Managing civil emergencies at local level - challenges and perspectives
In Albania, the functions of municipalities in the field of public safety, as set out in Organic Law 139 of 2015, provide, inter alia, the responsibilities of municipalities for civil protection against natural or other disasters.

As part of AAM efforts to provide technical assistance to municipalities, it engaged in the development of a practical guide to civil emergency management. There were several reasons for this guide. First, it aimed to assist new post-reform municipalities, which should take responsibility over an already expanding territory and to play a primary and decisive role in matters of civil emergencies with the establishment of sustainable structures, rescue and evacuation centres as well as the whole chain mechanism for a relevant efficient system.  Secondly, Albania is a country at high risk for natural disasters, mainly related to climate such as droughts, fires or floods, and others such as earthquakes of recent months.

What AAM noticed was the need for improved national level planning that would create opportunities for more accountable institutions, more realistic budgeting and better coordination across the country.  AAM’s findings unfortunately proved to be true with the management of situation of the earthquakes that hit Albania in September and November 2019. 

AAM also identified uncertainties in the division of roles and responsibilities between different institutions, mainly central and local. Of course, the marked lack of necessary tools and infrastructure in the municipality to cope with natural disasters, not only at fire stations, but also at the lack of evacuation points, material reserves, etc must be pointed out .

There is also the need for an increased cooperation with residents or with various local organizations in conveying real-time information to local authorities, increasing the attention and control of public institutions buildings to ensure continuity of services; technical and periodic control for the safety of schools and hospitals in particular, (whether public or private), as investing in such buildings helps not only to prevent disasters but also to cope with the aftermath of a civil emergency.

Any future rehabilitation or reconstruction investment should take into account the risk of natural disasters. This means studying potential risks, taking into account urban developments and population movements and other elements. Rehabilitation after a natural disaster, as Albania is currently in, should serve to strengthen institutional and technical capacity.

To provide concrete assistance, the guide also provides models of local civil emergency plans detailed up to the list of appropriate materials, communication channels, stakeholders involved, and more.

Some of the challenges identified by AAM are addressed by the new civil protection law adopted in July 2019. This law paves the way for the creation of the National Civil Protection Agency, which, compared to the previous organization of the General Directorate of Civil Emergencies will have greater administrative, technical and financial capacity.

The law, applying the principle of subsidiarity, emphasizes the primary and very important role of municipalities in disaster risk reduction and civil protection, which is also associated with the imposition of a mandatory minimum budget allocation for this purpose. To reduce disaster risk and civil protection, municipalities must allocate a minimum of 4 percent of their total annual budget, provided by conditional transfers. According to this principle, the law stipulates that in case of a natural disaster municipality should initially use its own resources, if they are insufficient, additional capacities are required from the neighbouring municipalities. If further needs arise, municipality relies on national resources including State Police and Armed Forces.

The obligation of municipalities to compensate for damages is also foreseen. Damages are usually borne by the disaster affected municipalities themselves through a dedicated civil protection fund, and only if the amount of compensation exceeds 8% of the municipality's budget can the Civil Protection Committee decide that the compensation will be paid by the National Agency.

Implementation of this law is a major challenge not only for municipalities but also for other state institutions. AAM’s expectations are to clarify the already increased roles and responsibilities, to improve communication across all sectors and agencies in order to foster a unified approach to the measures to be taken.

AAM also hopes an efficient financial planning will occur to ensure the right budget in such situations. This careful budget planning will gradually allow for the improvement of the necessary local infrastructure.

The work for this practical guide made AAM understand the complexity of the issues behind the risks of natural disasters, their prevention and management, and the actors to whom these issues should be addressed.

Of course, the desired results cannot be achieved immediately or by a single municipality, but it is a complex process that requires the input of all institutions and communities.
 

 Association of Municipalities and Towns of Slovenia

Invitation for Energetika – Interklima: event for municipality representatives
From 31st March to 3rd April 2020 the congress and event Energetika - Interklima will be held at the Celje Fair.
It is the leading international event on responsible, contemporary and forward-looking energy management in buildings, processes, industry and traffic.

The Association of Municipalities and Towns of Slovenia has arranged with organizers on co-designing interesting content for local authorities during the consultations. Among variety of topics, there are going to be two interesting panels for municipality representatives. The first panel  is on sustainable green mobility, in the frame of which are going to be highlighted key topics to successful transformation in the field of infrastructure and logistics. The second interesting panel will be focused on energy projects financing. In the frame of this panel there will be a presentation of new launched project European City Facility (EUCF). Participation in all consultations is free of charge for all registrations until 10th March.

