The Pact of Free Cities – Addressing Rule of Law Problems from a Local Perspective

• Authors: Claudia Matthes

Abstracts

EN

Since December 2020, the Pact of Free Cities, founded by the mayors of the Visegrád capitals, has expressed the dire wish not to be held hostage for their national governments’ disrespect for the rule of law. Being cut off from financial support out of political intentions, they lobby for direct EU support. The article explores the dynamics of this initiative, its strategies to reach out to European institutions and their resonance, as well as the meaning of the Pact’s city diplomacy from a democratic perspective. The analysis of various documents published by the Pact of Free Cities shows how it combines its efforts to promote democracy, the rule of law and sustainable policies by engaging on the EU level. The Pact developed a distinct type of urban experimentalism that established a new link between the European and the city level.

Keywords

EN

city diplomacy; Pact of Free Cities; democratic resilience; EU budget; urban; experimentalism

• Publisher: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek
• Journal: Polish Political Science Yearbook
• Year: 2023
• Issue: Specjalny
• Pages: 27-40

Dates

published

2023

Contributors

author

Claudia Matthes

• Humboldt University in Berlin

• https://orcid.org/0000000267564594

References

• Acuto, M., Morissette, M., & Tsouros, A. (2016). City Diplomacy: Towards More Strategic Networking? Learning with WHO Healthy Cities. Global Policy, 8(1), 14–22.
• Barnett, C. (2014). What do cities have to do with democracy? International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 38(5), 1625–1643.
• Bermeo, N. (2016). On Democratic Backsliding. Journal of Democracy, 27(1), 5–19.
• Billanitsch, K. (2021). Zeichen für nachhaltige Demokratie und Rechtsstaatlichkeit setzen. Demo-Online. https://www.demo-online.de/artikel/zeichen-nachhaltige-demokratie-rechtsstaatlichkeit-setzen
• Budapest Forum. (2021). https://budapestforum.org
• Budapest Portal. (2020a, March 12). EU-Lobby. https://budapest.hu/sites/english/Lapok/2020/lobbyingthe-european-institutions.aspx
• Budapest Portal. (2020b). Direct Funding for Cities. https://budapest.hu/sites/english/Lapok/2020/directeuropean-funding-for-cities.aspx
• Budapest Portal. (2020c). Annual Report of the City Diplomacy of Budapest. https://budapest.hu/sites/english/Lapok/2020/city-diplomacy-newsletters.aspx
• Callanan, M., & Tatham, M. (2014). Territorial interest representation in the European Union: actors, objectives and strategies. Journal of European Public Policy, 21(2), 188–210.
• Chan, D. K.-H. (2016). City diplomacy and “glocal” governance: revitalising cosmopolitan democracy. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, 29(2), 134–160.
• Curtis, S., & Acuto, M. (2018). The Foreign Policy of Cities. The RUSI Journal, 163(6), 8–17.
• Demirtaş, B. (forthcoming). City diplomacy in authoritarian states: the case of İstanbul under the Mayorship of İmamoğlu. In G. Coşkun, T. İnal-Çekiç, & E. Tombuş (Eds.), Reclaiming Democracy in Cities. Routledge.
• Eurocities. (2022, September 28). City diplomacy in action. https://eurocities.eu/latest/city-diplomacyin-action
• Freund, D. (2023). Poland and Hungary: More than two thirds of EU funds frozen – background. https://danielfreund.eu/poland-and-hungary-more-than-two-thirds-of-eu-funds-frozen-background/?lang=en
• Frick, V. (2023). Understanding the democratic promise of the city. Philosophy and Social Criticism, 0(0), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/01914537221150456
• German Marshall Fund. (2022a). Global Declaration of Mayors for Democracy. https://www.gmfus.org/mayorsfordemocracy
• German Marshall Fund. (2022b). Mayors Introduce Global Declaration for Democracy. https://www.gmfus.org/news/mayors-introduce-global-declaration-democracy
• Gherghina, S., & Volintiru, C. (2023). Budgetary Clientelism and Decentralisation in Hungary and Romania. Journal of Developing Societies, 39(1), 40–62.
• Gordon, D. (2013). Between local innovation and global impact: cities, networks, and the governance of climate change. Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, 19(3), 288–307.
• Hirschl, R. (2020). City, State: Constitutionalism and the Megacity. Oxford Academic. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190922771.001.0001
• Hirschl, R. (2022). The “Era of the City” as an Emerging Challenge to Liberal Constitutional Democracy. Ethics & International Affairs, 36(4), 455–473.
• Hřib, Z., Karáscony, G., Trzaskowski, R., & Vallo, M. (2019, December 16). How grassroots democracy can cure the ills of central Europe. European Council on Foreign Relations. https://ecfr.eu/article/commentary_how_grassroots_democracy_can_cure_the_ills_of_central_europe
• Hudec, M. (2021, September 17). The island in illiberal storm’ is getting bigger. Euractiv. https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/the-island-in-illiberal-storm-is-getting-bigger
• Hungarian and Polish Municipalities. (2020, December 7). Letter to President Ursula von der Leyen. https://budapest.hu/sites/english/Lapok/2020/lobbying-the-european-institutions.aspx
