The Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) is an Association of local entities – city councils, provincial councils, and insular town councils – headquartered in Madrid, in total 7,410, which represents more than 95% of the Spanish Local Governments.
The founding and statutory purposes of the FEMP are:
- the promotion and the defense of the autonomy of Local Entities;
the representation and the defense of the general interests of Local Entities towards the Public Administrations; - the development and the consolidation of the European spirit at the local level, based on autonomy and solidarity between Local Entities;
- the promotion of relations of friendship and cooperation with Local Entities and their organizations, especially in the European, Latin American and Arab spheres;
- the provision, directly or through companies or entities, of all types of services to Local Corporations or their dependent entities and any other purpose that directly or indirectly affects the members of the Federation.
In order to carry out its tasks, the FEMP has a number of Working Committees. The Development cooperation committee is structured as a forum with two main objectives:
- to promote coordination and aid effectiveness by putting the emphasis on harmonisation and ownership principles, as set out in the declaration of Paris;
- to promote the process of institutional strengthening of local governments in developing countries and facilitate the establishment of associations of municipalities.