Inmaculada Alvarez (p), Javier Barbero, Luis Orea, Andrés Rodriguez-Pose

István Finta

See extended abstract

István Finta (p)

Inmaculada Alvarez

It is well known that partnership and MLG are fundamental principles of EU cohesion policy, as laid down in law. A number of EU-level documents (the resolutions and declarations of the Committee of the Regions, of the European Parliament, of the European Economic and of the Social Committee) draw attention to the fact that the development of local governance can contribute to reducing territorial disparities, thereby reducing the disadvantages of peripheral regions, to achieve EU objectives and to deliver EU messages to local level.
The fundamental question is whether the principles, as basic legal requirements, are merely general expectations that are not taken seriously, or whether they are values that are ensured by the (moral and) legal system of the EU and the Member States, with the possibility of substantive consequences for breaking the law. It is particularly important to assess whether the Commission, as one of the main guardians of EU norms and values, can hide behind the cloak of shared management to escape the constraints and responsibilities of action, especially on development-sensitive issues. In this context, the familiar EU documents see MLG, partnership, as a value-added, even financially measureable thing, that does not meet the needs of a relatively narrow, centralised interest group, but links EU-level development policy objectives to local-level opportunities through a bottom-up approach, by relying on the broadest sections of society, and by building consensus or compromise on real local needs.
In this perspective, partnership, multilevel governance and shared decision-making are not competing and mutually exclusive principles or methods of governance, but complementary values and mechanisms that ensure the implementation - and not the circumvention - of laws that guarantee the enforcement of the rule of law both at EU and national level.
The Hungarian Federation of LEADER Associations has submitted an initiative to the Commission that clearly justifies the Commission's position on the practical feasibility of the partnership and the MLG. This presentation aims to provide details on this.