As a Member State of the European Union, Estonia  participates in shaping and implementing EU policy and legislation. Estonia’s EU policy is reflected in positions reached in the process of cooperation involving the Parliament (Riigikogu) and citizens, the government and officials, Estonia’s local authorities and their associations. The corresponding principle, which has been laid down in the strategy document “The Estonian Government’s European Union Policy”, forms the basis for the AME as a national association of local authorities to participate actively in this process.

The AME’s main objectives for the period 2006-2009 include
1.       Participation in the work of the Committee of the Regions and its commissions (the Asociation currently has  3 full and 4 alternate members in Estonia’s national delegation).
2.       Involvement in the activities of international organisations, most importantly in  the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE), the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR),  the Baltic Sea States Subregional Co-operation (BSSSC), etc.
3.       Provision of assistance to local authorities  in the form of international projects and consultations on access to, and use of, EU Structural Funds and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism.
4.       Development of cooperation with local authorities and their associations in other countries, among them in Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Ukraine, Moldova, etc.
5.       Establishment of  relations with new member states of the EU.

As a national association of local authorities, the AME’s activities are increasingly related with EU’s economic, social and foreign policy. Working proactively to represent its members’ interests in EU issues, the AME seeks to make its presence felt in Brussels to influence and shape EU policies and legislation as early as possible.  This process is largely facilitated by the opening of the Brussels Office of the AME and the Association of Estonian Cities in late 2005 with Ms Anne-Ly Reimaa acting as Permanent Representative for both the Associations.

Meaningful participation in EU decisions affecting local government presupposes understanding of the EU, its institutional structure and decision-making mechanisms. Thus, the AME intends to arrange study tours for local government officials, both appointed as well as elected, to EU institutions, among them to the European Commission, DG Regio, DG Environment, DG Social, EcoSoc, the Committee of the Regions, pan-European lobby groups such as the European Landowners’ Association, Brussels-based offices of Nordic countries’ associations of local authorities, etc.

The AME further intends to organise study tours to local authorities in other Member States in order to discuss and exchange experiences and work methods in development and realisation of more efficient and effective public services, as well as planning and implementing projects partly financed by the Structural Funds.

The AME, taking advantage of the opportunities offered by Estonia’s EU membership,  continues to develop cooperation with national associations of local authorities across Europe, in particular with Nordic associations of local authorities, e.g. Local Government Denmark (LGDK), the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities (Kuntaliitto) and the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities.