doc 1€¦ · 1. the policy committee, at its meeting in paris in december 2008, approved the...

DOC 1

Conseil des Communes et Régions d’Europe Council of European Municipalities and Regions

28/04/ 2009/ bt

COMMI TTEE ON DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE

[ W ed n esd ay , 2 7 May 2 0 0 9

1 1 :0 0 – 1 7 :0 0 House of Cit ies, Municipalit ies and Regions

Square de Meeûs 1, 1000 Brussels Room Meeûs, 1 st Floor ]

Dr af t Ag en d a

1 . Adop t ion o f t h e d r af t agen da (doc 1)

2 . Com m it t ee issu es (doc 2)

o Process for the elect ion of chair o Terms of Reference

3 . Dr af t Com m it t ee W or k Pr ogr am m e 2 0 0 9 (doc 3)

o Discussion on current issues and priorit ies for the CEMR Commit tee on Democracy and Governance

Cou n ci l o f Eu r ope issu es

4 . Cooper at ion bet w een CEMR an d t h e Con gr ess o f Local an d Reg ion al Au t h or i t ies o f t h e Cou n ci l o f Eu r ope Remarks by Ms Antonella Cagnolat i , Director of the Congress ( tbc)

5 . Eu r opean Ch ar t er o f Local Sel f -Gov er n m en t (doc 5)

o Proposals for addit ional protocols t o the ECLSG by the European Commit tee on Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR) of the Council of Europe

6 . Refer en ce f r am ew or k on r eg ion al dem ocr acy (doc 6)

I nt roduct ion by Mr Paul-Henri Philips, Deputy to the Director-General of the Local Authorit ies Department – Minist ry of the Brussels-Capital Region, CDLR Rapporteur ( tbc)

o I nstead of a European Charter of Regional Democracy, the CDLR recommend a reference framework which should becom e a non-binding technical guidance instrument on inst itut ional reforms at regional level. The Commit tee may wish to respond.

7 . Repor t on t h e ou t look f o r t h e f u t u r e ( Kiv in iem i r epor t ) (doc 7)

o Report by the Finnish m inister Mari Kiviniem i on the ways and means by which the work of the Council of Europe on local and regional democracy can be enhanced

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8 . Eu r opean Local Dem ocr acy W eek (doc 8) I nt roduct ion by Councillor Keith Whitmore, President of the Congress’ I nst itut ional Commit tee, polit ical coordinator of the ELDW

o An annual event with simultaneous nat ional and local events organised in Council of Europe member states to foster knowledge of local democracy and promote democrat ic part icipat ion at local level (12–18 October 2009)

9 . Cou n ci l o f Eu r ope Con fer en ce o f Min ist er s (doc 9)

o The conference of m inisters responsible for local and regional government will be held under the t it le “Good local and regional governance in turbulent t imes: The challenge of change” focusing on the implementat ion of the Budapest Agenda 2005–2009 and discussing a future Utrecht Agenda 2010–2014 ( 16–17 November 2009, Utrecht)

Com m it t ee o f Reg ion s issu es

1 0 .W h i t e paper on m u l t i -lev el gov er n an ce (doc 10) o Drafted by the Commit tee of the Regions (L. van den Brande,

M. Delebarre) this paper should draw at tent ion to shared responsibility between different levels of power and recommend strengthening the role of regional and local authorit ies in EU decision-m aking. The Commit tee m ight wish to respond to the paper and/ or address the issues raised.

Ot h er issu es

1 1 .Th e GOLD r epor t on local f in an ce (doc 11)

o Second in a series of reports drafted by the UCLG Global Observatory on Local Democracy and Decentralizat ion (GOLD), the 2009 report should focus on the issue of local finance.

1 2 .Tr u st in Gov er n m en t an d elect o r al par t icipat ion (doc 12)

o A seminar is to be organised by CEMR on t his topic in 2009. The issues addressed m ight include current t rends in relat ions between the government and the cit izen , electoral part icipat ion , t rust in democracy and vot ing. The commit tee will be asked to give its views on this.

1 3 .I n f o r m at ion on even t s (doc 13)

a. European Summit of Regions and Cit ies: 5–6 March 2009, Prague b. CEMR's XXIV General Assembly, 22–24 April 2009, Malm ö c. European Parliament Elect ions 2009 – CEMR Manifesto for local and

regional government : 4–7 June 2009 d. High Level group on Governance and the EU: 8–9 October 2009,

Stockholm

1 4 .An y o t h er bu sin ess

1 5 .Dat e an d t im e o f n ex t m eet in g

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Com m i t t ee I ssu es

Decision Members of the Commit tee are invited to:

o Take note of the process for the elect ion of chair and the next call for nominat ions o Take note of and discuss the Terms of Reference for the Commit tee

Pr ocess f o r t h e elect ion o f a ch ai r 1. The Policy Commit tee, at its meet ing in Paris in December 2008, approved the

establishment of the new CEMR Commit tee on Democracy and Governance, and Councillor Keith Whitmore (UK) was elected as its Vice-Chair. I n the absence of nominat ions for the post of Chair, the Policy Commit tee agreed that the President or First Vice-President should act as Chair pending a new call for nom inat ions.

