Fiscal Decentralization Task Force meeting in Skopje, 28-29 June 2010

On 28th-29th of June 2010 the NALAS Task Force on Fiscal Decentralization meeting took place in Skopje, Macedonia. The main topic on the meeting’s agenda was the presentation and discussion of the NALAS Final Report on Developing a Municipal Finance Database in South Eastern Europe: the Preparatory Phase. During the meeting, the report was improved with the input of the participants and two ideas for follow-up phases were developed.  

CALM membership was officially approved

During the CLO meeting held in Sofia on 14th June 2010, the Committee of Liason Officers approved CALM as a successor of NALMM in NALAS. The establishment of CALM was initiated by NLAMM through a long process closely supported and followed by NALAS. Actually CALM has 350 members, among them the capital and the bigger cities of Moldova and covers about 2 million of inhabitants of the country (2/3 of actual population). The association is already recognized as the main partner of the Central Government in Decentralization reform is being involved in several consultative bodies: Parity commission, Special Parliamentary commission on decentralization, various working groups. CALM is being very active in defending its member’s rights and already started to provide services to them. The association adopted a declaration on current situation of local government in Moldova, elaborated and proposed to Government a vision on decentralization process and made proposals for urgent improvement of legislation, negotiated with Government to “soften” the decision on cutting staff expenses in local units from “mandatory” to “recommended”. CALM stopped enactment of a weak draft Code of Education and produced comments to improve the draft. In the short time after its establishment, CALM organized 7 regional trainings on European funds.  

Energy Efficiency Measures in South-East European Municipalities and The Role of National Associations and NALAS

A network-wide assessment of the needs and potentials for joint activities of the member associations promoting Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the local level has been compiled within the framework of a NALAS study. A total of 13 member associations from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey participated in the study group, which was working under the auspices of the NALAS Task Force on Energy Efficinecy. The study is available on the link below.  

Sustainable Energy Management in Public Buildings – from Policy to Local Action

 Regional Conference Sustainable Energy Management in Public Buildings – from Policy to Local Action took place in Budva, Montenegro on 27th-29th April. It was organized by the Ministry of Economy of Montenegro, German Development Cooperation – GTZ-ASE Project Montenegro, GTZ-Open Regional Fund on Energy for SEE, and the Energy Community Secretariat. The Conference aimed at information exchange between EU and SEE as well as among the SEE countries, promoting the networking between the German/local business sector and the national/municipal decision makers; information exchange about strategies to realize cost-effective energy-savings in different public buildings; contribution to raise awareness about energy efficiency. NALAS was represented by Mr. Kelmend Zajazi, Executive Director, who delivered a presentation of the First Draft of the Survey “Energy Efficiency Measures in South-East European Municipalities and the Role of National Associations and NALAS”.  

Energy Community Investment Conference on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Energy Community Investment Conference on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy took place in Vienna on the 18th of March. The event was organized by the Energy Community Secretariat in cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The objective of the Conference was to identify ways forward in terms of financing energy efficiency and renewable projects using innovative instruments, while drawing upon the experience of the European Union. Over 150 participants from 30 countries were represented at the forum. One of the discussion panels touched the aspects of the role of municipalities and the civil society in facilitating development of infrastructure and investments in renewable energy, but also protecting environmental and cultural heritage. NALAS presented to the conference the concept and first interim results of the currently ongoing multi-national cooperation study on “EE and RE measures in South-East Europe and the strategic role of NALAS and its member associations”, which is involving all 13 states of NALAS member associations and which is supported and co-financed by the GTZ Open Regional Fund Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energies.

Energy Community Investment Conference on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Energy Community Investment Conference on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy took place in Vienna on the 18th of March. The event was organized by the Energy Community Secretariat in cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The objective of the Conference was to identify ways forward in terms of financing energy efficiency and renewable projects using innovative instruments, while drawing upon the experience of the European Union. Over 150 participants from 30 countries were represented at the forum. One of the discussion panels touched the aspects of the role of municipalities and the civil society in facilitating development of infrastructure and investments in renewable energy, but also protecting environmental and cultural heritage. NALAS presented to the conference the concept and first interim results of the currently ongoing multi-national cooperation study on “EE and RE measures in South-East Europe and the strategic role of NALAS and its member associations”, which is involving all 13 states of NALAS member associations and which is supported and co-financed by the GTZ Open Regional Fund Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energies.

The State of European Cities in Transition

Expert Group Meeting – The State of European Cities in Transition took place on the 25-26 January in Krakow, Poland. The EGM was jointly organized and facilitated by the Warsaw Office of UN-Habitat and the Institute of Urban Development (Instytut Rozwoju Miast) Poland. The EGM was hosted by the Institute of Urban Development (IRM) Poland. The main objective of the meeting was to launch the preparatory process of the State of European Cities in Transition 2010 report and agree with selected interested institutions on the annotated outline of the report. The meeting was also intended to agree on the scope of the Report, the geographical coverage; identification of sub-regions; the time schedule for the drafting process, and some partnering modalities and networking mechanisms for the preparation of the Report. Over 20 experts from eight countries of the East and Central Europe Region, representing academic and research institutions, international organizations and associations of local authorities, including NALAS, participated in the EGM.

Citizen Participation in the Urban Planning Process

Proper planning asks for citizens’ participation. This process may be a round table or workshops or a large public debate with stakeholders direct or indirect affected or interested. The general objective of the document is to contribute in stimulating “demand” for public participation in the planning process, inviting the local major stakeholders to navigate through the a large array of techniques which in long run certainly help for a good governance in the municipalities.