11 January 2017

Gudrun Mosler-Törnström, President of the Congress At the 1274th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies

Dear Ambassadors,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Madam Chair, thank you for your kind words.

Indeed, I have the honour of being the first woman ever to be elected President of the Congress. Let me add that the Presidency of the Congress is not only constituted by me but also includes the Presidents of the Congress’ two Chambers. Since last October, the President of the Chamber of Regions is also a female politician, Gunn-Marit Helgesen, from Norway. At the renewal session in October 2016 we reached a figure of more than 42% women in the new composition of the Congress. Let me add that 11 of the 17 members of our new Bureau are women.

These achievements may well be the result of the policy the Congress has implemented for  many years now in order to increase the representation of women in politics, and in particular since 2008, when it introduced a quota ensuring at least 30% of the under-represented sex in the national delegations – among full members AND among the substitutes.

The same results should be achieved at national level. There is still a long way to go in many member States. But we know that the implementation of proactive policies produces results over the medium to long term. The Congress will continue to encourage gender equality policies at all levels in order to enable women to access all spheres of leadership in our towns and regions.

Ladies and gentlemen,

You met my predecessor Jean-Claude Frécon very often. As you know he passed away in December and I would like to pay tribute to him before you today. President Frécon was both a dedicated councillor, mayor and French Senator and a committed European and Congress President. He spent his long career and his successive mandates in promoting the European Charter of Local Self-government. Jean-Claude Frécon promoted our motto “100% Charter over 100% of our territory”. He was therefore especially proud when the last ratification of the Charter took place in 2013 and finally all 47 member States declared themselves bound by this milestone legal instrument of the Council of Europe.

He also worked to develop the political dialogue with member States and, as such, was an architect of the first signatures of the Congress’ road maps with national governments as follow-up to Congress monitoring reports.

The Congress owes him a lot and we will miss him.

Last November, the Congress Secretary General Andreas Kiefer, has provided you with the results of the October Session. The activity report he presented to you on this occasion contains a lot of examples of the statutory work of the Congress. I will therefore focus on the political dimension of our activities and the opportunities I see for the co-operation of national governments with local authorities and of this Committee with the Congress.

The monitoring of the European Charter of Local Self-government is our statutory mission and we will continue to fulfil this core activity to improve the situation of local and regional democracy in Europe. We will, in particular, continue to identify the recurring issues that come up during our monitoring visits and pass them on to you as representatives of the national governments. These recurring issues can feed into a common reflection on how to improve the situation in member States, on how to better implement some provisions of the Charter in national legislation and policies, which appear difficult to apply. These recurring issues can be the basis of a fruitful dialogue in order to ensure that this treaty is taken into consideration in law and in practice. I mean a dialogue not only between the Congress and national authorities but between all parties involved at national level.

Along with our statutory activities, we follow closely the political developments in member States. The Congress adopts a proactive attitude to help bring concrete and efficient solutions to current challenges – and many of them have to be taken at the level of the Congress members with their experience and problem-solving competence.

The crisis of migrants and refugees will certainly remain one of the main challenges for many of our member States. We are convinced that this crisis can and will be overcome by the pooling of all competences and capacities. This means that local and regional authorities can be part of the solution if they are consulted and involved in the drawing up and the implementation of national policies. We have seen some very good examples, in particular those concerning the settling of refugee families. Our message to the national authorities is that local and regional authorities should be made full partners in addressing these challenges. Statements from national ministers and parliamentarians, how indispensible mayors and councillors and their administrations are, remain only lip service if they are not followed by concrete action. The assets of local administrations and the trust of the people in their mayors will lead to getting the support of local populations and meaningful consultation with them lead to viable solutions. These – sometimes not popular - decisions can only be taken and implemented effectively if local populations are brought on board and convinced. We need European solidarity on the basis of our common values. The Congress is the European platform of exchange to facilitate this.

Another example is the fight against violent extremism and radicalisation leading to terrorism. Involvement of local and regional authorities is indispensable in the drafting of security and prevention policies. Local and regional elected representatives are working in the field. They know the situation in their neighborhoods, their towns, their communities. They can act as an early warning system and can also implement local policies as a complement to national ones. We know that good results can be obtained by small-scale policies designed with local populations in mind. Municipal or community police, for example, where they exist, can be a good support to the work of the national police.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Conference of Local Authorities of the Council of Europe – predecessor of the Congress – held its first session in Strasbourg on 12 January 1957. Local democracy in the Council of Europe will thus be 60 years old tomorrow. The Conference has changed over the years and has evolved to the Congress you know today. The Congress, supported by its professional secretariat, has steadily increased in political maturity and operational capacity. It has become a reliable partner and a valuable support for national governments and public policies. In this respect, it has followed the same evolution as the local and regional authorities in the member States, which have increasingly gained autonomy, competences and capacities.

Dear Ambassadors, you will have understood that I am firmly convinced of the need for close consultation and involvement of local and regional authorities in the development of national policies. If governments give in to the temptation to recentralise decision-making processes, this would clearly not be the right way to develop our democratic societies. It would also mean to do without the capacity and the proximity of local politicians, who are willing to take responsibility. As President of the Congress for the next two years: this is the message that I will continue, untiringly, to promulgate.

Thank you