13th PLENARY SESSION

SUMMARIES OF THE REPORTS

I. REPORTS SUBMITTED TO THE PLENARY SITTINGS OF THE CONGRESS

1. Verification of credentials of new members and new appointment procedures CG (13) 2

Rapporteurs: Halvdan SKARD (Norway, L, SOC1) and

Every second year the Congress renews its national delegations and the Rapporteurs check them as well as the new appointment procedures according to the criteria of the Charter of the Congress. The Rapporteurs will submit proposals to the Congress to accept these delegations and procedures or to improve them if necessary.

2. Implementation of Congress Priorities CG (13) 3

Activity report of the outgoing President of the Congress Giovanni DI STASI (Italy, R, SOC)

3. The Adriatic Euroregion CG (13) 5 ? Recommendation, Resolution, PART2

The idea for the creation of an Adriatic Euroregion came from the analysis of the difficult environmental situation of semi-closed seas in Europe, the Adriatic Sea being one of them. There are very sensitive issues of social, cultural and stability natures, which are also at stake in the area. These challenges have been considered to be of major importance at a European level, the Adriatic being a door between the European Union and neighbouring countries: - a door to be opened and eventually removed.

For implementing the initiative several steps have been taken:

- The Conference held in Pula in June 2004, where the general need for promoting co-operation activities was pronounced;

- The Seminar held in Dubrovnik on 6 September 2004, where a spectrum of fields in which co-operation activities would take place was established - Fishery, Environment, Agriculture, Tourism/Culture, Infrastructures/Transport (without excluding a priori the possibility for other areas to be included in the near future);

- The Conference held in Termoli from 8-9 November 2004, where representatives of the Adriatic regions signed the “Protocol on the establishment of the Adriatic/Ionian Euroregion” and discussed a proposal for a Statute of the new institution;

- The Conference held in Pula on 22 April 2005 and the Seminar held in Brussels in November 2005 which aimed to obtain the support of the European Union to the initiative.

On the basis of this broad consultation, the Congress brought the initiative to a turning point in Venice on 6 February 2006, through the signature of a joint political declaration including the draft Statute of the Euroregion in its appendix.

With the draft Recommendation prepared, the Congress asks the Committee of Ministers to provide its political support for future activities of the Adriatic Euroregion and to forward the Recommendation to the member States concerned, asking them to support the initiative. The Congress also asks the Commission of the European Union to support the activities of the Adriatic Euroregion with a view to considering it as a preferred partner for implementing its cohesion policy in the Adriatic Sea countries.

As far as the Resolution is concerned the Congress recommends to local and regional Authorities of the Adriatic area to apply for becoming full members the Euroregion, thus integrating their experience in co-operation projects and taking partnership opportunities for implementing them and to gather support from national and international institutions for strengthening interregional, socio-economic and cultural cohesion.

4. Governance of metropolitan areas CG (13) 6, Recommendation, Resolution, PART2


The report observes that all over Europe, metropolitan areas are increasingly becoming the centres of economic, political and cultural life and for that reason are gaining growing importance as locomotives for an economically successful development of Europe. It turns out that at the same time metropolitan areas are facing serious structural transformations.

The report suggests that a key factor for the success of a metropolitan area which could help to overcome difficulties and accompany structural changes is a policy of Good Metropolitan Governance.

The rapporteurs remain convinced that the establishment of Good Metropolitan Governance contributes to a sustainable, more efficient and democratic development in metropolitan areas.

Recommendations which accompany the report suggests that in carrying our reforms concerning metropolitan areas member States should take into account a certain number of elements of political and legal nature.

5. Local and regional waste management and the siting of landfills, CG (13) 7, Recommendation, Resolution, PART2

At the initiative of Mr Joseph Borg and Mr Valerio Prignachi the Congress prepared this report on the consequences that waste management has for Europe’s future socio-economic development:

Local and regional authorities in most European countries are faced with growing waste management responsibilities: a doubling of waste production by 2025 is foreseen and local and regional authorities are confronted with particular problems, in particular with regard to landfilling and the management of municipal waste. For these reasons, in the texts submitted for adoption a series of measures are proposed for tackling the waste management challenge such as:

to launch public awareness campaigns on the importance of waste reduction, waste recycling and selective waste collection; to step up measures to raise awareness and develop more responsible conduct among goods manufacturers; to strengthen the measures to protect the public in connection with the siting of new landfills and impose penalties on the poor management or maintenance of existing sites; to back up sanctions for undesirable waste management practices with measures to encourage or reward desirable practices - such as waste prevention, minimisation and recovery.

