102th meeting of the Bureau of the Committee of the Regions
7 September 2007, Vilamoura, Portugal
Speech by Keith Whitmore, President of the Institutional Committee of the Congress
Agenda item 7: Declaration of support for the introduction of a Charter of Regional Democracy
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues,
It’s a great honour for me to be addressing you today on behalf of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, even more so because one of the issues to be discussed at this meeting –the question of regionalisation- is of high importance to us at the Congress.
Regionalisation and the creation of a European judicial instrument to promote regional democracy is a subject at the very heart of the work of the Congress. The Congress has been elaborating such a legal instrument for over a decade and its work gained a new momentum over the last 15 months. The first result of this new initiative is the Resolution on the “Principles governing regional democracy” with the annexed draft European Charter of Regional Democracy that you have in front of you.
This Resolution and the draft Charter are aimed at re-launching a Europe-wide debate on the necessity of a European Convention dealing with regional structures. We are convinced that today, in particular against the background of the European integration and globalisation processes, more and more expectations and hopes are pinned on the regional, infra-state level, the connecting level between central government and the municipalities, which are the democratic basis of every society.
There is a significant new dynamism in this area, which becomes clear when we look at the numerous activities of the Committee of the Regions and the Congress as well as the manifold initiatives of associations such as ARE, CPMR (Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions), CEMR and others. Today, in almost all Council of Europe member states are either planning, carrying out or completing reforms on the regional level.
The growing importance of the regional level has already been recognised at the “European scene”. I only recall that during the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the European Union, organised in Rome by the Committee of the Regions, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, José-Manuel Baroso as well as Commissioner Danuta Huber have each, in their way, underlined the “return to the stage of local and regional authorities”.
What conclusions can we draw from these growing regional dynamics?
There is a strong continuing need for creating as soon as possible a European judicial instrument to promote regional democracy. This is why we consider a “European Charter of Regional Democracy” –following the example of the European Charter of Local Self-Government- to be an essential asset for the protection of democracy at all levels and for a better implementation of the principle of subsidiarity.
The Congress therefore welcomes very much your declaration of support for the introduction of a Charter of Regional Democracy.
We must –despite of all previous criticism and resistance- continue our efforts and renew the dialogue with the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the basis of a revised draft European Charter of Regional Democracy. But first and foremost, before convincing national governments, we must of course get the regions themselves on board, taking into account their different needs and particularities. This is why we are here today.
Let me say a few words about this new draft that you have in front of you:
As you are well aware, the idea of creating a legal instrument on regional democracy not new in itself. However, when the Congress decided at its plenary session in 2006 to re-launch the discussion on this subject, it was clear from the outset that a new draft Charter would have to take into account the resistance that made the earlier Congress draft of 1997 fail. This is why we decided to take a completely new approach, trying to respect the different concerns and fears of certain states with regard to such a Charter.
As a result, we have drafted the present Charter as a starting point for a new debate and as a proposal for the largest possible consensus. The draft is ambitious in its aim to efficiently protect the principles of regional democracy, but at the same time leaves flexibility for each signatory party to choose the degree of commitment according to the particularities of regionalisation in their countries. For some of us involved in the drafting process, this meant to step back from our personal wish to create the “ideal regional costume” and rather allow for a “tailor-made costume”.
But this was necessary, to avoid another failure on our way to a legal framework for more regional democracy.
I welcome your support to the draft Charter and look forward to our future co-operation on this important project. It is important, that we in the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and you in the Committee of the Regions commit ourselves to the re-launch of a new debate on a European legal instrument in the field of regionalisation on the basis of the present draft.
A new dialogue will allow us to explain and to discuss the draft with all actors concerned at regional as well as at national level. It should then result in a final text, improved as necessary, which will have the support of the “big regional family”. This accomplished text could then be adopted at the plenary session of the Congress in 2008 and presented to the Ministers responsible for local and regional Government at their next Interministerial Conference in 2009.
At this year’s Conference on 15-16 October in Valencia, the issue of a legal instrument on regionalisation will be discussed during a joint colloquy between the Ministers, the Congress and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the latter having followed and supported the preparation of the draft Charter from the very beginning.
After the Ministerial Conference in Valencia, the Congress will hold a round table at its Autumn Session on 20-21 November with representatives of European regional associations, to discuss the draft Charter and possibly develop it further. We hope and would very much appreciate if the Committee of the Regions would take an active part in this debate and express its continued support.
Let me conclude by saying that we are convinced that in a greater Europe based on Human Rights, the Rule of Law and Democracy, a multi-level governance which is closest to the aspirations of our citizens constitutes an indispensable added value. An added value that allows for democratic stability, the implementation of the principle of subsidiarity, delivery of quality services according to the needs of our citizens and a better respect for cultural identities. I have no doubt that you are going to give all your support to this new initiative, which is a “European Charter of Regional Democracy”.
6 September 2007