Strasbourg, 23 June 2011 CDLR-Bu(2011)13
Item 7 of the agenda
BUREAU OF THE
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE ON LOCAL AND REGIONAL DEMOCRACY
(CDLR)
UTRECHT REVIEWS
Secretariat Memorandum
prepared by the
Directorate General of Democracy and Political Affairs
Directorate of Democratic Institutions
 |
Introduction
On 21 June 2011, at the initiative of Minister Manuel Chaves, a consultation hearing was held on the draft report he had prepared on the Utrecht reviews. The draft report appears in the Appendix. Minister Chaves is now expected to finalise his report in light of the consultations and the written comments that he may still receive from member States, the Congress and the PACE by 30 June 2011. Minister Chaves will be assisted in this work by his Rapporteur, Mr Enrique Ojeda. However, it is to be noted in passing that Mr Ojeda has been appointed as Ambassador of Spain to El Salvador as per 1 July 2011 and is not expected to be present at the Ministerial Session in Kyiv.
Minister Chaves is expected to send the final version of his report to his colleagues, the Ministers responsible for Local and Regional Government, by the end of August 2011.
At its meeting in June the Bureau is invited to consider the handling of the item on the draft agenda of the 17th Ministerial Session pertaining to the Chaves report. In particular it may wish to consider:
- whether a special format of the session should be foreseen to allow for discussion with the Congress and the PACE;
- if so, how such arrangements should be settled with the Congress and PACE;
- whether a Minister other than Minister Chaves should be invited to speak to the Chaves report at the Ministerial Session;
- whether already at this stage elements could be suggested for inclusion in the draft Kyiv Declaration.
Action required
The Bureau is invited to consider the handling of the item on the draft agenda of the 17th Ministerial Session pertaining to the Chaves report and to take any decisions and/or give any instructions it deems appropriate.
APPENDIX
Strasbourg, 14 June 2011
CONSULT(2011)1
DRAFT
Report of the Conference of Ministers responsible for Local and Regional Democracy
Council of Europe: Towards a Multi-Level Governance
Manuel Chaves
Third Vice-President and
Minister of Territorial Policy and
Public Administration
Spanish Government
Introduction
The report is aimed at proposing a reflection on the situation of local and regional democracy at the Council of Europe and on the challenges in an ever-changing world in which the level of interrelation between local, regional, national and international institutions must ineluctably broaden. That is why multilevel governance is the arch-stone for Europe to answer the global challenges our continent is facing in this second decade of the XXIst century.
In practice, such multilevel governance is an agreed, binding, transversal network that works between local, regional, national and European authorities in which organized civil society is attaining an ever-greater role. Thus, the Reflection Group chaired by Felipe González, already affirmed that “in a multilevel governance system, each level of authority – European, national, regional and local – exercises its powers according to its own legal responsibility.”
In the current process of reflection on the Council of Europe’s reform, the promotion of local and regional democracy should be considered an essential priority, enhancing its key role in the consolidation of democratic processes in Europe and bringing good practices to other regions of the world.
The fundamental contribution of the “Kiviniemi Report”, which proposes new mechanisms to coordinate and boost, will be the starting point for the report that is now being presented and that will move forward on the path of reforms that the promotion of local and regional democracy requires in the frame of the Council of Europe.
The key ideas here presented stem partly from my reflections on the answers to a questionnaire sent in July 2010, that member states have filled out and sent back, and from the consultations and contacts established with the main stakeholders.
Four specific fields for review:
A. The relations between intergovernmental sector and Congress of Local and Regional Authorities;
B. An agenda in common between the ministers responsible for local and regional issues and the Congress;
C. Monitoring of the European Charter of Local Self-Government; and
D. The evaluation of the Council of Europe’s works in the field of local and regional democracy.
- More and better relations between intergovernmental sector and the Congress of local and regional authorities
Considerations:
The intergovernmental sector and more particularly, the ministers responsible for local and regional democracy (the Ministerial Conference) and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities (Congress) share a common objective of contributing to delivering good local and regional governance to all. They each pursue this objective within the sphere of their powers, taking into account the reality and nature of their bodies.
The quality of the interaction between the intergovernmental sector and the Congress is of the highest importance to ensure the relevance, visibility and impact of the Council of Europe’s work in the field of local and regional democracy.
There is a certain consensus regarding the need for improving the current level of cooperation and dialogue between the Congress and the intergovernmental sector, particularly with the Ministers responsible for local and regional governments.
These improvements should be framed in the current process of reform of the Council of Europe, as a whole and the ongoing reform of the Congress.
