The European Confederation of Local Intermediate Authorities (CEPLI) appreciates the new essential innovations of the Treaty of Lisbon. The role of local and regional authorities, and therefore the role of Local Intermediate Authorities (LIAs), is finally recognized on primary law level. The Treaty acknowledges, for the very first time in the history of the European Union, the importance and significance the local level has in the field of policy creation and administration for its citizens.
From now on, it is necessary to put in place and develop the content of this innovation, which implies the upholding of the fundamental principles of local self-government, fiscal autonomy, subsidiarity, multi-level governance and cultural diversity in the political everyday business and in all the EU strategies and policies.
As directly involved actors for the implementation of European law, the Local Intermediate Authorities can, also with respect to their key position between national government and citizens, have an important contribution to this process.
We appreciate the legitimation of the principle of local self-government in the Treaty of Lisbon also with regard to the ongoing territorial reforms in many EU Member States. Given the extensive territorial reforms taking place, the enforcement of the right to self-administration and of the principle of subsidiarity is essential for LIAs.
CEPLI would therefore like to express its attachment to the principles of subsidiarity and free local administration which seems to be questioned through these reforms. CEPLI reminds that those principles were already enshrined into the European Chart of Local Self-Government of 1985 which has been ratified by all the European Union countries.
Moreover, CEPLI recalls that the inclusion of the territorial cohesion as one of the fundamental values of the European Union represented a considerable step forward for its economic and social cohesion. This cohesion will not happen without the contribution of Local Intermediate Authorities or without the intervention of all the territorial levels of EU.
The press release can be found here.