Strasbourg, 20 January 2012                                                            CDLR-Bu(2011)35

BUREAU OF THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE

ON LOCAL AND REGIONAL DEMOCRACY

(CDLR)

MEETING REPORT

9 December 2011

1.         Opening of the meeting

The Chair opened the meeting and welcomed the participants. The list of participants appears at Appendix 1.

The Secretariat explained to Bureau members that due to objective constraints (staff absences, removal of staff to new offices) some documents could not be dispatched on time.

2.        Adoption of the Agenda

The agenda of the meeting was adopted (see Appendix 2).

3.        Decisions of the Committee of Ministers concerning the CDLR

The Bureau took note of recent decisions of the CM, which will have a direct impact on the functioning of the CDLR. As regards CM Resolution (2011)24 on the functioning of steering committees, the Bureau noted the following major changes in comparison to previous Resolution (2005)47:

-        obligation to make a detailed report of Committee meetings, in addition to the         already established practice of preparing abridged reports;

-        regular progress review reports on the work of intergovernmental structures          should be prepared;

-        no decisions on substantive issues be taken by the Bureau of a committee;

-        possibility, in case of necessity, for a committee to establish working groups or       have recourse to consultants;

-        extended use of written procedure for adoption of texts and acknowledgement       that “no reply” in a given deadline means (tacit) approval.

The Bureau agreed to bring these changes to the attention of all members of the CDLR, in the document on “decisions” to be prepared for the next plenary meeting, and make the documents containing these decisions available on the webpage of the CDLR.

The Bureau also noted that the CDLR had been requested by the CM on 16 November 2011 to provide opinions on 3 Congress recommendations by 31 December 2011.

 

A written consultation procedure with CDLR members had been initiated by the Secretariat and  comments were submitted by Belgium, France, Switzerland and Turkey. One response in particular objected to the written procedure as not providing time enough to delegations for comments on highly sensitive issues such as those raised in Recommendation 314.

Bureau members had an extensive discussion on both procedure and substance. As concerns procedure, having regard to ResCM(2011)24 rule preventing Bureaus from taking decisions on issues of substance, the Bureau decided that the adoption of the opinions should be approved by the CDLR as a whole. It therefore decided to request the Ministers’ Deputies to extend the deadline for the submission of CDLR’s comments until 31 January 2012. Also, it requested the Secretariat to prepare drafts for comments on Recommendations 307, 314 and 315, to be circulated among CDLR members giving them 15 days for response. The Bureau would then review the responses received and agree the final comments before submission to the Committee of Ministers.

As regards substance, the Bureau noted that all Recommendations dealt with important issues deserving thorough and substantive consideration, even if these issues do not necessarily fall within the competence of the governmental entities whose representatives sit in the CDLR, especially as regards the Roma.

The comments received in writing or made at the meeting would serve as initial ground materials for the Secretariat to prepare drafts to be approved first by the Bureau and subsequently disseminated to all CDLR members.

The Bureau noted that as far as the ratification of conventions or the acceptance of additional provisions thereof are concerned, member States’ expressed views were that whereas the Congress has a legitimate right to invite the CM to invite member states to withdraw declarations they may have formulated on certain provisions or accept additional provisions, member states have also a legitimate right to refuse this invitation. Some legal instruments establish the right of member states to accept or ratify only a certain number of provisions and states may have political grounds or constitutional constraints for ratifying only a limited number of provisions.

The Bureau also stressed that CDLR members’ attention should be drawn to the tacit approval procedure in an explicit form and that Permanent representations should be included in the distribution list.

Implementation of the CDLR Programme of activities in 2012

The Bureau took note of the new Terms of Reference of the CDLR adopted by the CM. A working document prepared by the Secretariat listed the “main tasks” and the “expected results” as they appear in the Terms of reference, and the CDLR current or planned activities as they stem from the Utrecht Agenda. As a result, some activities are no longer be compatible with the terms of reference and new activities need to be started to meet the requirements of the Terms of reference, other activities being allowed to continue.

After a thorough exchange of views, the Bureau requested the Secretariat to revise the document and submit for consideration by the CDLR a new version which should include, for each element of the Terms of reference, the appropriate implementing activities (already planned or newly proposed), and mention as well those activities which would no longer fit into the new terms of reference.

The CDLR agenda should also be established in accordance with the Terms of reference and connect activities to each element thereof.

The CDLR at its next meeting should hold a specific discussion on developing new approaches for the of holding exchanges of experience and information, the preparation and drafting for CDLR’s approval at its plenary sessions of thematic reports and preliminary drafts of instruments and guidelines.

4.        Priorities of the UK Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers

Mr Paul Rowsell introduced the main priorities of the UK Chairmanship. Whereas the most important priority for the UK Chairmanship is the reform of the ECtHR, the second most important goal is the streamlining of CoE activities in the field of local and regional democracy. UK is convinced that current arrangements are not working. 

It is suggested to regroup all activities into a single programme, with a single secretariat, single set of priorities and a single budget. This should be done by designing an architecture for a single programme while at the same time developing ideas about the substance (“agenda in common”).

The single programme would have a number of advantages – more focus, efficiency, effectiveness, and targeted action.  It would minimize the risks of internal debates, reinforce the common agenda and facilitate further reforms in this field.

