The Local Democracy and Cross Border Co-operation Task Force (LODE/CBC TF) of WT I of the SP handed-over its mandate to the Stability Pact's Office in Thessaloniki (SPOT) on 8 December 2006. The LODE/CBC was a core objective of the SP until the Belgrade Regional Table (30 May 2006) and the political decision to hand-over the TF was made at the Bucharest Regional Table (15 November 2006). From December 2006 SPOT is in charge of the Cross Border Co-operation component of the LODE/CBC TF, while the Council of Europe will take care of the Local Democracy component. SP will continue to offer political support to both initiatives on a request basis.

The Stability Pact Office in Thessaloniki (SPOT) and the Association of Local Democracy Agencies (ALDA) have agreed to work in synergy to promote Local Democracy and Cross border co-operation in South Eastern Europe.   ALDA and its network of local democracy agencies will implement part of the Cross Border Cooperation Task Force 2007 action plan through a series of joint events.  The kick off event will be a conference on “Active Citizenship in the Balkans: How regional and cross-border cooperation can promote active citizenship” that will take place in Sarajevo on 25^th May 2007.

[Please click here for the SPOT press release]

Local authorities have always contributed a great deal to Europe's development and prosperity. Local authorities are the focal points of people's living together and they influence noticeably their quality of life. It is therefore also local and regional authorities who make a considerable contribution in creating preconditions for European integration. Long term processes leading to regional development, cross-border cooperation or even interethnic reconciliation can only be filled with content on the level where people face daily needs and challenges.

Cross-border cooperation as a means for reconciliation and regional development, going back to the 50s of the last century, proved to be an important tool for the integration process in Europe after the 2nd world war. Following this experience, but also the experience and positive results achieved through cross-border cooperation and Euroregions on the external borders of the EU, especially towards the Central and East European countries after 1989 and the fall of the iron curtain, one can recognize the importance of supporting such local initiatives of cross-border cooperation.

Read more about the Task Force on Local Democracy

Documents

• Activity Report, Thessaloniki, 28/06/2007

• ALDA Newsletter, I/2007

• CONFERENCE ON ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP IN THE BALKANS
  SARAJEVO, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA, 25 MAY 2007
  

  • Final Declaration

  • Opening Remarks, Nota Sarafoudi, Democratization Expert, Stability Pact Office in Thessaloniki

• • Speech by Ms Jelena Milic, Assistant to Mr. Goran Svilanovic Chair, Working Table I / SP SEE 

   

• Final Conference “EURaction – Citizens Panels acting for Europe” 5 and 6 July 2007, Nicosia; Cyprus

  • Draft Agenda EN

  • Draft Agenda FR

  • Registration form

• 2nd South Eastern Europe Regional Ministerial Conference on “Effective Democratic Governance at Local and Regional Level, Skopje 8-9 November 2006  [More Information - Link to Event]

• East West Institute (EWI)
  Ohrid-Prespa:  Update, February 2007
  GPKT Phase II: Monthly update, July 2007
  GPKT Phase II: Monthly update, June 2007
  GPKT Phase II: Monthly update, May 2007
  GPKT Phase II: Monthly update, March 2007
  GPKT Phase II: Monthly update, February 2007
  GPKT Phase II: Monthly update, January 2007
  

• 'GPKT' Project: November 2006/update

• The Council of Europe's document on its contribution to a comprehensive strategy for stabilisation, democratisation and reconciliation in the region , December 2006
  

• Srdjan Cvijic, expert of the Working Table I of the Stability Pact for SEE has delivered a speech on the SP SEE activities in the field of local democracy and cross border cooperation at the Conference of the   Association of Multiethnic Cities of South Eastern Europe-PHILIA, "Local and Regional Self-Government by European Standards: experiences, problems and perspectives of the co-operation in the Southeast Europe", 6 July 2006, Podgorica, Montenegro. Special Co-ordinator for South Eastern Europe, Erhard Busek, was awarded the Charter for Inter ethnic Tolerance for 2006 by the same organization

• NALAS:
  NALAS Info Bulletin N°15 , August-September 2006
  NALAS Info Bulletin N°14 , July 2006
  NALAS Info Bulletin N°13 , June 2006
  NALAS Info Bulletin N°12 , May 2006
  NALAS Info Bulletin N°11 , April 2006
  NALAS Info Bulletin N°10 , March 2006
  NALAS Info Bulletin N°9 , February 2006
  NALAS Info Bulletin N°8 , January 2006
  NALAS Info Bulletin N°7 , December 2005
  NALAS Info Bulletin N°6 , November 2005

• Srdjan Cvijic, Expert at Working Table I, has delivered a presentation on the topic of "Local Democracy and Cross Border Co-operation in Albania: Enhancing the Regional Perspective"  at the International Expert Conference on Decentralisation and Local Self-Government in Albania -- Problems, Prospects and Strategies in the Light of Albania´s EU Integration Process.  The Conference is organised by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Tirana and Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ-Tirana (Albania) and will take place on 3 and 4 February 2006. LODE-CBC Task Force Report, Regional Table in Prague - 15 -16 November 2005 [Link]

• The Council of Europe’s contribution to a comprehensive strategy for stabilisation, democratisation and reconciliation in the region , June 2006
• NALAS Info Bulletin N°5 , October 2005
• Local Democracy and Cross Border Cooperation   Progress Report, Regional Table in Sofia - 17-19 May 2005
• Creating a test version of donors assistance database for 2003 of the Stability Pact beneficiary countries on Local emocracy  [Letter to Donors, April 2005] & [Final Report, February 2005]
• Regional Ministerial Conference on Effective Democratic Governance at Local and Regional Level , Zagreb, 25-26 October 2004
• Progress Report January-June 2004 , presented in Portoroz, 7 June 2004
• 5th Szeged Conference Final Declaration, 27-28 March 2003
• Activity Report, presented in Cavtat, 26 May 2003
• Cross-border Cooperation in South Eastern Europe: Obstacles and Opportunities for Euroregional Cooperation, Osijek and Bizovac, Croatia, 18-19 November, 2002
• The added value of the city to city co-operation to the democratisation and stabilisation process in SEE - The support of the Association of the Local Democracy Agencies, Istanbul, 12/13 of June 2002
• Fact Sheets on the situation of local and/or regional democracy in South-Eastern European Countries, Strasbourg, 31 May 2002
• Transfrontier Cooperation, Report by the Council of Europe
• Achievements, current and planned work of the Council of Europe Directorate of Co-operation for Local and Regional Democracy and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (2001-2003)