• Hungarian Mayors. (2020, October 6). Open Letter to Věra Jurová, Vice-President European Commission and Katarina Barley, Vice-President European Parliament. https://budapest.hu/sites/english/Lapok/2020/lobbying-the-european-institutions.aspx
• International Portal of Prague. (2022). Kiev joins the Pact of Free Cities, hosted by the Czech capital Prague. https://international.praha.eu/articles/kiev-joins-the-pact-of-free-cities-hosted-by-the-czech-capitalprague
• Interview Budapest. (2023, April 12). Online interview.
• Interview Warsaw. (2023, April 21). Online interview.
• K-Monitor. (2020). Empowering local self-government – Cooperation between advocacy groups and local governments in Hungary, Poland and Romania. https://localgov.k-monitor.hu/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Localgov_Research_Full.pdf
• Karáscony, G. (2020, November 20). Letter to Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President European Commission. https://budapest.hu/sites/english/Lapok/2020/lobbying-the-european-institutions.aspx
• Keating House. (2021). Joint Declaration of the Founding Mayors of the Pact of Free Cities and Members of the United States House of Representatives. https://keating.house.gov/pact-free-cities
• Kirchgeßner, K. (2021, February 2). Visegrád-Staaten. Mehr als ein Jahr “Pakt der freien Städte”. Deutschlandfunk https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/visegrad-staaten-mehr-als-ein-jahr-pakt-derfreien-staedte-100.html
• Kölling, M. (2022). The role of (rule of law) conditionality in MFF 2021-2027 and Next Generation EU, or the stressed budget. Journal of Contemporary European Studies. doi.org/10.1080/14782804.2022.2059654
• Kosovac, A., Hartley, K., Acuto, M., & Gunning, D. (2021). City Leaders Go Abroad: A Survey of City Diplomacy in 47 Cities. Urban Policy and Research, 39(2), 127–142.
• Löwenstein, S., & Zimmermann, N. (2019, December 16). „Pakt der freien Städte”. Die Visegrád-Rebellen. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/ausland/budapest-prag-warschauund-pressburg-schliessen-pakt-der-freien-staedte-16539050.html
• Marks, G., Haesly, R., & Mbaye, H. A. D. (2002). What Do Subnational Offices Think They Are Doing in Brussels? Regional & Federal Studies, 12(3), 1–23.
• Pact of Free Cities. (2020a). Direct European Funding for Cities. Position Paper. https://budapest.hu/sites/english/Lapok/2020/direct-european-funding-for-cities.aspx
• Pact of Free Cities. (2020b, February 15). Joint Statement.
• Pact of Free Cities. (2020c, July 16). Open Letter to the President and Members of the European Council. https://budapest.hu/sites/english/Lapok/2020/v4c-mayors-letter-on-climate-and-recovery.aspx
• Pact of Free Cities. (2020d, July 14). Letter to Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany. https://budapest.hu/sites/english/Lapok/2020/lobbying-the-european-institutions.aspx
• Pact of Free Cities. (2020e, October 29). Letter to President Sassoli, President Michel, President von der Leyen. https://budapest.hu/sites/english/Lapok/2020/eu-lobby.aspx
• Pact of Free Cities. (2022a). Moving forward.
• Pact of Free Cities. (2022b). Declaration of Mayors of the Pact of Free Cities.
• Pact of Free Cities. (2022c). Prague Declaration on Tackling the Energy Crisis of EU Cities and Regions.
• Pact of Free Cities. (2023). Letter to Commissioner Didier Reynders.
• Piattoni, S., & Schönlau, J. (2015). Shaping EU Policy from Below. EU Democracy and the Committee of the Regions. Edward Elgar Publishing.
• Prague Summit of Cities. (2022). https://international.praha.eu/articles/we-must-minimise-russianinfluence-and-confront-the-reality-of-energy-poverty-created-by-the-crisis-said-frans-timmermansat-the-prague-summit-of-cities
• Rodriguez-Pose, A., & Courty, J. (2018). Regional lobbying and Structural funds: Do regional representation offices in Brussels deliver? Regional & Federal Studies, 28(2), 199–229.
• Spöri, T. (2021, June 4). Zentral- und Osteuropa: Progressive Stadtpolitik gegen den autoritären Trend? Der Standard. https://www.derstandard.de/story/2000127071522/zentral-und-osteuropa-progressivestadtpolitik-gegen-den-autoritaeren-trend
• Szpak, A. (2023). Human rights approach in selected European municipal strategies of international relations. Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 31(1), 169–183.
• Szpak, A., Gawłowski, R., Modrzyńska, J., & Modrzyński, P. (2023). Pact of Free Cities – A New Form of European Cities’ Cooperation. Polish Political Science Yearbook, 52. https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy202308
• Szymanski, W. (2019, November 11). Ein Pakt der Hauptstädte: das “kleine Visegrad”. Deutsche Welle. https://www.dw.com/de/ein-pakt-der-hauptst%C3%A4dte-das-kleine-visegrad/a-51197125
• Volintiru, C. (2021). Local Democratic Resilience in East-Central Europe. Policy Paper. The German Marshall Fund. https://www.gmfus.org/sites/default/files/2021-09/Volintiru%20-%20Local%20Democratic%20Resilience%20in%20ECE.pdf

Identifiers

DOI

10.15804/ppsy202351

Biblioteka Nauki

21375654