2. On 17 th February, a circular let ter was sent to member associat ions invit ing nominat ions to the vacant posit ion, to be received by 27 th March, with a view to the elect ion taking place at the Policy Commit tee meet ing on 22 nd April 2009.

3. No nominat ions have been received so far for chair of the commit tee. Another call for nom inat ions will be made by the Secretariat so that a chair may be elected at the next meet ing of CEMR's Policy Commit tee in the second half of 2009.

Ter m s o f r efer en ce 4. The Policy Commit tee of December 2008 also approved the Terms of reference for

the work of the Commit tee on democracy and governance ( see Annex 2.1) . Members of the Commit tee are invited to take note the Terms of reference.

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Dr af t W o r k Pr o g r am m e 2 0 0 9


o Raise and discuss priority issues for the work of the Commit tee for 2009 I n t r odu ct ion CEMR's Commit tee on Democracy and Governance has been mandated by the Policy Commit tee to debate and develop CEMR policy and exchange experience in relat ion to the mat ters set out in its Terms of Reference ( see Annex 2.1) . Within this framework, members of the Commit tee m ight w ant to engage in discussion , express their opinions and react in good t ime to issues debated or proposed by other bodies, especially the Council of Europe, its Congress of Local and Regional Authorit ies, and it s Commit tee on Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR, comprised of civil servants) , by the Commit tee of the Regions of the EU, by relevant commit tees of the world organisat ion United Cit ies and Local Governments (UCLG) as well as to consider issues brought forward by CEMR member associat ions. Moreover, members of the commit tee m ight want to start a number of own-init iat ive act ivit ies, discussions or CEMR studies on issues of common interest to CEMR member associat ions and to local and regional governments across Europe.

1. CEMR's 2009 Work Progr amme The CEMR work programme for 2009 contains a number of issues relevant to the work of the Commit tee on Democracy and Governance. The members' at tent ion is part icularly drawn to the following:

o Aim A1: Promot ion of the good p r act ice in con su l t at ion of local and regional government through wide publicity for CEMR’s Code of Good Pract ice on consultat ion , including a m em ber s’ r ou n d t ab le on the consultat ion processes.

o Aim A2: Exchange of informat ion on t r en ds in r eg ion al an d local gover n m en t and democracy across Europe, including seminars on developm en t s in n on - leg islat ive r eg ion s' st r u ct u r es, f in an ces an d com pet en ces, as well as on t r u st in gov er n m en t

o Aim A5: To develop CEMR’s work in r elat ion t o sou t h -east Eu r ope, including Turkey, helping to st rengthen the European capacity of the nat ional associat ions of the region .

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o Aim A6: To work in partnership with (a) the Council of Europe and in part icular the Congress, and (b) the Commit tee of the Regions on issues of common interest , especially developments in relat ion to local and regional sel f -gov er n m en t , and proposals for new Protocols to the Eu r opean Ch ar t er o f Local Sel f -Gov er n m en t , and promote and publicise Local Dem ocr acy W eek init iat ive.

o Aim A8: To promote local dem ocr acy in East er n Eu r ope, including the development of local democracy in Belarus and the Ukraine.

2. Further i ssues for consideration

I n addit ion to CEMR's 2009 Work Programme, a number of issues and events m ight merit the at tent ion of the Commit tee on Democracy and Governance. 2 .1 Eu r opean gover n an ce

o High Level Gr ou p on Gover n an ce an d t h e EU (8–9 October 2009, Sweden) Established to provide an informal network for senior officials from EU Member States, the group meets under the act ing Council presidency to consider the implicat ions for local and regional governance arising from EU policy development and legislat ion. I n the past som e nat ional delegat ions have included local government representat ives and the CoR has been represented by its Secretary-General. So far, CEMR has not been invited .

o Cou n ci l o f Eu r ope Min ist er ia l Con fer en ce

CoE member states' ministers responsible for local and regional government will meet in Utrecht on 16–17/ 11/ 2009. The draft agenda m ight address the following issues:

o I mplementat ion of the Budapest Agenda for delivering good local and regional governance (2005)

o St rategy for innovat ion and good governance at local level o The Kiviniem i report on the out look for the future o Good governance at local and regional level, challenges and possible

act ions o Adopt ion of the Ut recht Agenda (successor to the Budapest Agenda)

2 .2 Local an d r eg ion al dem ocr acy

o Relat ion s o f m ayor s an d elect ed assem b l ies I t is proposed that the Commit tee init iates an own-init iat ive study by CEMR to invest igate the quest ions of democracy and balance of power, efficiency of governance and relat ions between mayors and elected assemblies.

o Legal st at u s o f elect ed r ep r esen t at ives

I t is proposed that the Commit tee considers a future own- init iat ive study by CEMR on current t rends in financial and social status of local and regional elected representat ives, modes of remunerat ion, social and health security, pension schemes, occupat ional constraints etc.

o 2 0 t h An n iver sar y o f t h e fa l l o f t h e Ber l in W al l

CEMR will prepare a seminar in December 2009 to mark the 20 th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