The report stresses that local and regional authorities - often responsible for landfill sitings- should obtain from national governments appropriate technical and financial support so that the impact of developing new landfills is thoroughly analysed.

6. Water management: European contribution to the 4th World Water Forum CG (13) 8 Recommendation, Resolution, PART2

Water management is an essential aspect of our planet’s sustainable development and, in view of the current world water crisis, it calls for the active involvement of all citizens and all levels of governance. Integrated management and an all-inclusive, cross-sectoral approach will be needed to promote the sustainable use and conservation of water resources.

Bearing this in mind, the Congress contributed actively to the preparation of the 4th World Water Forum (Mexico City, 16-22 March 2006) by holding an international conference on “Water management: a shared responsibility”, pointing out that there is an urgent need to foster a new approach to water, based on shared responsibilities and new individual and collective attitudes in our relationship with water.

The 4th World Water Forum was a major step towards recognition by the international community of the role of local and regional government in water management. Accordingly, in its Recommendation, the Congress calls on the member states of the Council of Europe to contribute to international efforts to promote better water use, develop an integrated, participatory water resource management policy and enable local and regional authorities to play their appointed role in water governance.

7. Chernobyl, 20 years on: Local and Regional Authorities dealing with disasters CG (13) 9, Recommendation, Resolution, PART2

On 26 April 1986, Chernobyl became the setting for the worst civil nuclear disaster of all time. The areas of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia affected by the disaster are still suffering the consequences today, including social and economic ruin.

The Congress decided to mark the anniversary of this disaster and continue the work that it has been doing in the area of major hazards for some years now by holding an international conference on local authorities’ means of dealing with disasters, in Slavutych (Ukraine).

On 3 March 2006, the conference participants adopted the Slavutych Appeal, in which they set out the five basic principles on which public authorities should now base their nuclear safety decisions, namely the central role of governments in overall management of nuclear safety on a world scale, the essential role of local and regional authorities, neighbourhood solidarity, transparency and ongoing access to information and, lastly, involvement and consultation of local communities.

The Congress is convinced that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe will adopt and support these five basic principles to promote increased nuclear safety.

8. Local and regional elections in Ukraine CG (13) 10 Recommendation Resolution PART2

Rapporteur: David LLOYD-WILLIAMS (United Kingdom, R, ILDG)

On 26 March 2006, Ukraine held parliamentary, local and regional elections for the third time since its independence. The Congress was the only institution asked specifically to observe the local and regional elections, and it sent teams to eight regions.

The Congress considers that the local and regional elections held on Sunday, 26 March widely complied with international electoral standards and congratulates the Ukrainian authorities on the progress they have made since the last presidential elections and their efforts to conduct these elections with due regard for international principles and values.

It is regrettable, however, that the high priority given to the parliamentary elections during the campaign prevented the political parties from paying proper attention to the local and regional elections. Holding the local, regional and parliamentary elections simultaneously also caused operational problems such as delays in the appointment of electoral commissions in the districts and constituencies and overcrowded polling stations, mainly because of the length of ballot papers, the difficulty of distributing them to voters and the fact that the information on voters was recorded in two different registers. In addition, procedures were long and complicated, particularly where it came to counting the votes; for example, the ballot papers for all the elections were placed simultaneously in the same ballot box by the voters, meaning that, before the votes could be counted, the members of the electoral commissions had to separate the ballot papers for the different elections. Electoral legislation rules out the possibility of providing different ballot boxes for the different ballot papers distributed at polling booths.

The Congress’s observers highlighted other shortcomings such as the confusion caused by the variety of electoral laws, the absence of any provision in the legislation on local and regional elections for impartial national observers to be present at the elections, the lack of appropriate training for all the members of the electoral commissions, problems of access to polling stations and repeated errors in the electoral registers.

Despite the progress made by Ukraine on strengthening local and regional democracy since it ratified the European Charter of Local Self-Government, the Congress regrets the amendment of the law on the status of municipal councillors, which gives them broad immunity from criminal and administrative proceedings and, in the Congress’s view, constitutes a clear threat to local democracy.

On the basis of these conclusions, the Congress invites the Ukrainian authorities to rectify the various problems highlighted in order to ensure that in the future, local and regional elections in Ukraine are conducted in full compliance with international electoral standards.

