The main international law basis for foreign activity of local governments in Europe

Dr hab. Maciej Perkowski, prof. UwB - Kierownik Zakładu Prawa Międzynarodowego Publicznego na Wydziale Prawa Uniwersytetu w Białymstoku; radny Sejmiku Województwa Podlaskiego.Actual international cooperation of local government units requires appropriate international regulations. On the one hand, it considers bilateral agreements, especially of neighbourly or particularized in matter nature, whilst on the other hand, it involves multilateral agreements, created in the forum of European international organizations (which currently are key agreements for Polish local governments). In this area the Council of Europe plays a dominant role but, recently, the European Union has significantly intensified its commitment to cover the issue. Within the Council of Europe’s acquis key provisions are acts of the European Charter of Local Self-Government of 15 October 1985 and the European Outline Convention on Transfrontier Cooperation between Territorial Communities or Authorities of 21 May 1980 (the so-called Madrid Convention). In the case of the EU – the legal basis for broader foreign activity of local governments formed by the Treaty on European Union, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and selected secondary legislation (mainly in the field of cohesion policy and neighbourhood policy). Its functional supplements are non-binding documents that are taken into account in the EU intra-practice.Uniwersytet w Białymstok