Strasbourg, 23 June 2011 CDLR-Bu(2011)11
Item 3 of the agenda
BUREAU OF THE
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE ON LOCAL AND REGIONAL DEMOCRACY
(CDLR)
DECISIONS OF THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS CONCERNING THE CDLR
Secretariat Memorandum
prepared by the
Directorate General of Democracy and Political Affairs
Directorate of Democratic Institutions
 |
Introduction
The following table sets out the decisions concerning the CDLR taken by the Committee of Ministers since the last CDLR meeting of 28-30 March 2011. Only the decisions and texts in respect of which the CDLR is required to produce an output are appended to this document. All documents referred to may also be found on the Committee of Ministers web site.
|
Date and meeting |
CM decision in respect of CDLR |
Reference document |
Proposed action by CDLR |
|
1112th meeting, 19 April 2011 (item 2.3) |
“Follow-up by the Congress of the Conference of Ministers responsible for Local and (Congress REC_282 (2010) and CM/Cong(2011)282 prov3) Decision The Deputies adopted the reply to Recommendation 282 (2010) of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe on “Follow-up by the Congress of the Conference of Ministers responsible for Local and Regional Government (Utrecht, Netherlands, 16-17 November 2009)”. |
CM/Del/Dec(2011)1112 Appendix 1 |
The Bureau is to take note. |
|
1112th meeting, 19 April 2011 (item 12.1) |
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe – 20th Plenary Session of the Congress (Strasbourg, 22-24 March 2011) – Texts adopted The Deputies agreed to forward it to the European Committee on Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR) for information and possible comments before 30 June 2011: - the Recommendation 304 (2011) – “Meeting the challenge of interfaith and intercultural tensions at local level” |
CM/Del/Dec(2011)1112 Appendix 2
|
The Bureau is to take note and adopt possible comments. |
|
121st Session 10-11 May 2011 (item 2.5) |
The Council of Europe: a strategy for values in action – Activity report by the Secretary General Decisions The Committee of Ministers Took note of the proposal concerning a possible partnership between the Conference of Ministers responsible for Local and Regional Government and the Committee of Ministers |
Item 6 on the agenda |
|
|
1114th meeting, 25 May 2011 (item 2.1.bis b) |
Draft Recommendation CM/Rec(2011)…of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the principles of good democratic governance at local level and draft Recommendation CM/Rec(2011)…of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the funding by higher level authorities of new competences for local authorities – Request for opinion from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe (CM(2011)60 add1 and CM(2011)60 add3) The Deputies 1 invited the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe to give an opinion by 30 June 2011 on the draft Recommendation on the principles of good democratic governance at local level and on the draft Recommendation on the funding by higher level authorities of new competencies for local authorities, it being understood that the Deputies have not yet taken a decision on the adoption of these drafts; 2 agreed to consider these opinions in the framework of their examination of the abridged report of the 47th meeting of the CDLR, at their 1118th meeting (6 July 2011) (cf. CM/Del/Dec(2011)1114/2.3). |
CM/Del/Dec(2011)1114 |
The Bureau is to take note. |
|
1114th meeting, 25 May 2011 (item 2. 3) |
European Committee on Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR) a. Abridged report of the 47th meeting (Strasbourg, 28-30 March 2011) b. Draft Declaration by the Committee of Ministers on the principles of good democratic governance at local level This item was postponed to the 1118th meeting (6 July 2011). |
CM/Del/Dec(2011)1114 |
The Bureau is to take note. |
|
1114th meeting, 25 May 2011 (item 1. 5) |
121st Session of the Committee of Ministers (Istanbul, 10-11 May 2011) – Follow-up Summing-up by the Chairperson The Chairperson noted that the proposal concerning a possible partnership between the Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for local and regional authorities and the Committee of Ministers calls for a reply which would be prepared by the Deputies in the context of the preparation of the 17th session of the Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Local and Regional Government (Kyiv, Ukraine, 3-4 November 2011)
|
CM/Del/Dec(2011)1114 Addendum |
Item 6 on the agenda |
Appendix 1
Reply to Recommendation 282 (2010)
of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe
on “Follow-up by the Congress of the Conference of Ministers responsible for Local and Regional Government (Utrecht, Netherlands, 16-17 November 2009)”
(Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 19 April 2011 at the 1112th meeting of the Ministers' Deputies)
1. The Committee of Ministers has given careful consideration to Recommendation 282 (2010) on “Follow-up by the Congress of the Conference of Ministers responsible for Local and Regional Government (Utrecht, Netherlands, 16-17 November 2009)”, which it has brought to the attention of the governments of member states and has sent it to the European Committee on Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR) for comments.