9. South-East Europe: 6th Forum of towns and regions CG (13)11, Recommendation, , Resolution

PART2

Rapporteur: Rapporteur: Ludmila SFIRLOAGA (Romania, R, SOC)

Ludmila Sfirloaga’s report presents the main conclusions of the 6th Forum, based on the Final Declaration of 9 December 2005. The Congress’s recommendations are aimed at south-east European governments, which are urged to adopt work programmes to apply the main principles of local democracy, to be drawn up in close co-operation with national associations of local authorities. The Congress also endorses the setting up of the Adriatic Euroregion, the Black Sea Euroregion project and the plans for a centre for inter-regional and cross-border co-operation in St Petersburg, and calls on the Committee of Ministers to provide financial backing, through voluntary contributions, to the various activity programmes launched by the Congress in South-East Europe (the Local Democracy Agencies (LDA) and the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe (NALAS)).

10. Effective access to social rights for migrants: the role of Local and Regional

Authorities CG (13) 12, Recommendation, Resolution

PART2

The main objective of the Committee’s work on migrants and social rights has been to define the role of local and regional authorities in the development of the effective access of migrants to basic social rights, such as housing, education, employment, social security and opportunities to develop their cultural rights, with particular reference to the importance of gender.

11. Creation of a Centre of the Council of Europe for interregional and transfrontier co-operaton CG (13) 13
Rapporteur: Giovanni DI STASI (Italy, R, SOC)
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12. Combatting trafficking in human beings: campaign of the Council of Europe and signature of a declaration CG (13) 14
Rapporteur: Sandra BARNES (United Kingdom, L, EPP/CD)

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II. REPORTS SUBMITTED TO THE CHAMBER OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES

1. Statement by the outgoing President CPL (13) 1

Rapporteur : Halvdan SKARD (Norway, L, SOC)

2. Heritage and modernity CPL (13) 2, Recommendation, Resolution, PART2

Rapporteur : Hilda ZACH (Austria, L, EPP/CD) and

Sue DAVIS (United Kingdom, L, SOC)

In Europe, it is hard to find a town or city without a historic heritage to manage or without an urban history whose future also needs to be considered and planned.

In this context, those discussing the future of European towns and cities need to look both at their potential and at the relationship between their history, which has created their identity, and the future to which they aspire.

Our goal today should be to establish a coherent and lasting link between historic nucleated towns and the new forms of urban regions that have emerged in recent years, creating a new urban fabric making it possible to reconcile heritage development and the development of modern urban infrastructure.

Through the findings presented in the report, it can be seen that people’s ideas about towns and cities have radically altered. Perceptions change along with economic and social change.

It is the duty of local and regional elected representatives to adapt to, and even to try to anticipate, these changes. New forms of dialogue between city dwellers, professionals, architects, town planners and elected representatives make it possible to work together to devise and build a new urban setting in which the preservation of historic places is not at odds with the development of modern amenities.

Towns must remain – or become once again – places that are accessible to all citizens and in which all citizens can live. We do not want museum towns that cater for tourists but are impossible for anyone to live in. Rents and purchase prices for housing in renovated neighbourhoods must remain affordable so that community life is preserved outside the tourist season.

It is for this reason that we propose, at the end of this study, that a new definition of cities and their current economic and social circumstances should be framed and that a policy specifically geared to transparency and active dialogue between elected representatives and inhabitants should be adopted.

There must be forums for regular contact and dialogue with a view to transforming historic towns and adapting them to ongoing changes. The process must be permanently monitored by the inhabitants, town planning professionals, elected representatives and the relevant authorities.

3. Local democracy in Liechtenstein CPL (13) 3, Recommendation, Resolution, PART2

The report tries to give an overview of the main institutional structures put into place by the Principality of Liechtenstein, with a clear reference to the constitutional basis which creates two regions with eleven municipalities.

The report evaluates the compliance with the European Charter of Local Self-Government with respect to its implementation by the Liechtenstein authorities. Liechtenstein ratified the European Charter of Self-Government on 1 September 1988.

Local democracy in Liechtenstein is thriving and has a strong legitimacy, but it is characterized by municipalities small in size and their proximity to the state level. The state itself is of a size comparable to that of a local authority in much of Europe, hence, it is small enough to deal appropriately with many local affairs.

