ALDA, Lev Sapieha Foundation and Eurobelarus call for further actions to strengthen local governance and civil society participation in Belarus
 ALDA, Lev Sapieha Foundation, and the International Consortium “Eurobelarus” participated in the Civil Society Consultation on 25th September at the EU Delegation office in Minsk, Belarus. The three associations strongly support the approach given by the new programme CSO/LA in Belarus, which has a great potentiality in supporting the development of local and regional authorities.
With a statement released on 3rd October, they called for several concrete actions in support of local governance and civil society participation in the country:

• The adoption and ratification of the principle of the European Charter on Local Self Government and support the work of the Congress of the Council of Europe in this matter
• The use of the Code for Good Practices on Civil Participation in Decision Making, developed by the Conference of the International Non-Governmental Organizations of the Council of Europe
• Concreate actions to address local authorities autonomy and competences, such as a first development of fiscal decentralization
• Focus on projects proposed by the local authorities which would involve substantially civil society groups in all the phases of its development
• Support the involvement of the European Partners in the programmes.

You may find more information concerning all the actions in the full statement attached – also available on ALDA website
 
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Supporting fiscal decentralisation and territorial approach to development in EaP: New resolution of the Civil Society Forum for Eastern Partnership 
ALDA took part in the 5th Annual meeting of the Civil Society Forum for Eastern Partnership (CSF) held in Chisenau, Moldova, on 4-5 October 2013. The association particularly supported a resolution expressed by the Subgroup on Local Government and Public Administration Reform proposing to strenghten the process of fiscal decentralisation and territorial approach to development in the area, based on a multistakeholder and good governance approach. On 5th October, the resolution was adopted by the Forum, and its measures are now part of the priorities of the CSF.
 ALDA is among the founder of the CSF for EaP in 2009. Antonella Valmorbida sit in the Steering Committee in 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 (as EU coordinator) and was co-chair of the Forum for the last mandate. Since then, ALDA is coordinating the Subgroup of the WG 1 on Local Government and Public Administration Reform, and its role as a coordinator has just been reconfirmed.
Read the full Resolution of the Subgroup on Local Government and Public Administration Reform to the Civil Society Forum for Eastern Partnership – WG1, Chisenau, Moldova, 4/5 October 2013 – document attached, or available on ALDA website 
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 Best regards,
 on behalf of Antonella Valmorbida, Director of ALDA