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2 .3 Local an d Reg ion al Fin an ces The Commit tee of experts on local and regional finance and public services (LR-FS) of the Commit tee on Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR) has ident ified a number of issues it m ight address throughout the year 2009, if approved by the CDLR commit tee itself. The CEMR's Commit tee on Democracy and Governance m ight wish to provide its contribut ion or input on some of these issues:

o Econ om ies o f scale in local gov er n m en t f u n ct ion s Council of Europe member states would be asked to report on their studies, publicat ions or government policies regarding efficiency and economies of scale in the local government funct ions. The quest ions addressed m ight include amalgamat ions and mergers of municipalit ies, inter-municipal cooperat ion, coordinat ion of mult iple levels of administ rat ion etc.

o Eu r opean m odel o f com pen sat ion f o r new local gover n m en t com pet en ces

An expert paper could be prepared by the LR-FS commit tee out lining the current practice in CoE member states, possibly with a set of guidelines for the most efficient way to organise such compensat ions.

o Dem ocr at ic and econ om ic d im en sion o f local g over nm en t

The LR-FS commit tee m ight draft a paper or organise a workshop on part icipatory budget ing at the local level.

CEMR's Commit tee on Democracy and governance m ight also wish to init iate own-init iat ive work in the field of local and regional finance, on which our member associat ions could exchange informat ion and ideas.

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Eu r op ean Ch ar t er o f Loca l Se l f - Go v er n m en t


o Note the progress on the adopt ion of the Addit ional Protocol to the European Charter of Local Self-Government on the right to part icipate in the affairs of a local community.

o Discuss further involvement of CEMR and its members in the process of draft ing and adopt ion of a possible new general addit ional protocol to the ECLSG.

I n t r odu ct ion 1. Current ly, there are two separate init iat ives aim ing to draft and adopt addit ional

protocols to the European Charter of Local Self -Government. They were init iated (a) by the m inisters responsible for local governments, and (b) by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorit ies of the Council of Europe.

Add i t ion al Pr o t oco l on Dem ocr at ic Par t icipat ion at Local Lev el 2. The m inisterial init iat ive aims to provide the cit izen with the right to part icipate in

their local authority’s affairs and decision -m aking. CEMR lobbied CDLR with the posit ion that the draft Protocol should be discont inued, since it alters the ent ire character of the Charter which unt il now has dealt with relat ionships between central and local governments, not between local authorit ies and cit izen . We argued that a different legal inst rument could be used to address the important aspect of cit izen part icipat ion. The CDLR however decided to proceed with the draft ing of the Protocol.

3. The CEMR Secretariat therefore prepared proposals to improve the draft text with the following main points:

o A provision should be included in the draft text , that local governments should be consulted in the planning and decision -making processes concerning the legal and other measures governing the implementat ion . This has been accepted and is now addressed in Art icle 2 para. 4 of the final draft .

o An amendment to the draft provision, to remove the reference to a new legal duty t o be imposed upon local governments. This is now changed in Art icle 2 para. 2- i into empowerment of local authorit ies to enable, to promote, and to facilitate the exercise of the right to part icipate and the right of access to official documents set out in the Protocol.

o The inclusion in the draft text of a new art icle to encourage the use of new informat ion and communicat ion technologies for the promot ion and the exercise of the r ights set out in the protocol. This was also accepted and is addressed in Art icle 2 para.2-ii i .

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4. The text of the draft Addit ional Protocol was approved at the CDLR meeting on 22–24 April 2009 together with its explanatory report (see Annex 5.1) . CDLR will invite t he Commit tee of Ministers to adopt and agree to open it for signature on the occasion of the 16 th session of the Ministerial Conference (Utrecht , 16–17 November 2009) . The Commit tee of Ministers will also be invited to request the opinion of the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress on the draft addit ional Protocol as adopted by the CDLR.

Possib le n ew gen er al Prot ocol 5. A Congress init iat ive sought to complete and clarify certain parts of the exist ing

Charter and st rengthen the posit ion of local authorit ies under the Charter. The draft agreed by the Congress has not been accepted, instead, the Commit tee on Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR) has invited governments to consider whether there really are key issues that need to be addressed and/ or clarified by a possible new protocol to the Charter, and if so to propose the subject-mat ters. For this purpose, CDLR drafted a quest ionnaire with a deadline for reply by 27 February 2009. The Members States were also asked in the quest ionnaire whether the associat ions of local authorit ies in their country have been consulted on the quest ions.

6. CEMR (having a status of observer in CDLR and its 3 commit tees of experts) supported the Congress proposal by put t ing forward to CDLR a list of 10 issues which it thinks merit part icular considerat ion in a possible new protocol. CEMR's members were also provided with a model let ter summarising the 10 issues, in case they would decide to respond to their nat ional government in the consultat ion, or to be able to raise the issue with their government on their own init iat ive.