In Liechtenstein’s legal system, lawfully ratified international treaties are directly enforceable in domestic courts not requiring the law to transpose international treaties into domestic law. Such treaties can be directly relied on as their nature can be considered self-executive.

The situation of Liechtenstein’s municipalities is, in many respects, remarkable and even enviable. The spirit, as well as the letter of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, is fully complied with.

The Charter calls on signatory states to be attentive to developments in local self-government and to ensure that it remains alive despite the trends towards uniform life-styles and an upward movement of decision-making powers.

To this end, it is a constant need to seek to offset the losses in municipal action in sectors exposed to globalization by transferring new powers to municipalities. Consequently, the law on clarifying the distribution of responsibilities between the state and the municipalities could be usefully supplemented by a possible further devolution of powers to municipalities, so that local self-government can de maintained and renewed.

4. Promotion of urban security CPL (13) 5, Recommendation, Resolution, PART2

Rapporteurs: Jean-Marie BOCKEL (France, SOC)

In this report the Committee concludes that it is essential to heighten synergies between different actors in the field, using already existing networks, but making them more efficient and their output more visible. The recommendation proposes a resource centre – with a handful of people acting as an information nexus for existing partners and networks – which will improve the collection of qualitative and quantitative crime data, increase knowledge of existing crime prevention strategies and build on the initial and in-service training of the various parties involved in preventive policies.

III. REPORTS SUBMITTED TO THE CHAMBER OF REGIONS

1. Statement by the outgoing President [CPR (13) 1]

Rapporteur : Yavuz MILDON (Turkey, R, EPP/CD)

2. Promoting an entrepreneurial spirit among young people in Europe’s regions CPR (13) 2, Recommendation, Resolution, PART2

Rapporteur: Mehboob KHAN (United Kingdom, SOC)

The promotion of entrepreneurship among young people can be seen as a long-term strategy for innovation and job and wealth creation. This report describes the lack of entrepreneurship promotion amongst the young. Its objective is to discover, through innovative business and education initiatives, how to promote an enterprise culture among young people in the regions. The different options explored include cultivating a culture of enterprise in compulsory education, promoting personal ambition and developing business competence as well as encouraging regions to work in partnership with businesses to promote opportunities for young people.

3. Interregional Co-operaton in the Black Sea Basin CPR (13) 3, Recommendation, Resolution, PART2

The initiative of setting up a Black Sea Euroregion has been launched by the Congress with the strong support of the Romanian governmental authorities. The idea follows the steps taken for the creation of the Adriatic Euroregion.

The final declaration of the Conference held in Constanta (Romania) on 30 March 2006 showed that there are several sensitive issues of socio-economic, cultural and environmental nature at stake in this area. The Black Sea has, in fact, historical ties with Central and Western Europe - through the Danube and the Mediterranean Basin - and has experienced several changes during recent years.

Considering the importance of the Black Sea for all of Europe, reinforcement of the co-operation at regional level in the area could be highly desirable. The creation of a Euroregion could reinforce local and regional democracy and be considered of great benefit for the populations concerned and be a step forward towards a future efficient self-government authorities co-operation on common objectives.

The report shows the need of creating a structure able to bring together regional authorities, and interested parties (with the participation of national and international entities if they wish so) of the Black Sea Basin.

The draft recommendation, on the basis of the final declaration adopted in Constanta, asks the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to provide its support for the establishment of the Black Sea Euroregion; while at the same time asks the member states to make their own contribution, by facilitating the regionalisation processes in their respective countries so as to enable the future Euroregion to play its role to the fullest.

4. Prospects for regionalisaton in Europe CPR (13) 4

Rapporteur : Jean-Claude VAN CAUWENBERGHE (Belgium, R, SOC)

Following the statement on regional self-government adopted at the 14th Conference of European Ministers responsible for Local and Regional Government (Budapest, 24 and 25 February 2005), the Congress instructed the Institutional Committee of its Chamber of Regions to prepare, with a contribution from the Group of Independent Experts on the European Charter of Local Self-Government, a report on the current state and prospects of regionalisation in Council of Europe member states.

The aim of this politically-orientated report is to stimulate discussion on the main lines of European regionalism, provide useful material for the preparation of the Congress’s contribution to the ministerial conference in Valencia in autumn 2007 and identify factors justifying the need for a Council of Europe convention on regional self-government.

It will be an information report, the final version of which will be presented with the accompanying recommendations at the 14th plenary session of the Congress in 2007.

1 SOC : Socialist group of the Congress