Strasbourg, 8 september 2011                                                              CDLR(2011)34

                                                                                         Item B.7. of the agenda

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE ON LOCAL AND REGIONAL DEMOCRACY

(CDLR)

PUBLICATION OF SWOT REPORT

For adoption

Secretariat Memorandum

prepared by the Directorate General of

Democracy and Political Affairs

Directorate of Democratic Institutions

This document is public. It will not be distributed at the meeting. Please bring this copy.

Ce document est public. Il ne sera pas distribué en réunion. Prière de vous munir de cet exemplaire.

SWOT Report “Crossborder Co-operation in Europe: a comprehensive overview”

Introduction

The report entitled “Crossborder Co-operation in Europe: a comprehensive review” has been prepared by the Istituto di Sociologia Internazionale di Gorizia (ISIG) (see doc. LR-IC(2011)17) and is a compilation and analysis of the findings of three previous reports on crossborder co-operation in south-eastern, central and northern Europe.

The draft was issued to all delegations for comments on 12 July 2011 with a deadline set at 2 September. Neither remarks nor objections were received by the Secretariat.

The report, as reproduced in the Addendum to this document (English only), could therefore be published.

ISIG envisages to organise a promotional event centred on the report.

CDLR members will recall that the organisation of a conference to discuss crossborder co-operation prior to the 17^th session of the Council of Europe conference of Ministers responsible for local and regional democracy had been envisaged as well. This conference could not be convened. However, the promotional event as envisaged by ISIG could constitute an interesting forum for CDLR members too.

The CDLR could agree to suggest to ISIG to extend the invitations to all CDLR members so that their event bring together academia, practitioners and government representatives from all member states. The modalities of CDLR’s involvement could be agreed upon by the Bureau, it being understood that participation costs would not be refunded by the Council of Europe.

Action required

The CDLR is invited to agree on the publication of the report “Crossborder co-operation in Europe: a comprehensive review”, express an interest in all CDLR members being invited to a possible promotional event on the report, to be organised by ISIG, and entrust the Bureau with setting the modalities of Council of Europe’s contribution to it.