31st Session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe – 19 to 21 October 2016

Jean-Claude Frécon: " The European Charter of Local Self-government, a unique legal instrument for good local and regional governance "

Strasbourg, 19 October 2016 – The outgoing President of the Congress, Jean-Claude Frécon (France, SOC), presented a review of the activities and achievements of term of office from 2014 to 2016, when opening the 31st session in Strasbourg (France). Reiterating the Congress objective of 100% application of the Charter to 100% of European territory, he emphasised the central role of the European Charter for Local Self-Government as a flexible and effective tool serving democracy in our societies.  "We must continue to engage in dialogue with member states’ governments and urge them to honour the commitments they entered into when ratifying the Charter, which is a unique legal instrument for upholding and promoting local and regional democracy in Europe. The Charter is also a source of good practices for national authorities and an opportunity to improve local and regional management and governance", he said. During his Presidency, five post-monitoring roadmaps have been signed with national authorities committed to implementing the recommendations made by the Congress on decentralisation: "Reinforcing local and regional democracy means more responsibilities for towns and regions and more opportunities for their citizens to participate in decision-making processes.  It is through better local public service provision that a fairer, more inclusive development of our communities will be fostered". Mr Frécon has been a member of the Congress since 1996; having previously served as President of the Chamber of Local Authorities, Vice-President of the Congress and Vice-Chair of the Socialist Group, he was elected President of the Congress in 2014, succeeding Herwig van Staa (Austria, EPP).

Speech (in French)