The future
There is a growing recognition of the importance of local authorities in achieving successful, long-lasting development, and their role looks set to increase significantly over the coming decades.
The framework for co-operation between the EU and the countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) now gives a stronger role to the importance of "decentralised local authorities" for development, following amendments to the Cotonou Agreement in 2005.
The European Union has agreed, for the period 2007-2013, a series of new programmes for co-operation, which include a new Thematic Programme on Non-State Actors and Local Authorities.
These thematic programmes provide only a small part of the European Union's development aid, most of which is provided through priorities identified in each developing country. These country programmes are supposed to take into account the role of local authorities and the need for good quality decentralisation, but in many countries, more work needs to be done to get this achieved in practice.
Despite this, the commitment of the European Union to increasing the role of local government is becoming stronger, and this was evidenced by making the focal point of the annual Development Days, in Strasburg in November 2008, the role of local authorities in development.
With the financial assistance of the European Union.
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