Involving Non State Actors and Local Governments in ACP-EU Dialogue
Involving non-state actors in the formulation and implementation of public policies has become a major feature of political life, both in Europe as well as in the developing countries. This reflects the emergence of new forms of ‘participatory democracy’, which emphasize the need for a more consensual way of making policy through dialogue with all key stakeholders. The expected benefits of such a deliberative process of policy formulation are manifold: increased ownership, new public-private partnerships, consolidation of democratisation, and improved sustainability. This approach to policy formulation has also been introduced in the Partnership Agreement between the EU and the ACP, signed in Cotonou in June 2000. The new Agreement creates promising legal opportunities to ‘mainstream’ the participation of civil society and local governments in the political dialogue and in the formulation and implementation of future ACP-EU cooperation policies and programmes. The new Partnership Agreement defines ‘non-state actors’ as the private sector, the social and economic partners, including trade union organisations, and civil society in all its diversity. Local governments are also considered to be "actors" of cooperation, albeit included under the heading "State (local, national, regional)." Read Policy Management Brief 13
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