7. A Summary of the responses to the quest ionnaire is as follows:

o 18 replies were received from 16 countries, 5 of them consider that there are topics appropriate for a possible addit ional protocol (Estonia, Greece, Lithuania, Netherlands, Portugal) , 13 of them do not think so (Armenia, Belgium/ Brussels, Belgium/ Flanders, Belgium/ Wallonia, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, I taly, Luxembourg, Monaco, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland) .

o Governments which indicated that they consulted or intend to consult their local government associat ion(s) include Belgium (all 3 regions) , Estonia, Finland (says they studied CEMR 10 points) , Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland (consulted with cantons) .

o Governments which have not consulted their local government associat ions include Armenia, Denmark, I taly, Lithuania, Monaco and Portugal.

8. I ssues the governments suggest includ ing in a possible addit ional protocol are:

o Aspects concerning elect ions, local governance, public ethics, cit izen part icipat ion , cit izen-centric approach and public confidence in democracy and government .

o Need to combine interests and posit ions of local and regional levels of self -government , and coordinat ion between local, regional and nat ional levels in terms of budgetary complementarity and mutual financial solidarity.

o Addit ional financial aspects not yet covered by the Charter, especially compensat ion for new/ t ransferred competencies.

o Notably Netherlands suggested that the CEMR 10-points be taken as a basis for further discussions.

9. CDLR secretariat summarised the responses and suggested, that states that have not yet replied should be given a further opportunity to do so. At its last meet ing (22–24 April 2009) the CDLR agreed on a further quest ionnaire (see Annex 5.2) to clarify the

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views of member States and to return to this issue at its next meet ing in September 2009 with a view to adopt ing an opinion for the Ministers’ Deput ies.

10. Member states now have an extended deadline of 30 June 2009 to reply to this quest ionnaire. The Commit tee’s view is invited on any further steps CEMR might take in this mat ter.

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Ref er en ce Fr am ew or k on Reg ion a l Dem ocr acy


o Note the latest developments regarding the draft European Charter of Regional Democracy .

o Discuss a possible contribut ion by CEMR to the process of draft ing the new Reference Framework on Regional Democracy.

I n t r odu ct ion 1. I n 1997 Council of Europe's Congress of Local and Regional Authorit ies in Europe

init iated a Draft European Charter on Regional Self-Government , which should set out the key principles that should underlie effect ive regional democracy in Europe, covering areas such as financial autonomy and legislat ive powers. However, the Charter failed to at t ract the support of a sufficient majority of Member States at the Ministerial Conferences in Helsinki in 2002 and Budapest in 2005, with disagreements emerging over whether the inst rument should be legally binding.

2. I n order to restart the debate on the Charter, the Congress has adopted in 2008 a new text t it led Draft European Charter of Regional Democracy, which responded to the object ions raised by the Member States and also took into account developments in the field of regional democracy over the past ten years. I t underlined the added value of greater regionalisat ion based on the inclusion of the principle of loyalty and respect of territorial integrity of the state, the principles of good governance, part icipat ion of cit izens and the reaffirmat ion of respect for local self- government. This document , however, again failed to achieve support from the member states of the Council of Europe represented in the CDLR.

Lat est dev elopm en t s

3. At its meet ing on 22–24 April, the European Commit tee on Local and Regional

Democracy (CDLR) decided instead to prepare a reference framework on regional dem ocracy in close co-operat ion with the Congress. This new framework will be based m ainly on the Helsinki principles on regional self-government (see Annex 6.1) , approved via a Declarat ion by the European Ministers responsible for Local and Regional Government in 2002 . I t will further draw upon the recommendat ion Rec(2004)12 of the Commit tee of Ministers on territorial reforms (Annex 6.2) , the draft Charter of Regional Democracy, adopted by the Congress in 2008 (Annex 6.3) as well as on the CDLR report on European pract ice and recent developments in the field of regional self-government , for pract ical examples.

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4. The main object ive of this framework, in the view of the CDLR, will be to guide inst itut ional reforms at regional level including the procedural aspects as well as the establishment of new regions. I t will be a non-binding inst rument of the Council of Europe, short and concise (not more than 10 pages) , of a technical nature, i.e. it should not contain any polit ical statements on the importance of regions.

5. I n terms of procedure, in May 2009 the CoE Secretariat will draw up the first draft for the Reference Framework, possibly in collaborat ion with a Rapporteur Mr Paul-Henri Philips (Belgium) , who indicated his willingness to take over this role, and in close co-operat ion with the Congress. I n June, a workshop will be organised for interested delegat ions and open to other CDLR observers to discuss and review the draft (possible date: 16 or 17 June) . The result ing draft will be presented to the CDLR at its meet ing on 21-23 September. The Reference Framework will then be proposed for adopt ion as a resolut ion at the Conference of European Ministers responsible for Local and Regional Government in Utrecht on 16–17 November 2009.

6. The Commit tee is asked to give guidance on CEMR’s next steps in relat ion to these developments, in part icular to the reject ion of the draft Charter on Regional Democracy, which had been generally supported by CEMR, and to a possible CEMR contribut ion to the draft ing of the Reference Framework.

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Th e Kiv in iem i Rep o r t

Decision

Members of the Commit tee are invited to:

o Take note of the Kiviniemi report and d iscuss possible proposals for follow-up to the report , which CEMR could suggest at the CDLR meet ing in September 2009.