2. In the course of its examination, the Committee has taken due note of the comments of the Congress on the report “How to enhance the work of the Council of Europe in the field of local and regional democracy?” (the Kiviniemi report), which was presented to the 16th session of the Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Local and Regional Government. The Committee is committed to the Council of Europe's institutional structure, in which the Congress plays an important role. In this connection, it refers to its 1103rd meeting (19-20 January 2011), where it adopted a revised version of the Statutory Resolution and of the Congress Charter. It encourages the Congress to continue its activities aimed at strengthening local and regional democracy at the pan-European level. It considers that a high level of interinstitutional co-operation within the Council of Europe will make an effective contribution to achieving this objective. This is even more necessary in the context of the reform process currently under way, one of the aims of which is to ensure that the activities of the Congress contribute more to the Organisation's fundamental objectives.
3. The Committee notes that the Utrecht Declaration specifically invites the Congress to participate in a certain number of activities, and welcomes the fact that the Congress has responded positively to these invitations.
4. The Committee of Ministers encourages the governments of member states to take account of the Reference Framework for Regional Democracy in connection with policies and reforms, as proposed in paragraph 8 b. of the recommendation. It recalls that the Framework was prepared jointly by the Congress and the CDLR as “a useful and practical reference for those considering institutional reforms and governance at the regional level, as well as for the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress in their work”.
5. Turning to the possible role of intergovernmental co-operation as part of the follow-up to Congress recommendations connected with monitoring, the Committee notes that this is one of the numerous aspects which should be considered in the context of the general review of the monitoring of the European Charter of Local Self-Government being carried out by Mr Chaves, the Spanish Minister for Local and Regional Policy. The Committee of Ministers will consider the conclusions of this review in due course.
6. Finally, the Committee welcomes the decision to make “human rights at local level” the main theme of the 2011 European Local Democracy Week and encourages all those concerned to contribute to the successful outcome of this initiative.
Appendix 2
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe
|
22-24 March 2011 Meeting the challenge of inter-faith and intercultural tensions at local level Recommendation 304 (2011) 1. The population structures of European cities have been significantly shaped by recent migration processes. The resulting ethnic, religious and cultural plurality challenges social cohesion and relations between groups and, thus, raises new issues for local politics. 2. Local authorities have a vested interest in identifying and sharing successful local integration practices. For this reason, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities launched the European Network of Cities for Local Integration Policies (CLIP) together with the City of Stuttgart and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions in 2006. 3.The CLIP Network identified the current challenges regarding intergroup relations as a matter of grave and increasing concern to local authorities and catalogued the different means at their disposal for promoting intergroup relations and addressing potential conflicts and tensions. 4. Moreover, the Congress welcomes the close co-operation between the Council of Europe and its organs and European Union bodies in such networks as CLIP and Intercultural Cities and considers that both organisations should continue to: a. improve their cooperation and synergy and monitor manifestations of discrimination, racism and xenophobia; b. support good practice exchange between local and regional authorities that is systematic, supported by research and results in a series of good practice recommendations. 5. The Congress is convinced that improving intergroup relations at local level is the key to present and future social cohesion and to this end recommends that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe call on member states to: a. foster the political and civic participation of migrant groups by increasing their awareness of their political rights; b. sign and ratify as soon as possible, if they have not already done so, the Convention on the Participation of Foreigners in Public Life at Local Level (ETS No. 144); c. create the legal and financial basis for institutionalising local anti-discrimination offices in local authorities with a high level of immigration. National legislation should set basic standards for the working of such offices; d. promote the establishment of, and establish regular contact with, migrant organisations’ umbrella organisations which strengthen cooperation between member associations and support members in developing competences and establishing networks; e. seek to improve relations between public servants, including the police, and migrant groups through intercultural training of staff, joint workshops with personnel and migrant representatives, setting up integration liaison units and encouraging public administrations to increase the recruitment of staff with a migration background. 1 Debated and approved by the Chamber of Local Authorities on 23 March 2011 and adopted by the Congress on 24 March 2011, 3rd sitting (see Document CPL(20)2, explanatory memorandum) Rapporteur: E. Maurer, Switzerland (L, SOC).
|