Strasbourg, 2 July 2010 CDLR-Bu(2010)17
Item 12 of the agenda
BUREAU OF THE
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE ON LOCAL AND REGIONAL DEMOCRACY
(CDLR)
CENTRE OF EXPERTISE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT REFORM
Secretariat Memorandum
prepared by the
Directorate General of Democracy and Political Affairs
Directorate of Democratic Institutions
 |
Introduction
The Advisory Board of the Centre of Expertise for Local Government Reform will hold its meeting on 6 July 2010. Ms Greta Billing (Norway) sits in the Board in representation of the CDLR (other members are the Director of Democratic Institutions, the Secretary General of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and Mr Keith Whitmore, member of the latter).
The Board will examine and adopt the annual report of the Centre for 2009 (document CELGR-AB(2010)1), that will subsequently be transmitted to the Committee of Ministers. The Board will also have an initial debate on a number of options for future development open to the Centre in the light of recent developments (CELGR-AB(2010)2).
The above-mentioned documents can be downloaded at the following web address:
The Ministerial Conference in Utrecht in November 2009 concluded that the CDLR should “support and encourage… capacity-building at local and regional level through the Centre of Expertise for Local Government Reform, legislative and policy assistance and co-operation programmes and the European Local Democracy Week…”.
The Bureau is informed that as a result of internal competition, a Head of the Centre has now been appointed by the Secretary General. The Head will also have responsibility for the assistance activities in the field of local and regional democracy implemented by the Secretariat (Department of local and regional democracy and good governance). Furthermore, the Secretary General’s budgetary priorities for 2011 foresee that one permanent post in the Secretariat of the CDLR will be transferred to the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, as from 1 January 2011.
The ensuing situation is such that a reappraisal of working methods and the development of further synergies between the various types of activities and staff affected to them (capacity-building, legislative assistance, Strategy for innovation and good governance) will be necessary.
The Bureau may wish to discuss the implications of this situation in the light of the options proposed for consideration by the Advisory Board and give guidance to its representative in the Advisory Board.
Action required
See above.