I n t r odu ct ion 1. At the Ministerial Conference in Valencia (October 2007) Ms Mari Kiviniem i, the

Finnish m inister responsible for Public Administ rat ion and Local Government, has been entrusted to draft a report on the enhancement of the work of the Council of Europe in the field of local and regional democracy.

2. Minister Kiviniem i init iated two rounds of writ ten consultat ions with the CoE member states and a number of discussion meet ings in 2008.

3. CEMR has also submit ted its posit ion on the report , the main points being as follows:

o Future work of the Council of Europe should have, as one of its main priorit ies, set t ing standards and exchanging good pract ices in local and regional government in mat ters such as consu ltat ion, finances, ethics etc. The Council of Europe is the most appropriate forum to discuss wider aspects of local and regional democracy and governance. To reach its full potent ial, the different bodies within the Council, notably the Congress and the CDLR, could work closer together.

o I n CEMR’s view a crucial issue is how both to protect local and regional self-government and achieve improvement of local services and governance at the same t ime. Neither of those is possible without the act ive collaborat ion between local and regional government and nat ional authorit ies. The different levels should conceive each other more as partners and less as opponents.

o To maintain its importance, the Council of Europe should address issues of interest to all member st ates, including the “older democracies” . Whereas the work of the Council clearly is relevant to all member states, it has also to be conceived as valuable by all member states and all levels of government .

o The priorit ies of the Council of Europe as a whole are, however, not always clear. A bet ter coordinat ion of the different CoE secretariats would help organisat ions such as ours to cooperate more effect ively with the Council. A common integrated work programme ident ifying object ives and act ions for the year(s) to come, published on the website and dist r ibuted widely, would contribute both to a bet ter cooperat ion internally in the CoE and to its visibility outside the inst itut ion.

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4. The report has been finalised in April 2009 (see Annex 7.1) . I t focuses m ost ly on the working methods of the Council of Europe, not so much on the work content , emphasizing four pillars of evolut ion for the work of the organisat ion, including suggest ions for improvement or innovat ion:

o 1 . St r on ger ow n er sh ip by m em ber st at es. The rep ort suggests shift ing parts of the working methods towards the member states, enhancing their role and part icipat ion and thus increasing ownership of the work and its results. Notably it suggest s that also nat ional associat ions of local and/ or regional authorit ies be included in the preparat ion and implementat ion of the act ivit ies of the Council of Europe.

o 2 . I m p r ov ed co-oper at ion w i t h in t er n at ion al p lay er s. I t is suggested that the communicat ion with important internat ional organizat ions, such as the EU, OECD, OSCE, UNO and UNDP be improved towards enhanced complementarity, coordinat ion and improved informat ion exchange within the fields related to local and regional democracy.

o 3 . I n cr eased or gan izat ion al f lex ib i l i t y an d ef f icien cy . I n view of the zero-growth budget policy of the Council of Europe, the available resources should be used m ore efficient ly and effect ively, with focus on areas where most added -value can be found. Also a closer cooperat ion of all CoE bodies with the Congress is suggested , especially an improved dialogue between the Congress and the Ministerial Conference on the agenda-set t ing.

o 4 . Open in g u p an d com m u n icat ion . The work of the Council of Europe should be bet ter communicated towards ext ernal partners and stakeholders in order to increase awareness and impact of the act ivit ies. All object ives should be supported by a horizontal and comprehensive communicat ion st rategy towards member states and the civic society.

5. The Kiviniem i report will be submit ted to the 16 th session of the Ministerial Conference to be held in Ut recht , 16–17 November 2009.

6. The European Commit tee on Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR) noted this state of play at its last meet ing in April 2009 and agreed that proposals for follow-up to the report would be included in the draft for the Utrecht Declarat ion , which will be examined by the CDLR at its September meet ing.

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Eu r o p ean Lo ca l Dem o cr acy W eek


o Take note of the informat ion provided and discuss a possible contribut ion of CEMR and its members to the 2009 European Local Democracy Week

I n t r odu ct ion 1. The “European Local Democracy Week” (ELDW) is an annual

European event where nat ional and local events are organised concurrent ly by part icipat ing local authorit ies in all Council of Europe (CoE) member States in order to foster the knowledge of local democracy and promote the idea of democrat ic part icipat ion at a local level.

2. The two CoE bodies in charge of local and regional democracy issues i.e. the Congress of Local and Regional Authorit ies (Congress) and the European Commit tee on Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR), part of the Directorate General for Democracy and Polit ical Affairs, have init iated this project and joint ly support its implementat ion.

3. The week around 15 October has been chosen for hol ding this event as a t r ibute to the European Charter of Local Self-Government , opened for signature on that date in 1985. Local authorit ies unable, for a variety of reasons, to organise the ELDW in this week are free to choose a more suitable week.

4. The ELDW has several aims. I ts purpose is to raise European cit izens’ awareness of how local authorit ies operate, to inform them of the opportunit ies available for taking part in decision -making at local level and, as a result , draw their at tent ion to how crucial their part icipat ion in local affairs is for maintaining the vitality of local democracy. The init iat ive should also serve as an occasion for raising local councillors’ and local civil servants’ awareness of democrat ic part icipat ion at local level and enab le them to meet cit izens in an informal and entertaining set t ing. Furthermore, the “Week” should also create the opportunity to st ress that local democracy is one of the common components for construct ing a democrat ic Europe and to inform the public and elected representat ives about Council of Europe’s role in this field.