There will be also a four-day opportunity at some locations for individual advising on energy projects financing for municipality representatives.

Lecturers will be from European Investment Bank, SID Bank and Eco Fund. Representatives of the Slovenian Business and Research Association (SBRA) in Brussels will present EU funding opportunities, a comprehensive overview of EU programs, repayable funds and grants and energy contracting in practice.


 National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria

The General Assembly elected the new governing bodies of NAMRB
The General Assembly of NAMRB took place in Sofia on 25-26 February. That was the first meeting of the General Assembly after the local elections in autumn 2019. It was preceded by six regional assemblies that nominated the candidates for the governing bodies of NAMRB - the Management and Supervisory Boards. After a secret ballot the members of the Assembly determined the composition of the new governing bodies of NAMRB and their chairs - Mayor of Veliko Tarnovo, Daniel Panov was re-elected as Chair of the Management Board for a second term in office. The Supervisory Board will be headed by the Mayor of Razgrad, Dencho Boyadzhiev.

“I will continue the efforts to maintain an atmosphere of mutual respect that allows us to work together. Each one of us, no matter a mayor of municipality with 2000 or 200 000 inhabitants, will always remain 1 of the 265 municipalities in Bulgaria. Through NAMRB we have a unique opportunity to express the reasons and concerns of all Bulgarian local authorities" said Daniel Panov after his election.

Photo: Daniel Panov, Mayor of Veliko Tarnovo

“I have been involved in the local government since the early years of democratic change in Bulgaria. I have worked for 4 terms as a municipal councillor. With one pause, this is my fourth term as mayor of Razgrad. As chairman of the Supervisory Board, I have no doubts that whatever is required by the entire Supervisory Board, we will deliver it and would be a good corrective in the work of our colleagues. We will work and prove our capabilities”, said Dencho Boyadzhiev.

Photo: Dencho Boyadzhiev, Mayor of Razgrad

At its first meeting, the new Governing Board elected all three deputy chairmen: Mayor of Troyan Municipality, Donka Mihaylova, Ivo Dimov - Mayor of Dimitrovgrad Municipality and Hasan Azis - Mayor of Kardzhali Municipality.

Special guests of the General Assembly were the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Environment and Water Ivelina Vassileva and the Minister of Environment and Water Emil Dimitrov. “We want to work in very close cooperation”, Minister Emil Dimitrov told mayors and mayors of municipal councils.

He stated his willingness to discuss important issues with municipalities and NAMRB and expressed his support for local authorities in finding the best solutions. The minister urged municipalities not to fall under pressure from consultants on European projects to make landfill reclamation more expensive. "Anyone who thinks they will receive above the announced price of BGN 55 per square meter for landfill reclamation, should know that they will not receive them," the minister warned.

"I want you to clean up the landfills, install separation and compost systems”. The aim is not to fill these landfills for a much shorter period than planned" the minister continued. He stated that funds were provided for this by the OP Environment and the Enterprise for Management of Environmental Protection Activities. The minister called on municipalities to be proactive because deadlines are "tight".

He assured the mayors that he did not intend to save money on projects or to sanction and called them to produce quality RDF to be burned at the facilities that cover the requirements for that. Minister Dimitrov reaffirmed his predecessor's commitment to rescheduling the increase of municipal landfill allocations and to gradually increase them 3 times in the coming years to a maximum.

Ivelina Vassileva announced that on 11 March a joint meeting of two parliamentary committees - on environment and water and on regional development - will be held to discuss the progress of water and sewerage projects financed under the OP "Environment". Both line ministries, 15 water utilities to prepare the projects and the NAMRB were invited to the meeting.
 
First International Educational Forum: "Digitization and Innovation in Education and Science" – Varna
Varna municipality will organize an International Education Forum in the period 2-5 June, 2020. The main topic of the event will be "Digitalization and innovations in education and science". Partners of the event are the Ministry of Education and Science, NAMRB and Varna high schools.

The main aim of the Forum is to allow participants to share in dialogue different perspectives and educational practices from public administrations, kindergartens and schools in the country, secondary and high schools, as well as cities from Europe and Asia, or partner cities working under Erasmus + Program. The forum will be divided in three panels:

• Pre-school education;
• System of secondary schools; 
• High education system.

Main highlights of the forum will be the links: kindergarten – school, secondary – high education – business, high schools – Centres for science and innovations, internationalization of education and transnational education.

The application form for registration of participation is online and will be open in mid-march on the Forum webpage: https://edfor.varna.bg.
 

SCTM support to mobile Roma inclusion teams
In order to manage the social inclusion measures of Roma envisaged by national and local strategic documents and to achieve a coordinated approach and integrated service delivery, the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities - Association of Towns and Municipalities in Serbia (SCTM) provides significant support to the work of mobile Roma inclusion teams under the program "Support to EU Roma Inclusion - Strengthening Local Communities for Roma Inclusion", funded by the European Union.

Bearing in mind that mobile teams work in the field, visit settlements, work on individual cases, carry out ongoing activities related to education, employment, health, housing, social policy, culture, there is a need to support the technical equipment of teams. In the first phase of the Program implementation, European Union support in the form of donations of funds for the purchase of cars and computers was of great importance for the day-to-day implementation of the envisaged activities. This type of support was received by 30 local self-governments.

In addition to direct support to the population, the role of mobile teams is to collect data on the situation in the field. These data are the basis on which, after processing and analysis, local action plans for Roma inclusion are developed, as well as operational plans (OPs) for mobile teams, and the other strategic documents.

Thanks to the Program, the SCTM assigned mentors to the local self-governments covered by the Program to support and prepare operational plans, and upon adoption of plans and workshops and seminars, a set of documents was prepared (OP Matrix, Financial and Narrative Reporting Form, OP Drafting Guidelines and Contracts to co-finance OP) for their implementation. After the development of operational plans, local self-governments approach to solving identified problems according to established priorities.

So far, 10 local self-governments (Mladenovac, Becej, Vrsac, Doljevac, Lebane, Loznica, Pirot, Smederevska Palanka, Surdulica and Arandjelovac) have adopted operational plans and financial donation contracts have been signed. The SCTM provided more than six million dinars, and the same amount was provided by the mentioned local self-governments, so that thanks to these activities, more than 12 million dinars are invested in concrete local actions and measures for social inclusion.

What is Mobile Team?
The mobile team is an expert advisory working body of the Municipal or Town Council.
The mobile team consists of one member and one alternate member of the staff working in the field of human and minority rights and social inclusion:

• Municipal/town government, including Roma Coordinator
• Centre for Social Work
• Community Health centre
• Branch of the National Employment Service
• Schools founded by a municipality or town
• Preschool
• Health mediator engaged in the municipality/town
• Pedagogical assistant engaged in the territory of the municipality/town

Congress of Local Authorities from Moldova


Twinning and partnerships between Local Governments from Republic of Moldova and from Romania - a sure way of aligning with EU standards and local development
Without direct access to important European funds and the successful experience of local authorities in EU countries, we cannot talk about the real development and modernization of the Republic of Moldova!

The cooperation between the local authorities from Romania and the Republic of Moldova marks a decade this year. During this time, friendly relations were established, exchanges of experience were carried out and various projects were implemented both locally and nationally. About several aspects of this collaboration spoke the executive director of CALM Viorel Furdui in the program "European Vector" from Moldova 1.

Asked about the number of twin towns, the executive director of CALM mentioned that this process has intensified a lot in the last 5-7 years. "According to our data there are over 500 such acts, there are multiple twins, a locality from the Republic of Moldova can be twinned with several localities from Romania and vice versa." According to Viorel Furdui, the significance of these acts is extremely important for both parties, taking into account the historical, national, cultural context, etc. Also, through these twins, the local authorities from Republic of Moldova have a great chance to approach certain European standards of public administration. "We know very well that in the last 20 years Romania has made tremendous progress, today it is one of the most dynamic developing countries, with one of the largest economic growth in the EU countries. This is very good when you cross the border - the infrastructure, roads and other aspects are what characterize what we call new development.”

Speaking about the emergency ordinance adopted by the Romanian Government in 2016 that allowed the local authorities from Romania to support financially and implement various projects in the localities of the Republic of Moldova, Viorel Furdui pointed out that it became possible to equip more kindergartens with furniture offered by the city halls from Romania, some Moldovan LPAs from received special equipment for repairing and cleaning the roads, various visits of our children have been financed over to Romania, etc. "Depending on the financial possibilities, there were some quite large projects such as the construction of educational institutions. For example, a kindergarten with the support of the Dâmbovița County Council was built at Ruseștii Noi in Ialoveni.” The executive director of CALM said that this process is now expanding because it has not been so long since the adoption of this ordinance, and more and more local communities from Romania are expressing their interest in contributing to the development of local communities in the Republic of Moldova they are twins with.