The reforms, both in general and on local and regional democracy in particular, aim at avoiding duplication, suppressing redundant red-tape and maximizing the utility of documents, tools and actions developed by the Council of Europe, strengthening its overall coherence.
Within the intergovernmental sector the relation between the Committee of Ministers and the proper authorities in each country on local and regional democracy issues, brought together in the Ministerial Conference, will be strengthened. My Finnish colleague Mr. Tapani Tölli has been entrusted with this task.
Proposals:
- Strengthening of stable political relations between the Ministerial Conference and the Congress by:
a. Reaching a common understanding with the Congress in order to deepen relations, stating it at a working plan on the basis of jointly chosen subjects.
b. Consolidating political dialogue between ministerial conference and Congress in order to present common proposals before the Committee of Ministers. The Congress and the ministerial conference will draw up a joint medium-term working plan, which could be passed in the session of the ministerial conference (providing the widest visibility to the process). This plan would be developed in several meetings previous to the ministerial conference and would be presented by both bodies to the Committee of Ministers as a joint proposal for its approval.
- Upgrading technical cooperation by maximizing resources and efforts the ministerial conference and the Congress devote to similar aspects: that would imply to rationalize and make the most of the works both bodies are working on regarding this issue.
To this end, I propose:
a. Drawing up a joint list formulating an overview of the various bodies and committees involved in the promotion of local and regional democracy at the Council of Europe, indicating which, from their point of view, would be the possibilities of creating synergies and improving interaction in order to achieve the best outcomes. In addition, an overview of theses bodies’ activities with other international organizations such as the European Union, in order to avoid duplications.
b. Designating two representatives of both bodies who, together with a representative of the Parliamentary Assembly, would be charged of ensuring the dialogue and following up their respective activities; so a regular mechanism for exchange of information would be established and, in the frame of an agenda in common, would allow to inform representatives of both sectors about the actual progress and possibly to reach agreements to, if necessary, reorientate the works. It is proposed to increase the degree of participation at the different meetings that the CDLR of the intergovernmental sector and the Congress Bureau hold and to ensure the mutual attendance at the meetings of the CDLR and Congress Bureaus. This will help to have better opportunities not only to exchange information but also collaborating.
c. Creation of a digital platform to exchange information: such a tool would allow the Congress and CDLR’s representatives to share important documents on local and regional democracy and to set up an informal and flexible forum through which working groups could improve their performance by means of useful IT solutions.
Certainly, these proposals should be understood within the frame of the two principles contained in the “Kiviniemi Report”: budget austerity resulting from the current economic crisis and need for a better and more visibility of the Council of Europe’s works on local and regional democracy.
- An agenda in common between Ministers responsible for local and regional democracy and Congress
Considerations:
It is a most welcome development that within the Council of Europe’s integrated programme and budget (2012-2013), itself one of the concrete results of the reform effort launched by the Secretary General, the work of the Congress and the work of the intergovernmental sector on local and regional democracy are brought together under the democracy pillar and more specifically the strategic axe of democratic governance, in order to achieve synergies.
This development gives effect to the work advanced in the “Kiviniemi Report” and the dual objective of internal consistency within the Council of Europe and better visibility and outreach of the Council of Europe, in the field of local and regional democracy. It is important to identify the fields deserving this effort and therefore to start building up an agenda in common between intergovernmental sector and Congress as part of the wider CoE agenda on local and regional democracy.
In order to achieve that objective, the improved dialogue described in the aforementioned A point should bring the coordination of political priorities and strategic lines to fruition.
This also will be accompanied by the strengthening of the relations at intergovernmental level between the Committee of Ministers and the ministerial conference (Tölli Report).
Other Council of Europe’s bodies such as the Parliamentary Assembly and the NGO conference will also have to play a key role in this new process.
Proposals:
This plan could be tackled from different perspectives, all of them seeking to integrate:
- Wide approach: “Local and Regional Democracy in the framework of the Council of Europe’s reform process “. That approach is needed in order to keep placing local and regional democracy at the core of the work and of the priorities of the Council of Europe, in full process of reform. This work will be carried out in close coordination with other international organizations and especially with the European Union and its Committee of the Regions.
- Joint Approach: "The Congress and the intergovernmental sector: common aims, common procedures". It seeks to establish an agenda in common for topics of common interest as well as for modalities mentioned under A point, contributing to rationalized procedures, improved working methods and better coordination.
Thus, a first agenda in common could be developed around the issue of multi-level governance and local and regional democracy. Inter-institutional cooperation as central axis of the common denominator – local and regional democracy – would strengthen and maximize efforts.
The following more specific subjects are proposed:
1. Monitoring the impact of the economic crisis on local and regional government and the policy responses at central, regional and local level;
2. Strengthening citizens’ democratic participation
As it was highlighted in Utrecht, the low level of citizen participation in public affairs is a big challenge to be faced from all levels of political responsibility in the administration.