5. The ELDW is intended for first -level local authorit ies ( local communit ies, cit ies, municipalit ies) responsible for its organisat ion, as well as for cit izens - the principal beneficiaries of the ELDW’s act ivit ies.

6. At a preparatory meet ing for the 2009 ELDW on 15 April it was agreed to engage in part icular young people, the future actors in democrat ic processes. The global crisis was selected as a t ransversal theme for this years’ ELDW.

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Co u n ci l o f Eu r o p e Con f er en ce o f Min ist er s 1 6 – 1 7 Nov em b er 2 0 0 9, Ut r ech t

Decision


o Take note of the upcoming conference o Discuss possible input to be provided for the conference including the final

declarat ion and the Utrecht Agenda 2010–2014 I n t r odu ct ion 1. The Council of Europe organises as its t radit ional working method Conferences of

Specialised Ministers with the aim to define and pursue the goals of the Council of Europe’s intergovernmental act ivit ies in their part icular fields of competence. The 16 th Session of the Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Local and Regional Government will be held in Utrecht , Netherlands on 16–17 November 2009. CEMR has the status of observer at this conference.

2. The main overall theme of this conference will be “Good governance at local and regional level in turbulent t imes: the challenge of change” . The conference will focus on the review of the implementat ion of the Budapest Agenda 2005–2009 and discuss a future Utrecht Agenda 2010–2014.

Agen da 3. Kiv in iem i r epor t . The Conference is expected to want to adopt views on the Report

as well as messages to the various inst itut ional actors concerned. These will all be included in the Utrecht Declarat ion, the draft ing process of which will commence on the basis of the out line the CDLR adopted on its meet ing in April 2009.

4. Bu dapest Agen da 2 0 0 5– 2 0 0 9 . Adopted at the 14 th Session of the Ministerial Conference in Budapest in February 2005, the “Agenda for Delivering Good Local Governance” ident ified the main challenges and act ions to address these challenges in the following areas (see Annex 9.1):

o Democrat ic cit izenship and part icipat ion at local and regional level

o Legal framework and inst itut ional st ructure of local and regional government

o Local and regional finance

o Leadership and management capacity of local and regional authorit ies

o Public ethics at local and regional level

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o Development of t ransfront ier and interterr itorial co-operat ion of territorial communit ies or authorit ies

I t is expected that the implem entat ion of the Budapest Agenda will be reviewed by a Minister- rapporteur

5. Eu r opean Local Dem ocr acy W eek . The Ministers will review the progress and results of the ELDW init iat ive as int roduced by a Minister- rapporteur.

6. Debat e on k ey t op ics.

o The impact of the economic crisis in local and regional government : What policy responses by governments?

o Transfront ier co-operat ion: The role of central government in removing obstacles

7. Ut r ech t Agen da 2 0 1 0 –2 0 1 4 . Under this item all m inisters will have the opportunity to speak to what they consider to be the most important issues of local and regional democracy for governments today. A range of possible topics (“m enu” ) will be prepared by the CDLR in advance and the m inisters will express their choices and the reasons for them. The debate will be followed by a vote, where it is envisaged that the Ministers will divide 100 points among the priorit ies on the “menu” to ident ify priorit ies for the Utrecht Agenda.

8. Ex ch an ge o f p r act ice an d ex per ien ce. I ssues of local and regional democracy and good governance, including the report on developments on cit izen part icipat ion in member states, covering also the integrat ion of foreigners in local life.

9. Sign at u r e o f n ew legal in st r u m en t s. I f adopted by the Commit tee of Ministers in the course of 2009, two new legal inst ruments of the Council of Europe will be open for signature:

o Addit ional protocol to the European Charter of Local-Self -Government on the right to part icipate in the affairs of a local authority

o Third protocol to the Madrid Out line Convent ion (European Out line Convent ion on Transfront ier Co-operat ion between Territorial Communit ies or Authorit ies)

10. Refer en ce Fr am ew or k fo r Reg ion al Dem ocr acy . I t is envisaged that a non-legally binding Council of Europe Reference Framework for Regional Democracy, which also has the approval of the Congress, will be adopted by the Ministers.

11. Ut r ech t Declar at ion . A final declarat ion covering all the topics of the Session will be the last substant ial item on the agenda. A draft out line of the Utrecht Declarat ion has been approved by the CDLR at its meet ing in April (see Annex 9.2) .

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W h i t e Pap er on Mu l t i l ev e l Go v er n an ce


o Discuss possible CEMR contribut ion to the White Paper on Mult ilevel Governance and its follow -up process

I n t r odu ct ion 1. Following the adopt ion in 2001 of the Commission's White Paper on European

Governance, and in the spirit and tenor of the Lisbon Treaty, t he Commit tee of the Regions (CoR) put into its priorit ies to adopt in the course of 2009 an own init iat ive White Paper on European Governance, which should put forward recommendat ions on the values, principles and mechanisms of mult ilevel governance.