Within the same program, it was mentioned about the partnership agreement signed by CALM and the Romanian Association of Towns (AOR) in 2018. One of the joint activities of the two associations was the meeting of the mayors of the two states that took place recently, at Gura Humorului. Viorel Furdui was of the opinion that due to these very good relations with the associations of local authorities in Romania, it was possible to adopt that Government ordinance mentioned above, the authorities of Romania were notified about the need to pay more attention to the LPAs from Moldova, through special programs and through the development of direct relations between the LPAs of the two states. "I think we have positive results and their number tends to increase." Regarding the recent visit to Gura Humorului, Romania,  CALM representative stated that together with 18 mayors of cities from the Republic of Moldova they attended the meetings of the Romanian Association of Towns. Viorel Furdui explained that these approaches are necessary because, unfortunately, the previous financing did not always reach the destination or were distributed according to objective criteria.

Speaking about the programs of the Romanian Government for the LPA from the Republic of Moldova, it was mentioned that the Ministry of Public Works, Development and Administration of Romania announced the launch of a new bilateral program Romania-Republic of Moldova, scheduled for 2021-2027. In this context, Viorel Furdui stated that investments are needed for the development of our localities. "All the discussions regarding the development of the Republic of Moldova, the problems that do not allow the development of the infrastructure, roads, water, sanitation, street lighting, etc. will remain without solutions if we do not have resources, funds."

The executive director of CALM reminded that the Moldovan economy does not generate the necessary balances to develop the state, and access to funds is one of the solutions that would allow local communities to develop their infrastructure. "Only in parallel with this process of creating decent living conditions in our local communities will we be able to set goals that would motivate the return of people back home," concluded the executive director of CALM.

More than 130,000 people from 44 communities benefit from improved local services, thanks to Hometown Associations
44 Hometown Associations implemented community projects to improve the life of about 130,000 people thanks to grants offered by UNDP in 2019, with the financial support of the Government of Switzerland, in the framework of “Migration and Local Development” Project.

The Forum of Local Initiatives, held on 27 February in Chisinau, celebrated the results achieved. Thanks to their activism and dedication, the Hometown Associations mobilized overall USD 183,791, in addition to the USD 160,000 offered by the Government of Switzerland.

“Their achievements are indeed uplifting. The examples and figures that you could see during the exhibition of this event speak for themselves. But when talking about these 44 initiatives, I would also like to emphasize the non-tangible results - the dignity and pride experienced by thousands of Moldovan migrants, when they discovered and explored their ability to bring tangible benefits and hope for a better future to their native communities,” said Dima Al-Khatib, UNDP Resident Representative for the Republic of Moldova.

Those 44 Hometown Associations from various regions were awarded diplomas for their efforts both to implement projects meant to improve the local infrastructure and public services, and to engage local authorities and natives.

“The multiplying effect the Hometown Associations have in the country becomes vital, as the ‘Migration and Local Development’ Project is now in its last phase. The strategic partnerships with the Congress of Local Authorities from Moldova and the Government of the Republic of Moldova played an important role and we would like to thank them for their cooperation and openness,” noted Caroline Tissot, Director of Swiss Cooperation Office in the Republic of Moldova.

All 44 Hometown Associations shared their experience with those 150 participants at the Forum: representatives of local authorities, initiative groups and newly created Hometown Associations.

“Mihaileni village managed to arrange a park, with the support of the Hometown Association, which managed to involve the natives that left the village. For a long time, Mihaileni was deprived of a recreation park for children and the elderly, parents and youth. Together we managed to create a common good, but first of all, to show solidarity and prove that migration can be transformed into an opportunity,” said Valerian Cecan, Mayor of Mihaileni village, Riscani district.

This year as well, the initiative groups and the newly created Hometown Associations can apply for two grant programs:

For the “Incubator” grant program, newly created hometown associations or initiative groups that intend to set up an effective association can apply. The selected initiatives will receive up to USD 1,000 funding.
For the “Accelerator 1+1” grant program, registered hometown associations, with demonstrated experience in implementing a local project, can apply. The associations will benefit from a grant in the form of co-financing up to USD 10,000, on the basis of a 1+1 formula (the grant’s value offered by UNDP and the Government of Switzerland to the hometown association has to be equal with the contributions collected both online and offline from the Diaspora).

