Municipal policies to tackle the crisis and their application at EU level will be discussed during the three days of the summit entitled, “Networked Local Governments for a New Europe”, which will bring together representatives from 260 cities in Barcelona.
Municipal policies to tackle the crisis and their application at EU level will be discussed during the three days of the summit entitled, “Networked Local Governments for a New Europe”, which will bring together representatives from 260 cities in Barcelona.
The meeting, as part of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union, is being promoted by the Provincial Government of Barcelona and the Committee of the Regions, and will be opened by the Third Vice-president of the Spanish Government, Manuel Chaves, the President of the Generalitat de Cataluña (regional government of Catalonia), José Montilla, the Mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu, and the President of the Barcelona Provincial Government, Antoni Fogué.
The meeting will be based on a document written by the philosopher, Daniel Innerarity, which the cities will use to identify joint proposals to establish a "Barcelona Agenda".
This framework document for the meeting suggests that the economic outlook of the global crisis does not justify denying local governments the responsibilities and resources necessary to tackle these challenges, since they are closely in contact with citizens.
Innerarity believes that "global problems are local problems, since this is where they are felt and experienced, and where the initial response should be given", and points out that cities account for 70 percent of the population and 85 percent of Europe's GDP.
To promote cohesion within the European Union, the meeting's document stresses the need to configure co-operative networks integrating local and regional players and an organisational structure aimed at making cities and regions "the essential instruments" for building Europe.
He also points out that networks between municipalities have enabled the improvement in the provision of services and work methodologies, and that many common projects have come out of the development of "Euroterritories, Eurodistricts and Euroregions".
The meetings will define an agenda that will be based on the three areas of the Treaty of Lisbon: economic cohesion, which affects competitiveness and the knowledge economy; social issues, to confront demographic changes; and territorial matters, which affect public services and infrastructures, as the President of the Barcelona Provincial Government, Antoni Fogué, made clear at the presentation of this meeting.
The final document will also analyse the role that local governments should have in the new European governance structure and will define the importance of cooperation between European and non-European territories, added Fogué.
The working meetings will take place in Barcelona from 22 to 23 February, while a series of offsite sessions will be held in nine Catalonian cities on 24 February.