg (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager)
28 Jan 2020 · Prep meeting to EVP mission to The Hague
Meeting with Renaud Savignat (Cabinet of Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen)
16 Jan 2020 · Role of local and regional authorities in development cooperation
Response to Evaluation of the EU's external action support in the area of gender equality and women empowerment
23 Sept 2019
Local and regional authorities are important players in development action in the context of decentralised cooperation. Many of them are committed to gender mainstreaming and are signatories to the European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life (www.charter-equality.eu) which invites signatories to mainstream gender in all their policies and more specifically, under Article 30, in their decentralised cooperation actions.
PLATFORMA regrets that local authorities are not mentioned in the evaluation roadmap as main stakeholders to be consulted. Local and regional governments and their representative associations should be included and targeted in future evaluation and consultations in the area of GEWE, especially in the preparation of a new GAP (III).
Local authorities are the government structures that are closest to citizens. This means that they have a direct impact on citizens’ quality of life, safety in transport and public spaces, access to public services (early childhood care, sports centres, youth centres, culture) and leisure activities, for example.
At a time when many regions are rethinking their action in development cooperation and where financial constraints on budgets call for greater policy effectiveness, mainstreaming gender in the preparation, development, implementation, and monitoring of international cooperation projects from a development perspective is essential. Mainstreaming gender in international cooperation is a factor of its effectiveness.
In order for the objectives of GAP II to be achieved and for positive impacts to have the greatest reach, local authorities must be involved at all levels, particularly in the thematic areas: Strengthening girls’ and women’s voice and participation and Ensuring girls’ and women’s physical and psychological integrity. EU Delegations and Member States should collaborate systematically and engage in political dialogue with local governments on GAP II and the instruments essential to its achievement (NDICI, DEAR, EIDHR). In the future Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), the role of local and regional governments (LRGs) in the localisation of the Sustainable Development Goals—in particular SDG5-- must be explicitly recognised and supported.
Local authorities and their representative organisations and networks, such as PLATFORMA (www.platform-dev.eu) have been increasingly active in promoting gender mainstreaming and women’s empowerment in town-to-town and region-to-region cooperation.
The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), a partner of PLATFORMA, is currently carrying out a number of activities to promote gender equality at local level in Africa and in several Eastern Partnership countries (Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine). In particular, a collaboration between CEMR and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG)-Africa is underway bringing together local elected women to exchange experiences, build capacity and work towards the drafting and adoption of a Charter for local equality in African municipalities.
Several other PLATFORMA partners are engaged in activities to empower women as local leaders and strengthen networks of local elected women. For example, the Barcelona Provincial Council in partnership with the Moroccan Institute for Local Development (Institute Marocain pour le Développement Local – IMADEL) to work towards the reinforcement of local governments in order to set up local policies promoting gender equality.
Read full responseResponse to Evaluation of the Twinning instrument in the period 2010-2017
23 Sept 2019
Local and regional authorities are important players in development action in the context of decentralised cooperation. PLATFORMA regrets that local authorities are not mentioned in the evaluation roadmap as main stakeholders to be consulted. Local and regional governments and their representative associations should be included and targeted in future evaluation and consultations.
Local authorities are the government structures that are closest to citizens. Part of the “wide range of areas such as finance and internal market, environment, justice and home affairs, energy, transport, trade and industry, agriculture, employment, social affairs, health & consumer protection, etc” are sectors of competences of Local and Regional Governments (LRGs), for which they received a direct mandate from their elected bodies.
At a time when many regions are rethinking their action in development cooperation and where financial constraints on budgets call for greater policy effectiveness, the local and regional governments and their administrations should be taken into account in the implementation on key state reforms, which includes decentralisation but also goes beyond and deals with state-building. Reinforcing public services delivery at local level, and promoting administrative change and political transparency are part of the key competences of LRGs and should benefit from the implementation of exchange of expertise (twinning & TAIEX) at local level. This can contribute to implement more rapidly EU’s development policy goals of sustainability and reinforced local and regional institutions.
PLATFORMA and its partners are engaged in activities to empower LRGs and their leaders to strengthen local and regional administrations’ capacities. Technical assistance is a complementary tool in that effort of capacity building for local governments. “One example of this is CONNECT, where local authorities request exchanges that are tailor-made on the basis of their needs. Involving the private sector in peer-to-peer cooperation may also create new business opportunities.” (from the 2018 European Commission Staff Working Document on European Union cooperation with cities and local authorities in third countries).
EU Delegations and Member States should collaborate systematically and engage in political dialogue with local and regional governments on strengthening their capacities, and the instruments essential to its achievement (NDICI, DEAR, EIDHR). In the future Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), the role of local and regional governments (LRGs) in the localisation of the Sustainable Development Goals must be explicitly recognised and supported. Local authorities and their representative organisations and networks, such as PLATFORMA (www.platform-dev.eu), have been increasingly active in town-to-town and region-to-region cooperation in the framework of the development policy.
Read full responseMeeting with Denis Cajo (Cabinet of Vice-President Neven Mimica)
10 Jul 2018 · Cooperation with and support of the role of local authorities in development cooperation activities
Meeting with Stefano Manservisi (Director-General Directorate-General for International Partnerships)
3 Jul 2018 · exchange on the future EU development policy and in particular the programme supporting local and regional governments’ development cooperation
Meeting with Denis Cajo (Cabinet of Vice-President Neven Mimica)
6 Mar 2017 · Ongoing activities of local authorities on development policy