The deadline for submitting applications is 24 March 2020.
 
First solar powered electric vehicles charging station launched in Chisinau
Maxim Abdusa, electric car owner and developer of a charging stations chain in Moldova, has developed an innovative technology to charge the electric vehicles. He installed photovoltaic panels with a total area of 52.48 m2 on the roof of a multistore building in Chisinau. Solar panels provide green energy for electric vehicles charging station and for lighting the common areas of the building. The old EV lithium-ion battery stores and releases the produced green energy.

This is the first solar powered electric vehicles charging station launched in Chisinau. This initiative was possible thanks to support from UNDP project “Sustainable Green Cities”, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

The entire technology chain promotes a sustainable mobility with zero emissions. “The promotion of renewable energy sources is a solution to reduce energy dependence of the Moldova and to have positive impact on the environment. At the same time, advancing on the use of green energy sources is necessary for progress on Sustainable Development Goals, which Moldova has committed to achieve by 2030. Involvement of the private sector in promotion of new innovative solutions for achieving national targets is extremely important from one side, as well as making people feel all the benefits resulted from efficient use of energy,” says Dima Al-Khatib, UNDP Moldova resident representative.

The electric vehicles market is fast-growing. According to the data of the Public Services Agency, 222 electric vehicles were registered in 2019 in Moldova, which is twice as much as in 2018. In the following 10 years, dozens of electric cars in Moldova will have to replace their batteries.

The electric car owners can charge their vehicles with green energy for an advantageous price. “We installed a charging station in the garage. However, I prefer to charge my car here, because it is cheaper than at home and, not least, because I fill the car with clean energy,” says Ina Butnaru, owner of an electric car, and resident of the apartment building which benefitted from the smart technology.

The photovoltaic panels installed since December 12 have generated so far 1350 kW of green power. On a yearly basis they will contribute to reducing CO2 emissions by approximately 7845 kg.

The data base of the electric vehicles charging stations is available at  https://www.plugshare.com/


 

Association of Communes of Romania

Educating new generations in respect of the environment
The Association of Communes of Romania participated on Wednesday, 4 March , 2020, at the event organized by the Ministry of Environment of Water and Forests, in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Research organized within the National Public Awareness Campaign "Apa Noastră (Our Water)".

The national campaign "Apa Noastră " was launched at the beginning of 2019 as part of the project "Integrated Control of Nutrient Pollution", in which ACoR is a partner.

The campaign places a special emphasis on the education of the new generations in the respect for the environment, especially concerning the care for water, by encouraging creativity and expression through art.

On this occasion, the educational game on environmental issues "Droplex" was launched and the national drawing competition dedicated to students aged between 6 and 13 years was launched. They will compete in creativity, but also clarity in the artistic expression of a theme relevant to water protection.

The project "Integrated Control of Pollution with Nutrients" is part of the Romanian Government's efforts to ensure the implementation of the Nitrates Directive, which aims to reduce the pollution with nutrients from agricultural sources. Manure management at the commune level is a major concern of the Project, considering that, in present, in Romania, there are over 3 million small subsistence farms, which do not have the capacity to individually implement the measures necessary to prevent soil pollution and groundwater. The CIPN project is in the second phase, the one of additional funding. The initial project started in 2008 and ended in 2017 and financed a total of 86 manure management platforms. The additional funding of the project was allocated for five years, until March 2022. Over 90 local communities will be funded in this phase of the project.

Meeting of the Professional Body of the General Secretaries of the communes of Romania
Between March 29 and March 31, 2020, the General Assembly of the Professional Body of the General Secretaries of the communes of Romania will be held, in ordinary session, at RIN Grand Hotel, Bucharest.

The meeting meets the needs of the General Secretaries of the communes regarding the unitary representation of their interests in the relations with any entity, governmental or nongovernmental.

"This professional body was born from the initiative of our Association and has the role to contribute to the improvement of the decision-making process at the level of the local public administration authorities", said the President of ACoR, Mr. Emil DRĂGHICI.

During the meeting there will be debates regarding the application of the Administrative Code; the administrative documents of the local public administration authorities, the need to publish them in the Local Official Monitor, as well as the consequences of not publishing them; the problems encountered in the exercise of the specific public function and proposals to solve these problems.