THE FUTURE OF EUROPE – BUILT ON STRONG MUNICIPALITIES
In early February, High Representative Vice-President Federica Mogherini and Comissioner Johannes Hahn presented the strategy for ‘A credible enlargement perspective for and enhanced EU engagement with the Western Balkans’, highlighting the important role of the region for the European Union and the urgent need for a realistic approach to regional development. Since 2014, the BACID programme supports municipalities in the Western Balkans to prepare for their future accession to the European Union by strengthening the rule of law, decentralisation and public administration reform (PAR). The BACID programme is supported by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and implemented by the Austrian Association of Cities and Towns (AACT) and the KDZ Centre for Public Administration Research.
Against this background, the KDZ Centre for Public Administration Research recently published the book “The future of Europe – built on strong municipalities“. The book is a result of the programme “Building Administrative Capacity in the Danube Region and Western Balkans (BACID)”. The publication touches upon the impact of the European Union on cities and municipalities and challenges of European integration at municipal level in the accession countries of the Western Balkans. Practitioners and experts reflect upon on subsidiarity, municipal financing, public procurement, public private partnerships, access to EU funding and much more.
These topics are reflected in relation to strategic EU initiatives such as the EU Urban Agenda, macro-regional strategies and further aspects of EU Cohesion Policy. At the same time, the book addreses the role of city associations in the EU accession process and their activities and concrete challenges.