2. I n October 2008, the CoR had started a debate on mult ilevel governance with the academic sphere, followed in December by the first general polit ical exchange of views on the issue in the CoR CONST Commission (Const itut ional Affairs, European Governance and the Area of Freedom, Security and Just ice) .

3. The draft own- init iat ive opinion on the White Paper on Mult ilevel Governance (see Annex 10.1)1 was prepared by rapporteurs Luc Van den Brande (BE/ EPP) and Michel Delebarre (FR/ PES) and discussed in the CoR CONST Commission on 6 May 2009, with the perspect ive to be adopted by the CoR plenary session on 17–18 June 2009.

Ou t l in e 4. The paper forms a part of the CoR's proact ive polit ical approach along three main

lines, which are themselves further divided into policy priorit ies:

o Bu i ld in g Eu r ope in par t n er sh ip . Especially, this is expressed as genuine partnership between all levels of authorit ies, beyond part icipat ion and consultat ion , in the process of drawing up and implement ing EU policies.

o En cou r ag in g par t ic ipat ion in t h e Eu r opean p r ocess. The challenge addressed is the European cit izenship and governance based on part icipat ion, in interplay between representat ive democracy and part icipat ive democracy, highlight ing the democrat ic legit imacy of local and regional authorit ies and hence their role in the mult ilevel system of European governance. This is to be supported by policy priorit ies and concrete act ions in the fields of:

o St rengthening inst itut ional representat ion

1 Different language versions are available at the web page ht tp: / / www.toad.cor.europa.eu/ AgendaDocum ents.aspx?pm i= TrfUxz9PNXg% 3d

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o Organising polit ical cooperat ion

o St imulat ing part icipatory democracy

o Rein fo r cin g t h e ef f icien cy o f Com m u n i t y act ion . Mult ilevel governance is presented as a tool to support Community goals and to reinforce Community policies towards cohesion and effect iveness. Act ions are proposed for the development of new and enhanced mechanisms and instruments to achieve the st rategic goals in the European Union by means of:

o Designing and implement ing common policies in partnership

o Coordinat ing the European process

o Developing integrated policies

o Opt im ising the reinforced culture of consultat ion

o Bet ter lawmaking

o Evaluat ing the territorial impact of Community intervent ion

o Developing the potent ial of terr itorial cooperat ion

o Encouraging innovat ive and partnership-based methods of governance

5. The paper contains a number of major proposals to put the multilevel governance into pract ice, in which the Commit tee of the Regions either undertakes to commit itself to concrete act ions, puts forward recommendat ions towards the Commission and the Council, or calls on the Member States to take concrete steps towards the implementat ion of mult ilevel governance.

Fo l low -u p 6. The draft White Paper on Mult ilevel Governance, as amended by CoR's CONST

Commission , will be submit ted for discussion and adopt ion at the CoR plenary session in June 2009.

7. Afterwards it will be subject to consultat ion with the Community inst itut ions as well as a general consultat ion with the stakeholders, to be concluded by November 2009. The results of the consultat ions will be evaluated at this year's last CoR plenary session in December 2009.

8. I t is planned that an act ion plan will be prepared based on the results of the consultat ion with the inst itut ions and stakeholders.

9. I t was also suggested, that the CoR will publish a report on the state of mult ilevel governance in the EU every 3 years afterwards.

10. The views of the Commit tee are invited in relat ion to the current draft White Paper, including whether to put forward any amendments. Members are asked to consider in part icular whether in its present form the White Paper expresses sufficient ly clearly the principle of partnership between the CoR and the European and nat ional associat ions of local and regional government .

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GOLD 2 Rep o r t o n Lo ca l Fin an ce


o Note the process of draft ing the second Global Report on Decentralisat ion and Local Democracy in the World (GOLD 2)

I n t r odu ct ion 1. The Global Observatory on Local Democracy and Decentralisat ion (GOLD) was

launched by the world organisat ion United Cit ies and Local Governments (UCLG) in 2006 as part of its object ive to become a main source of informat ion on local self-government , local authorit ies, governance, local democracy and the exchange of know-how.

2. GOLD provides informat ion on the state of decentralisat ion and its evolut ion, self-government and local governance across the world and undertakes to publish a ser ies of in-depth periodic Global Reports on Decentralisat ion and Local Democracy in the World.

3. The first report (GOLD 1) was published in October 2007 and analyzes local authorit ies in each cont inent under three main themes: the evolut ion of territorial st ructures; responsibilit ies and powers, management and finances; and local democracy. An addit ional chapter is dedicated to the governance of large metropolises, where rapid growth presents major challenges, in part icular in the fast -developing coun tries of the South. This report also offers a comparat ive overview of the different realit ies concerning the state of decentralizat ion, and how the basic indispensable mechanisms for local democracy do, or do not exist in som e count r ies.1

Th e GOLD 2 Report 4. The second Global Report on Decentralizat ion (GOLD 2) will focus on the issue of

local finance and will be edited by a group of ten internat ionally- renowned experts, who form an Editorial Commit tee.

