EU Allocates EUR 2 Million for Developing Local Government in Russia

The European Union will give EUR 2 million for implementing a project to develop local government in Russia. This was announced yesterday at a press conference on 'The European Commission's participation in developing local government in Russia' by Vincent Piket, the deputy head of the European Commission's delegation in Russia.

Piket said that the local government development project is part of the EU's Tacis programme for technical collaboration between Russia and other countries. The project is initially being implemented in four Russian regions: Tatarstan, and the Penzensk, Kaluga, and Astrakhan Regions, although the experience gained will later be applied to all of Russia's regions. 'The aim of the project is to improve the legislative base for dividing power between the federal, regional and local authorities, and also to improve the dialogue between the population and local authorities,' said Piket.