The National Conference of Territories must lay the foundations for a real partnership between the State and local authorities

On the method, the approach initiated by the Head of State, which responds to the old wishes of the national associations of local elected representatives, is greeted by the presidents of the communal block who will actively participate in the National Conference of the territories as well as to all the work which must imperatively continue.

A renewed bond of trust between the State and the communal bloc must obviously be based on lasting and efficient forums for dialogue and negotiation and on methods defined together. Also, the delegation, representative of the diversity of territories, will reaffirm its request that a pact between the State and the communities be genuinely negotiated, between partners also responsible to our fellow citizens. This supposes, at the very least, the definition of a shared agenda avoiding hasty announcements and favoring the culture of effective concertation, of the preliminary impact study of reforms, of experimentation and of joint evaluation.

In this context, the presidents would like the work to be based on objective and shared diagnoses, in particular in the financial field which will be on the agenda of this Conference. The recent audit by the Court of Auditors clearly showed that the contribution of local authorities to the reduction of public deficits in recent years had been incomparable with their weight in public spending; it will also be usefully reminded of the steps they have already taken to control their operating expenses.

Following the first announcements by the government, several major files must be quickly dealt with at the bottom, with seriousness and transparency, such as the financial and fiscal resources of the communities which allow the delivery of essential public services to the inhabitants and the development of the territories, the drastic reduction normative inflation and the necessary co-elaboration, upstream with the ministries, of national and European public policies impacting local communities.

The presidents will recall that their contributions will be based on the 4 essential principles which appeared in the common proposals submitted to the candidates for the presidential election and which are more than ever topical, namely:

• guarantee the place of strong and lively municipalities in a decentralized Republic, respecting the constitutional principle of free administration
• recognize communities as true partners of the State
• define and build together, State and communities, public policies for a dynamic and united development of territories
• guarantee, by a financial pact for the duration of the mandate, the stability and predictability of the resources and expenses of the communes and inter-communal