The event that took place in Barcelona, Spain, from March 20 to 24, brings together mayors and representatives of provincial governments from around the world (Barcelona, Paris, Montreal, Guangzhou, Quito, Strasbourg and Rabat) among others and has different spaces of debate and work.
In this regard, Saglione explained that during the first day it took place the annual meeting of Presidency of UCLG, headed by the Mayor of the Catalan city, Ada Colau. “Representatives from all continents had the opportunity to raise their priorities to continue a round of debate on common themes", said Saglione.
DEBATE PANELS
The Minister indicated that in the panel discussions "one of the issues that has been in debate has to do with the financing needed for the implementation of public policies".
"In this sense, we worked on the identification of different sources of funding that local governments have. On the other hand, it was presented the need for discussion, in different countries, of the ways in which fiscal resources are distributed", said the holder of the economy portfolio.
"The works that have been developed and that were exposed in this event have clearly shown that there is a correspondence between the roles of local governments and the resources they have to carry forward their functions." “Similarly, publications made by this institution, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the French Development Agency which monitor the evolution of local finances in 59 countries, indicate that there is no correlation between the role that local governments have, and the access to sources in contrast with the national governments” Saglione said, and added that "according to the studies presented, sub-national governments have a low participation in the debt balance, which are mostly taken up by the national governments".
Finally, another important topic of debate had to do with the relationship between public and private participation, and the need to generate institutional frameworks that enable the adequate use of financing.
MEETING WITH PEER FROM CATALUNIA
Saglione held, in addition, a meeting with Pere Aragonès i Garcia, Secretary of Economy in the Department of Economics and Finance of the Generalitat de Catalunya, in which they shared experiences related to the financial management of their respective governments, the taxation problems and public investment financing mechanisms.
UNITED CITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS (UCLG)
The Organization stands as spokesman for all types of local and regional governments, representing and defending their interests at the global level.
Based in Barcelona, the organization aims to be the united voice and world representative for local, independent and democratic governments, promoting their values, objectives and interests through cooperation between local and regional governments before the vast international community.