5. I n each world region, a regional coordinator for GOLD 2 was nominated, who will be charged with const itut ing and coordinat ing a network of regional experts on local finance (FiNet) in order to collect informat ion on local finance in each country and to part icipate in the follow -up to GOLD 2 and in the efforts to lobby regional financial

1 The GOLD 1 report is available in the elect ronic form at ht tp: / / www.cit ies- localgovernm ents.org/ gold/ gold_report .asp

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inst itut ions. For Europe, the regional coordinator is Mr Uwe Lorenzen, Director of I nternat ional Relat ions, Local Government Denmark.

6. I n support of this process, in February 2009 the Secretary General of CEMR sent out a circular let ter to the member associat ions invit ing them to appoint a financial expert who will be responsible for the collect ing of informat ion on local finance in his/ her respect ive country and forward his contact details to the regional coordinator. The collect ion informat ion on local finance should be completed, if possible, by May 2009. However, only about half of our nat ional associat ions have, by early May, nominated their expert . Moreover, the quest ionnaire drawn up for the purpose of this report is quite a complex one. We hope to be able to report on progress to this meet ing of the Commit tee.

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Tr u st i n Gov er n m en t


o Give their views on the issue and the content of the seminar and d iscuss possible topics or ideas to be included in the programme.

I n t r odu ct ion 1. The CEMR Work Programme 2009 as agreed by the Policy Commit tee contains in its

Aim A2 a proposal to organise, within the act ivit ies on the exchange of informat ion on t rends in regional and local government and democracy across Europe, a seminar on the theme "t rust in government". The proposal came in the first instance from the Director General of the VNG.

2. The issues addressed at this seminar m ight include t rends in relat ions between the nat ional, regional and local governments and the cit izen, t rends in electoral part icipat ion, t rust in democracy and vot ing, etc., as well as steps taken to enhance t rust .

3. What is clear is that in many parts of Europe – though more severely in some count r ies – cit izens are nowadays either more scept ical or more apathet ic about their elected representat ives and democrat ic inst itut ions than in the past . At European level, we await the elect ions to the European Parliament for which the turnout may be again quite low. For CEMR members, it may be interest ing to learn about developments in different countries, including whether cit izens have greater, or less, t rust in their local and regional government than in their nat ional governments.

4. The suggested date of the seminar could be October 2009, possibly in connect ion with an autumn meet ing of the Commit tee on Democracy and Governance.

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I n f o r m at ion on Ev en t s

Decision


o Take note of the informat ion provided . o Discuss possible act ivit ies of CEMR in connect ion with the High-Level Meet ing on

Governance and the EU.

I n f o r m at ion u pdat e 1. Eu r opean Su m m it o f Reg ion s an d Ci t ies

Organised by the Commit tee of the Regions in partnership with the City of Prague, the European Summit of Regions and Cit ies was held in Prague, Czech Republic on 5–6 March 2009. The main topics were the 5 th anniversary of the biggest enlargement of the EU and the current financial and economic crisis. A Final Declarat ion has been adopted endorsed by the main European associat ions of local and regional governments ( see Annex 13.1) .

2. CEMR's XXI V Gen er al Assem b ly The General assembly was held on 22–24 April 2009 in Malm ö, Sweden. Over 1,000 representat ives of European local and regional authorit ies have adopted the Final Declarat ion and the resolut ion , which puts forward some core principles about the direct ion Europe should take. Amongst these are the need to reinforce the European Union in all its dimensions, and in part icular to confront the economic and social crisis; it also st resses the need to guard against the risk that individual governments look to protect their own cit izens no mat ter the cost to others (see Annex 13.2) .

3. Eu r opean Par l iam en t Elect ion s The elect ions for the European Parliament will be held throughout EU member states in early June 2009. CEMR has p repared a Manifesto aimed at local and regional governments as well as the European Parliament . I t consists of a list of key issues for local and regional authorit ies, ranging from public services to sustainable development to the economic cr isis and social inclusion, and urges polit ical part ies to address these issues (See Annex 13.3) .

4. High Level Meet in g on Gover n an ce an d t h e EU The High Level Meet ing (HLM) on Governance and the EU is a network of high officials from the administ rat ions in the EU Member States, aimed at giving them the opportunity to share experiences on the impact of EU's developments on local and regional governments; how to deal bet ter with that impact , part icularly in terms of future provisions on local and regional governance that each state may decide to

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adopt ; t he implicat ions of the measures adopted by EU's local and regional governments, guaranteeing that these are bet ter understood by Member States gathered at EU's forums. Former meet ings were held under the auspices of the act ing Council presidency in t he Hague in 2004, in London in 2005, in Turku in 2006 and in Guimarães in 2007. The 2009 meet ing is expected to be held on 8–9 October in Stockholm . At the past meet ings, several nat ional delegat ions included local and/ or regional government representat ives, notably from LGA, LGDK and VNG. The opinion is sought of the members of the Commit tee, whether CEMR should seek to be represented at this year's meet ing.

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doc 1€¦ · 1. the policy committee, at its meeting in paris in december 2008, approved the...

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