The report therefore calls for: 1. decentralisation and the action of local authorities to be made a focus of European aid in developing countries; 2. a significant proportion of EU budgetary aid to developing countries to be directly allocated to local authorities in order to ensure that central governments are not responsible for managing all European funds. ###>En effet, 15% du programme thématique ne peuvent suffire aux autorités locales des PED pour assurer les services publics auprès des populations au niveau local.