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Resolution 1886 (2012) Final version
The impact of the economic crisis on local and regional authorities in Europe
1. The current economic crisis is
having a deep impact on local and regional authorities in Europe.
Many of them are affected by important reductions in both direct
revenue and resources made available through national budgets, while
the demand for public services is growing with tight economic situations
generating a loss of income and various related difficulties for
households.
2. The Parliamentary Assembly is deeply concerned about the significant
social problems caused by the crisis and the reduction of social
welfare programmes: their impact on the provision of quality public
services and lower investment levels in strategic policy areas such
as education and health, and in social services which are linked
to the well-being of vulnerable people.
3. The Assembly believes that local and regional authorities
themselves need to contribute towards stimulating economic recovery,
as a source for future revenue, and they should be enabled to do
so. In this context, the Assembly stresses the importance of partnerships
between local government, businesses, educational and research institutions,
and civil society organisations in order to counter social inequalities
and to ensure care for groups in need of special protection, such
as children, the elderly and people with learning difficulties or
disabilities.
4. Fundamental social rights need to be protected when deciding
on local budget allocations or the intergovernmental transfer of
resources to local and regional authorities. Moreover, local and
regional budgets need to be adapted in times of economic crisis,
when authorities face greater responsibilities in providing services
and assistance to households in need, in accordance with Article
9 of the European Charter of Local Self-Government (ETS No. 122).
5. In view of the above, the Assembly calls on member States
of the Council of Europe to ensure that national reforms for local
and regional finances are developed in a transparent way and with
the participation of the local and regional authorities themselves.
Such reforms should pursue the following objectives in order to
ensure the sustainability of local and regional finances and to
enhance their ability to provide quality services to their citizens:
5.1. as regards the legislative and
fiscal framework:
5.1.1. reduce the dependence of local
budgets on highly volatile tax bases such as corporate profits and
property transactions;
5.1.2. where appropriate, extend access to taxes on personal
income to create a more sustainable local tax base;
5.1.3. enhance local governments’ discretion to set the bases
and rates of local taxes and charges;
5.1.4. avoid disproportionate cuts in intergovernmental transfers
to local authorities, and cuts undertaken at unreasonably short
notice or concerning discretionary services, such as community-based
organisations, which are important for maintaining social cohesion;
5.1.5. generally support the maintenance of a balanced mix of
local taxes and intergovernmental transfers to finance local budgets;
5.1.6. remove legal requirements which impose expensive service
provision;
5.2. as regards the effectiveness and efficiency of local service
provision:
5.2.1. promote the targeting of social benefits
to ensure that groups in need of special protection receive adequate
assistance, including the possibility of means testing subsidies
and benefits, and support community and home-based care for the
sick and the elderly, so as to relieve some of the pressure on care
institutions;
5.2.2. support the reorganisation of authorities in charge of
service provision with a view to maintaining services while reducing
administrative expenditures;
5.2.3. ensure that local authorities’ good practices in the economic
field, such as the provision of services through municipal enterprises
(technical infrastructures, mutual savings banks, social services)
are not sacrificed to free competition and privatisation applied
out of principle. These services are, and should be, provided in
the most comprehensive manner and at affordable prices through the
local authorities;
5.2.4. encourage inter-municipal co-operation, wherever appropriate,
to make the delivery of local services more effective and efficient;
5.2.5. promote the use of various forms of partnerships, including
public-private partnerships and involvement of the voluntary sector,
to redesign public service provision and delivery without reducing
the accountability of public authorities;
5.2.6. encourage local authorities to optimise the effectiveness
and efficiency of service provision, not least through relevant
training of staff, whilst guaranteeing equal access for all sectors
of the population;
5.2.7. support the efforts already being made by many local governments
to reduce employment costs by means other than redundancies;
5.2.8. promote the principles of transparency and efficiency
in public spending at all levels;
5.3. as regards European co-operation in this field:
5.3.1. promote further exchange of good practice at European
level in order to share mutually beneficial expertise;
5.3.2. make use of the “Kiev Guidelines”, agreed by the Council
of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Local and Regional
Government at its 17th session in Kiev in November 2011, as a central
reference, and promote their implementation among member States
of the Council of Europe;
5.3.3. at Council of Europe level, follow a common agenda agreed
between the Committee of Ministers and the Congress of Local and
Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, as proposed by the
Spanish Minister of Territorial Policy and Public Administration,
Mr Manuel Chaves, in his report to the ministerial conference in
Kiev.