3. Improving the coordination of multi-level governance
This aspect should be jointly taken up with the Committee of Regions and the High Level Group on Governance of EU member States.
4. Joined up governance to ensure the respect for the promotion of human rights
5. Multi-level cooperation to overcome obstacles in transfrontier cooperation
Broadening the application of the European Charter of Local Self-Government with the aim of reducing the number of reservations and achieve the best application of the European Charter in the States which have ratified it, and to encourage the States that have not yet ratified it, in order to ratify it as soon as possible. This way, the Ministerial Conference would carry out more detailed task on monitoring the implementation of the Charter in collaboration with the Congress.
The drawing up of these strategies by the intergovernmental sector and the Congress would stress the importance of the work and the added value of each of these bodies. In the spirit of the ongoing discussion, within the Committee of Ministers, of the reform of the Council of Europe, themes for future Ministerial Conferences could be selected from the agenda in common.
- Monitoring of the European Charter of Local Self-Government
Considerations:
A general look-out of the answers to the questionnaire I sent shows a mixed bag of opinions on monitoring. Despite an almost universal recognition of the importance of the monitoring process, different assessments are made by member states.
Since the Utrecht Conference, the Congress has initiated an important reform of its monitoring of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, laid down in its Resolutions 296 and 307. It has also introduced the human rights dimension at local level as one of its priorities. This will in no way lead to a form of monitoring of human rights.
Ministers, in their responses, have, for their part, indicated general issues (objectivity, impartiality) and particular aspects of monitoring they wish to discuss (particularly, the consultation and interview system in each country. The assessment after the publication of the report and the regularity of such reports) as well as expressed the need to promote a discussion between the intergovernmental sector and the Congress on this issue. The latter is set out in the declaration at Utrecht itself.
Proposals:
The European Charter of Local Self.-Government clearly is and will remain at the heart of the Council of Europe’s overall agenda on local and regional democracy. A full discussion between the intergovernmental sector and the Congress covering all aspects of the crucial issue of monitoring of the Charter has not taken place but should be envisaged in the not too distant future.
In the context of such a discussion, inter alia, the following suggestions could be considered:
1. The creation of a joint working group between Congress and ministerial conference focused on highlighting and working on common problems observed in the monitored countries (or groups of countries) allowing to draw up benchmarking systems in order to obtain common conclusions.
2. The holding of previous bilateral meetings between Congress and the member state before the monitoring mission on the field takes place, providing full knowledge of the territorial reality and the different approaches in each country.
3. The monitoring of the European Charter carried out by the Congress should be accompanied by a more technical study (that could be made up by the CDLR) in order to avoid exceedingly subjective evaluations. That could lead to the creation of a joint committee that would be chaired by the Congress.
4. The introduction of flexibility in the different kinds of monitoring allowing the countries to ask for it by themselves and to focus on those aspects they are interested in, provided that they have the support of their Congress national delegation. In this sense, as long as the states and national and local bodies are implied in that process, flexible but periodical monitoring mechanisms of these processes could be established.
All these recommendations would be implemented with the main aim of avoiding duplicities and trying to channel them through the already existing bodies and communication channels.
D. The evaluation of the Council of Europe’s works in the field of local and regional democracy:
Considerations:
The principle of carrying out periodical evaluations by jointly designed independent experts on the running of the Council of Europe regarding the promotion of local and regional democracy was discussed in Utrecht and supported by the Congress, being gathered in the final Declaration.
Member states have not made concrete proposals regarding this issue, but several prominent states have shown their disagreement regarding the possibility of an expert external to the international body to do the evaluation. Therefore, it does not seem to exist, for the time being, enough consensus among member states in order to propose a substantial reform in that sense.
The evaluation by a group of independent experts of bodies having a political term, such as the Ministerial Conference, the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress makes this possibility difficult. However, that should not be an obstacle to carry out the monitoring and evaluation of the works being done concretely, such as those agreed for the agenda in common.
Proposals:
1. The evaluation should be done on concrete pieces of work, such as those on the agenda in common;
2. That evaluation should be carried out at an early stage according to the criteria of internal evaluation established by the Secretary General. To this end, the annual reports on each topic prepared by each body shall be considered.
3. The evaluation of the overall situation should be the object of a regular political evaluation, in a meeting at each session of the Ministerial Conference, between the Congress and the Ministers.
4. Reports prepared to that end will be submitted for approval to the Ministerial Conference itself and to the plenary of the Congress, and then, to the Parliamentary Assembly and the Committee of Ministers.