We find ourselves well into a new era of systemic stress. From pandemics and disinformation to the impacts of climate change, to malevolent actors threatening our critical systems using disruptive technologies, the Russian invasion in Ukraine, the energy crisis and inflation risks; our models of democratic governance are under increasing pressure and our prosperity seems increasingly fragile. Our resilience is being tested now more than it has ever been in the recent decades, often by unprecedented challenges.
A territory is called “resilient” when it is able to anticipate, react and adapt to all type of disturbances. Territorial resilience must be a cross-cutting priority of any public policy.
CEPLI, in its capacity as the largest European confederation of Local Intermediate Authorities in the EU:
1.considers that LIAS are essential to carry out the policies of proximity for our citizens and for our towns, cities, rural areas, and to build resilience abiding by the subsidiarity principle and ensuring proper and actual multilevel governance;
2. understands that, from our perspective, resilience means working in coordination with our communities, civil society, private and academic sectors as well as other administrations facing the aforementioned challenges;
3. believes that guaranteeing the continuity of local public services, which is the raison d’être of LIAs, has enabled better risk management in the territories, including depopulated and isolated areas, with efficiency, diligence and creativity. Our territories need, more than ever, a holistic approach.
4. recognises that the exchange of experiences, and the creation of European alliances can be instrumental in improving our abilities with regards to resilience as a capacity to transform our territories.
Having said that, CEPLI calls on EU member states and European institutions for:
- a recognition of the pivotal role that local intermediate authorities play in building up territorial resilience.
Strengthening EU institutions cannot work without strengthening local institutions, including intermediate local authorities; - a recognition of this level which fights against inequalities and for territorial solidarity. The LIAs are able to guarantee the application of the Treaties when it comes to reducing territorial disparities, and not concentrating all resources on areas already sufficiently provided;
- larger involvement of local and regional authorities in the design and the implementation of social, climate, environmental, energy and digital policies of the EU and better access to its funding in the areas of our competence;
- a constant association of LIAs in the task forces set up by the European Commission;
- the staunch support to the CoR’s Regional Platform on Resilience which will allow local, provincial and regional elected representatives to pool together their capacities to reflect, build and link up all the interested parties;
- the adoption of a bottom-up mindset in the implementation of EU law which can allow local communities’ ideas and voices to be heard and to be a significant part of risk management solutions;
- the establishment of permanent and effective mechanisms for an open dialogue with local and local intermediate authorities in their respective countries, ensuring that they have a relevant role in execution and monitoring of the implementation of Recovery Plans;
- the recognition of our leadership in defining sustainable local ecosystem models based on public policies and local action plans for territorial resilience;
- results of the Conference on the future of Europe which reflect a greater consideration of territories and all their actors in order to build a closer, more democratic and more resilient Europe.