THE COLLABORATIVE AREA OF LOCAL ACTORS INVOLVED IN INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

Decentralized cooperation can be defined as all of the international cooperation activities implemented by French and foreign territorial authorities for their mutual interest.

Over the years, apart from traditional twinning, local authorities have developed more consolidated partnerships enabling pooling of competence in various areas. Several successive laws have progressively reinforced the legitimacy of territorial authorities: the ATR law of February 6th 1992, the Oudin law of February 9th 2005 and the Thiollière law of February 7th 2007 (new article L1115-1 CGCT). Today, decentralized cooperation consists of achieving the fine balance between the diplomatic action of France and action on the local level. The goal is to cultivate special relations, on an equal footing amongst competent officials backed by the dynamic strengths of their respective civil society.

For more information, please consult the following:

 Definition of decentralized cooperation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

 Definition of decentralized cooperation by Cités Unies France

 Article «International action that evolves from twinning to decentralized cooperation»