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Valerie Borne, External Funding Manager at Ealing

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Networking - become involved in EU policy development

Brussels and European Union institutions can seem remote when boroughs are dealing with the daily challenge of delivering high quality services alongside increasing budget pressure. The question for many councillors and officers is "why should we consider getting involved in EU policy development?"

• EU funding significantly contributes to the economic and social well-being of London. From 2007-13, £334 million will be allocated from the European Social Fund which is only one of several EU funding programmes.
  
  
• London’s relationship with Brussels is not just about money, the impact of EU policies and legislation makes it essential for London’s boroughs to engage fully in the development of policy, ideas and good practice at the European level. European legislation impacts hugely on the local level as most of it is implemented on the ground by local authorities and the UK and European economies are inextricably linked. Decisions made in Brussels directly impact upon the prosperity of London's boroughs. For example, about 80% of trading standards are defined at EU level.
• The economies of the UK and the EU are deeply committed to each other. In 2008, the UK exported goods worth £140bn to the EU and the export of goods and services to the EU has been increasing at an annualised rate of 2.73% since 2001, according to HMRC.

As local government is the closest link to the citizens, it has a vital role to play in the shaping of European policies. With the recent ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, local authorities have been given more importance to ensure that their voice is heard in all stages of the policy making process and directly influences the decision making process in Brussels. In fact, Article 3b of the Treaty of Lisbon states that ‘the limits of [European] Union competences are governed by the principle of conferral. The use of [European] Union competences is governed by the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality’.

European institutions are very keen to share your expertise since it is through the sharing of best practice that innovative policy ideas are shaped and promoted by the Commission, the Parliament and the Committee of the Regions.

The link between local practitioners and policy makers from the European level is easily achievable, especially because London local authorities have a specific relevance for Europe as they sit in the biggest European urban ensemble.

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The European Parliament and London's MEPs
The Committee of the Regions