CLGF influencing policy and funding - into the EU - news from CLGF Bulletin

CLGF Vice Chairperson Hon Adolf Mwesige, Board member Cllr Dave Wilcox and Secretary-General Carl Wright were part of a local government delegation which met with EU Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs and officials during the UCLG Congress in Rabat on 2 October. The discussion focussed on how local government can collectively develop a strategic partnership with the EU in response to the new European Commission Communication on Empowering Local Authorities, including easier access to EU development funds. The CLGF delegation emphasised the importance of ensuring that its members in developing countries can benefit more directly from EU development policy. CLGF Deputy Secretary-General Lucy Slack will be working with other local government partners to develop further ideas for consideration by the European Commission. Carl Wright also addressed the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of Ambassadors in Brussels on 15 October to present the CLGF Kampala Declaration on Developmental Local Government. He discussed possibilities for closer cooperation between CLGF and the ACP group in areas such as international knowledge sharing and EU development policy.