Summer University for Democracy - Schools of Political Studies, Strasbourg, 10-14 July 2006

Conference III “Directing action by the authorities: good governance”

Speech by Giovanni Di Stasi, Past-President of the Congress

Strasbourg, 12 July 2006

Mr Chairman,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear friends,

Goethe once asked himself: “Which is the best government?” And his answer was: “That which teaches us to govern ourselves”. It is in this spirit that the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, which I represent, has been actively promoting, from the very outset, the decentralisation of power from national level towards territorial communities, the transfer of competences to regional and local level, the level closest to the citizen where good governance can be best delivered.

This principle, known as the principle of subsidiarity, has been enshrined in the European Charter of Local Self-Government, this cornerstone legal text in the field of local democracy, and included in the Constitutional Treaty of the European Union. We in the Congress strongly believe that empowering territorial communities will not only lead to greater cohesion and better governance at inter-territorial level across our continent, but will also give the sense of belonging to our citizens, the sense of being involved in decision-making – ultimately, inspire their more active participation in democratic processes and the European integration as a whole.

In November 2005, at the Launching meeting of the Council of Europe Forum on the Future of Democracy, keynote speaker Timothy Garton Ash, Professor of Oxford University, pointed out that local self-government was key to involving people in their communities – be it citizens of the country or foreign residents – in democratic processes, through elections, running for public office, being represented, or voting on decisions for the delivery of public services. This, Mr Ash said, will help to defuse ethnic tensions and foster inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue at the community level.

For us in the Congress, representing local and regional authorities of more than 200,000 territorial communities of Europe, this simple truth was clear from the very beginning. In fact, it is the raison d’être of the Congress. One can deliver the best governance only when the action takes place at the level closest to the citizen, and it comes as no surprise that territorial democracy is on the rise on our continent today, and has been for quite some time. The Council of Europe Congress has always been pursuing the strategy of reinforcing local and regional self-government for the benefit of all European citizens and residents, and its action took on a particular importance after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Communist regimes in central and eastern Europe, after the unification of Europe and the increasing disappearance of national borders – the fact which provided a historic opportunity for strengthening territorial democracy, and for local and regional authorities to establish cross-border links and cooperation.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

What we are witnessing today is the power shift between the national and local level – both political and economic power. Territorial communities are relying increasingly on local economy, and economic competition – much as economic cooperation – has been devolving to inter-territorial level. We must seize this opportunity to increase cross-border cooperation, but also cooperation between regions which do not share a common border – in particular, using the experience of the European Union and its Committee of the Regions which has had a big success in reducing inter-regional imbalances. This experience should be extended beyond the borders of the European Union.

In this context, the Congress has undertaken a number of initiatives to reinforce local and regional democracy and cooperation. We have been pursuing our action to set up national associations of local authorities, and have created the Network of Associations of Local Authorities in South-East Europe, NALAS – the Network which brings together local authorities representing some 60 million people in the region. Our aim now is to establish a similar structure in South Caucasus.

The Congress has also been pursuing several projects on inter-regional cooperation, aimed at establishing Euro-regions of a new generation – Euro-regions bringing together national, regional and local authorities from both EU and non-EU member states. The first such Euro-region, the Adriatic Euro-region, was launched in February this year, and the work has begun to prepare the Black Sea Euro-region. Another important initiative is the proposed Centre on inter-regional and transborder cooperation, to be established in St Petersburg. Its main objective will be to promote greater political, economic and social cohesion among European regions.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In today’s globalising, knowledge-based society delivering good governance strongly depends on exchanges of innovative approaches, know-how and best practices between all levels of authorities – national, regional and local. The Congress action in this field has been aimed at implementing the Lisbon Strategy of the European Union and extending it beyond the Union’s borders. We are convinced that the initiatives and projects which I have just described will serve this purpose and will guide the authorities in the direction of improving the quality of public services and the quality of life of the citizens. However, any innovations must be aimed at pursuing the same unchanging strategy – advancing democracy and improving our societies for the benefit of 800 million Europeans. I am a firm believer that this process begins at grassroots level. It is in the Agora square in Athens where participatory democracy was born – the fact which proves that local democracy is the pillar of a democratic society, and if local democracy dies, there will be no democracy at all.

Thank you.