The role of the CoE as an intergovernmental body is to be highlighted together with the roles of PACE and Congress both being advisory bodies created by Governments. A steering committee like the CDLR should not be regarded as a separate body with which the CM needs to have a special relationship, but part of the intergovernmental structure. CDLR should become an effective technical sub-committee to the CM.

Having regard to the Kyiv conference proposal to establish a “high level political follow up group”, the United Kingdom envisages convening such a meeting – open to all Permanent Representatives and including junior ministers or Directors-general as appropriate, as well as to the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress – in London at the end of January/beginning of February 2012. The meeting (more than one if necessary) would be the forum for discussing the changes proposed, with a view to enabling the Committee of Ministers, at its session in May 2012, to take the appropriate decisions.

The high level meeting should discuss how the evaluation of the CoE’s work in the sphere of local and regional democracy should be carried out.

5.        Information on other Council of Europe bodies

The Bureau took note of the information on the work of other CoE bodies.

Mr Paul-Henri Philips invited the Secretariat to include in the document, as much as possible, information about the work of other relevant international bodies such as the CEMR, UN Habitat and others.

6.        Preparation and draft agenda of the 49th CDLR meeting

The Bureau asked the Secretariat to prepare a draft agenda for consideration at its next meeting.

7.        Preparation of the Joint Bureaux meeting

It is decided, pending approval of the Congress, to hold the next Joint meeting with the Congress Bureau on 17 February 2012.

8.        Other business

The Secretariat informed the Bureau about the structural changes, which have taken place in the Secretariat in the framework of the general CoE reform and their consequence on the servicing of CDLR. Mr. Alfonso Zardi, who has become the Head of a larger Department, will cease to be the secretary of the CDLR and be succeeded into that function by Mr Frank Steketee.

The Bureau thanked Mr. Zardi for his work and welcomed Mr. Steketee in his new functions. The Bureau also thanked Mr. Andryi Guk, outgoing Chair of the CDLR, for his leadership and valuable contribution to the successful organisation of the Ministerial Conference in Kyiv.

9.        Date of the next meeting

It is decided that the next meeting of the Bureau will take place on 16 February 2012 in Strasbourg.

The 49th meeting of the CDLR will take place on 2-3 April 2012 in Strasbourg.

APPENDIX 1

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

CHAIRMAN / PRESIDENT

Mr Andriy GUK, Head of Department, State Foundation for Local  Self-Government in Ukraine, L.Ukrainka bld. 26, Building A, KIYV 01133, UKRAINE

Tel: 380 44 223 68 10 ; Fax: 380 44 286 37 81; E-mail: [email protected]

OTHER MEMBERS / AUTRES MEMBRES

Mr Jesper LORENZ GRADERT, Head of Section, Ministry of the Interior and Health, Slotsholmsgade 10-12, 1216, COPENHAGEN K

Tel: (45) 7228 2524; E-mail: [email protected]

Mrs Miroslava-Nina MIŠKOVIĆ, Head of Independent Division for International Cooperation, Ministry of Public Administration, Maksimirska 63, 10000 ZAGREB

Tel: (385) 1 2357 532; Fax: (385) 1 2357 609; E-mail: [email protected]

M. Paul-Henri PHILIPS, Adjoint du Directeur Général, Administration des pouvoirs locaux, Ministère de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale, Boulevard du Jardin Botanique, 20, B – 1035 BRUXELLES

Tel : (32) 2 800 32 77; Cel-phone: (32) 499 58 81 05; Fax :(32) 2 800 38 00;

E-mail : [email protected]

Mr Paul ROWSELL, Deputy Director, Democracy and Local Governance, Department for Communities and Local Government, 3/J1, Eland House, Bressenden Place, LONDON SW1E 5DU, GB

Tel: (44) 303 44 42568; E-mail: [email protected]

Mr Auke van der GOOT, Senior Adviser, Europe and Local and Regional Governance Unit, Directorate-General for Governance and Kingdom Relations, Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, P.O Box 20011, NL - 2500 EA THE HAGUE

Tel: (31) 70 426 7386; Fax: (31) 70 426 7655; E-mail: [email protected]

INVITED PERSON / PERSONNE INVITEE

Ms Paqui SANTONJA, Special Adviser, Directorate General for Regional Cooperation, Ministry of Territorial Policy, MADRID

Tel: (34) 91 273 46 59; Fax: (34) 91 273 46 10; E-mail: [email protected]

SECRETARIAT

Mr Alfonso ZARDI, Head of Democracy, Institution-Building and Governance Department/ Chef du Service de la démocratie, du renforcement des institutions et de la gouvernance - Directorate of Democratic Governance, Culture and Diversity / Direction de la gouvernance démocratique, de la culture et de la diversité, Directorate General of Democracy / Direction générale de la démocratie

Tel : +33 (0)3 88 41 39 06; Fax : +33 (0)3 88 41 27 84; E-mail : [email protected]

Ms Lilit NIKOGHOSYAN, Directorate of Democratic Governance, Culture and Diversity / Direction de la gouvernance démocratique, de la culture et de la diversité, Directorate General of Democracy / Direction générale de la démocratie

Tel : +33 (0)3 88 41 35 04; Fax : +33 (0)3 88 41 27 84;

E-mail : [email protected]

APPENDIX 2

AGENDA