Frédéric Vallier, Secretary General, Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR)

In today's Europe, there are four existing levels of government: European, national, regional and local. For some time, the European and national levels overshadowed the local and regional, as the European construction was under way. However, after decades of lobbying for recognition, local and regional authorities are gaining ground and getting official recognition for the vital role they play in each step of EU level decision- and policy-making.

Despite these various advances, local and regional authorities remain unsatisfied with their lack of recognition in European strategies, such as the first draft of the EU2020 strategy and the future international Commission climate change strategy. I believe that a successful Europe must include strong municipalities, regions and rural structural areas.

The newly ratified Lisbon Treaty constitutes a crucial step in this direction. Local and regional powers are explicitly mentioned in the reformed EU Treaty, the extension of the principle of subsidiarity – matters where the EU shall only act if the objective cannot be sufficiently achieved by the member states, either at the central or decentralised levels – having been extended to local governments.

I strongly believe that local and regional authorities are at the forefront of innovation, in the fight against climate change for example, due to their direct link to citizens, their ability to mobilise them, and the exchange of expertise through a developed network of associations.

According to Bärbel Dieckman, former Mayor of Bonn and CEMR Executive President, "investing in high-tech green technologies is probably one of the best ways for towns and regions to help Europe overcome the economic crisis." In this spirit, the European Commission launched the Covenant of Mayors at the start of 2009. This initiative has become quite successful, with 1,300 cities and towns having so far committed to reducing CO2 emissions and to promoting sustainable energy beyond current targets.

Upon considering the various and very different models of sub-national self-government in the European Union, 'united in diversity' seems like an appropriate slogan. Germany and Austria are historic examples of federal states, for instance, Belgium having joined the club at a later date.

On the other hand, countries such as Spain and Italy have a quasi-federal system in which regions are given important legislative and administrative responsibilities without having an actual federal status. The UK has itself been moving towards a devolved regional model since the creation of devolved administrations in the late 1990s.

In most European countries, local government is based on a two tier system, which divides counties from districts and boroughs, to use English terms. However, bigger countries such as Germany, Spain and the UK have a three tier structure, whilst smaller ones such as Cyprus and Slovenia have local government that consists of only one level.

Vitally, decentralised government brings decision-making as close to the citizen as possible, as it involves the citizen and protects the financial position of local and regional authorities. However, when competencies are transferred to these authorities, they should always be accompanied with the appropriate financial means, an aspect reinforced by the Lisbon Treaty.

There has been a growing tendency over the last 20 years for excessive central government control over local government finances. Governments tend to cut fiscal resources and replace them with national allowances, which hinder the capacity for innovation at the local level. I strongly oppose any kind of recentralisation of governance in Europe.