International Conference “Empowering Citizens and Strengthening Local Governance in Neighbouring Countries: Lessons Learned and Opportunities from East to South”

Udine, Italy, 7-8 June 2012

Statement by President Keith Whitmore, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities Council of Europe

Mr Chairman,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all, I would to thank the organisers for inviting me to address this conference on behalf of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.

This conference comes at a time when both the Council of Europe and the European Union are developing their neighbourhood policies in the light of the sweeping changes in the Southern Mediterranean brought about by the Arab Spring, and the Congress has been actively involved in this process.

The theme chosen for this conference reflects the importance of seizing the opportunity for building democracy in our southern neighbourhood from the bottom up – the very way the Arab Spring began. Transformations under way in those countries provide a unique chance for democratic development in particular at the grassroots level. Today, the transition to democracy is leading into a complex period of building new, more democratic regimes, in which political, economic and administrative decentralisation of power to authorities closer to grassroots needs – municipalities and regions – might be the key to success.

This process must necessarily pass through engaging citizens and empowering them to participate in decision-making and the democratic construction as a whole, with a particular emphasis on the empowerment of women and involvement of young people. The civil society plays a crucial role in this regard, not least as a source of a new political class which is being formed in those countries, and its involvement in democracy-building is certainly a sign of greater democratic maturity of society. The non-governmental sector is already playing its part in some countries – for example, “special delegations” which were constituted in Tunisia to replace temporarily local councils and ensure local governance before new elections were partly drawn from civil society lists.

In its turn, citizen involvement in democratic processes requires fostering active citizenship among the population, and here, too, civil society has a major responsibility of mobilising and educating citizens. This need echoes one of the Council of Europe priorities for our continent as well, which is to promote education for democratic citizenship and human rights education, starting from the grassroots.

In this regard, the Association of Local Democracy Agencies, with its vast experience of practical work at the grassroots level, can make an important contribution in developing civic education in local democracy, which would foster the emergence of a pluralist political class at local level, encourage those aware of the challenges for local democracy to stand in elections, and raise awareness of the future responsibilities of local elected representatives.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In the context of the current situation, the new neighbourhood policies of the Council of Europe and of the European Union represent practical tools for the transfer of know-how and democratic experience from our continent accross the Southern Mediterranean. The Council of Europe policy in relation to its southern neighbourhood envisages strengthening co-operation with those countries and providing assistance only upon their request. Action Plans have already been elaborated with regard to Morocco and Tunisia, and the Congress is closely associated with the implementation of their local and regional dimension

Congress delegation visited Morocco in February this year, and in March, I led a joint delegation to Tunisia. We had discussions with a wide range of authorities in those countries on their immediate needs in developing democratic self-government at local and regional level.

The Congress is proposing two types of intervention:

- an immediate assistance to help establish an adequate institutional framework for a real local and regional democracy to take root;

- in a second stage, to support initiatives on democratic governance and co-operation with newly elected local representatives based on the know-how and experience of the Congress members.

Our immediate assistance will be of institutional nature based on the relevant Council of Europe standards, mechanisms and instruments for enhancing local and regional democracy. In Morocco, the Congress will be engaging in dialogue on the new organic law on regionalisation. We are organising an exchange of views between a delegation of the Congress and members of the Specialised Committee of the Moroccan Parliament, to take place in Rabat.

For Tunisia, we will organise an exchange of views with the Committee of the National Constituent Assembly in charge of local and regional issues, and later, will share experience with the future Parliament in drafting legislation on regional and local self-government.

We are also offering expertise to accompany the electoral processes and most possibly will be observing local elections in both countries. Furthermore, we will be developing initiatives aimed at raising leadership capacities of newly elected representatives, building confidence and creating conditions for setting up or strengthening national associations of local authorities.

In addition, the Congress is considering offering a “special partnership status” for Moroccan and Tunisian local and regional elected representatives and their associations.

In general, the Congress believes that the main challenges for local and regional democracy in Tunisia and Morocco are as follows:

-                           the establishment of a legislative framework based on democratic principles, norms and standards;

-                           the ending of the practice of supervision of local and regional authorities and an increase in their powers and their financial autonomy, combined with the transfer of resources corresponding to those powers;

-                           the strengthening of national associations in order to give local authorities a strong representation vis-à-vis institutional interlocutors at national and international levels ;

-                           the adoption of the measures needed to bring about the participation of citizens, in particular women and young people, at local and regional level.

Accordingly, our proposals for long-term action are aimed at:

-                raising awareness of and promoting democratic standards and practices laid down in Council of Europe legal instruments, in particular the European Charter of Local Self-Government and the Council of Europe Reference Framework for Regional Democracy;

-                establishing practical co-operation with national authorities in the southern Mediterranean responsible for local and regional self-government;

-                establishing exchange programmes between European local and regional authorities and those of the southern Mediterranean, which will include training and capacity-building;

-                offering expertise and know-how on democratic governance, and organising their transfer to local and regional authorities of the southern Mediterranean through existing networks for decentralised co-operation.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Arab Spring has offered opportunities for democracy-building which are truly historic. In May last year, the statement of the Presidencies of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers in Istanbul spoke of the need to support people’s aspirations for freedom and social justice in the Southern Mediterranean, which were at the heart of the revolts. Today, as we are discussing the lessons learned one year on, we reaffirmed that both the EU and the Council of Europe neighbourhood policies must pursue this aim at all levels of governance, and with the full participation of all stakeholders – including civil society.

Thank you.