Graham Garvie of the Scottish Borders Council “Despite slow start, CLLD has the potential to empower local communities"
On 29 of September CoR Member Graham Garvie, (UK, ALDE) from Scottish Borders Council and COTER rapporteur on Community Led Local Development (CLLD) was invited to represent the Committee of the Regions on a hearing on CLLD hosted by the European Economic and Social Committee.
Community Led Local Development is one of the key initiatives of the European Structural and Investment Funds legislation for the period 2020. For the first time a tool to empower Local Action Groups to deliver EU funds across the European Regional Development Fund, European Social Fund as well as the European Agricultural Funds for Rural Development where it was previously known as LEADER. CLLD also covers the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.
Alongside the EESC Rapporteur Roman Haken, CoR member Cllr Garvie from Scottish Borders Council was one of the keynote speeches alongside representatives from several officials from European Commission Directorates-General and practitioners on Local Development.
Cllr Garvie was invited to provide an overview of the CLLD as seen by local and regional authorities. Indeed Cllr Garvie confirmed that many of the CoR recommendations on CLLD were taken up by the Commission guidance to implement CLLD on the ground.
However, the experience of Local and Regional Authorities with CLLD is so far mixed. He said:
“There are parts of Sweden, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and even the UK which are planning to use CLLD. However in many cases we are seeing that the use CLLD is accepted in principle but not necessarily exactly as the EU regulations foreseen .
Developing the argument on why this is the case, Cllr Garvie added that:
“In spite of the progress made via CLLD to simplify and localise the EU funds there are many barriers, legal and even of working cultures among the funds that need to be addressed. Clearly the fact that municipalities cannot have the majority control over the Local Action Groups also played a part in the slow take up of CLLD to date
However he concluded that the future of CLLD is promising as it has the potential of empowering local communities. He said:
“How ironic is it that an instrument designed from the perceived far distant EU is the precisely the one that is precisely designed to engage with local people and local communities and to empower them, to develop bottom up initiatives that can make a real difference in people´s lives .
Some other countries may still be using CLLD, and the Commission will report on its take up next year.