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NALAS Declaration on Active Involvement of Local Authorities of South East Europe in EU Integration Process During its 5th general assembly held in Istanbul on December 11, 2009, NALAS, the network of 15 local governments’ associations of South East Europe, adopted a declaration addressing the role of the local authorities of South East Europe in the EU Integration Process. This declaration is a result of a continuous commitment of NALAS and its members to an effective process of EU integration and a round table discussion at the NALAS General Assembly meeting.  NALAS Istanbul DeclarationDubrovnik Declaration of NALAS Local Government Associations Over the course of the last eight months, the global economic crisis has begun to hit local governments throughout South-East Europe (SEE) with increasing intensity. NALAS has been monitoring and analysing the situation in SEE since the beginning of the crisis. At the meeting of NALAS Presidents during 11-13 July 2009 in Dubrovnik, the Associations of Local Governments of South East Europe adopted a declaration adressing the national and local governments of South East Europe towards taking actions for mitigating the crisis. NALAS Dubrovnik DeclarationLocal Governments of South East Europe Respond to Global Economic Crisis NALAS members, executives of local government associations, distinguished experts in macroeconomics and Mayors from the South East Europe discussed the possible consequences of the global economic crisis on the local governments in SEE in November 2008. It was initially assessed that the spill-over effects of the global crisis are not yet strongly felt by most of the local governments in SEE. While the countries with more developed economies are already in recession, other economies might also be dragged in through reduced Foreign Direct Investments, liquidation of local assets, weaker net exports, lower remittances, exchange rates, decline of property value, etc. The discussion led to recommendations given in this policy brief. NALAS RecommendationsMunicipal Budget Negotiations Presidents and executives of NALAS Member Associations met in Budva on 27-28 June 2008 to discuss the role of Local Government Associations in negotiating better fiscal policies with their central government authorities. The Minister of Finance of Montenegro, Mr Igor Luksic and the Minister of Interior and Public Administration, Mr Jusuf Kalamperovic were guest speakers. The NALAS members presidents endorsed the draft municipal negotiation, which is the first product of the NALAS Task Force on Fiscal Decentralization. They shared their experiences in budget negotiations and developed several recommendations for follow up activities. The Budva Declaration (.pdf)Political Declaration on the future role of NALAS in decentralized cooperation in South-East Europe At the second NALAS General Assembly, the NALAS president, Mr Tarzan Milosevic, presented a political declaration on the future role of NALAS in decentralized cooperation in South East Europe. It was adopted that the mission of NALAS is twofold: to build partnership between local authorities and their associations in SEE and to initiate and carry out regional initiatives for its membership. Political declaration (.pdf)Effective Democratic Governanence at Local and Regional Level The second regional ministerial conference on "Effective Democratic Governance at Local and Regional Level" met in Skopje on 8 - 9 November 2006 under the auspices of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe and the Council of Europe. The final declaration of the conference contains conclusions adopded by the ministries, the representatives of international organization and of the donor community and the representatives of NALAS. Final Declaration (.pdf) |
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