***

  9.30 – 12.30

14.30 – 18.00

Meeting of the Culture and Education Committee

Room 9

  9.30 – 12.30

14.30 – 18.00

Meeting of the Committee on Sustainable Development

***

Room 10

Morning

Meetings of the Bureaux of the two Chambers:

9.00 – 10.25

·         Bureau of the Chamber of Local Authorities

Room 8

10.25 – 11.45

·         Bureau of the Chamber of Regions

Room 6

11.45 – 12.30

Meeting of the Bureau of the Congress

Room 7

Afternoon

14.00 – 16.25

Meeting of the Bureau of the Congress

Room 7

16.30 – 17.30

Joint Meeting of the Bureau of the Congress and the Bureau of the CDLR

Room 7

8.30 – 10.30

Parallel meetings of the three Political Groups of the Congress:

-   European People’s Party/Christian Democrats Group (EPP/CD)

-   Socialist Group (SOC)

-   Independent and Liberal Democrat Group (ILDG)

Room 9

Room 10

Room 8

9.00 – 9.30

-   Meeting of the Secretaries of Delegations

Room 6

Hemicycle

10.45 – 12.30

PLENARY SITTING

·         OPENING OF THE SESSION

·         Verification of new members’ credentials and

new appointment procedures
Rapporteurs: Anders KNAPE (Sweden, L, EPP/DC) and Günther KRUG (Germany, R, SOC)

[CG(16)4RES]

·             Communication by the Congress President

[CG(16)3]

·         Adoption of the draft order of business of the Session
and presentation of the agenda

[CG(16)1PROV]

[CG(16)OJ1]

·         Combating domestic violence against women
Rapporteur: Sandra BARNES (United Kingdom, L, EPP/CD)

[CG(16)7REC]

[CG(16)7RES]

[CG(16)7REP]

·         Statement by Terry DAVIS,
Secretary General of the Council of Europe

Oral reply to written questions
Deadline for tabling written questions: Monday 2 March at 11am

14.00

Press conference of the President a.i. of the Congress and the Presidents of the Chambers

Room 1

Hemicycle

14.30 – 18.00

PLENARY SITTING

·            Adoption of the composition of the Standing Committee, Statutory Committees and working groups

[CG(16)5PROV]

·            Presentation of a Pro Merito medal of the Congress to Alan LLOYD, former Congress Vice-President of the Chamber of Local Authorities, United Kingdom

·            Euro-Mediterranean  co-operation: the role of Local and Regional Authorities

Overview and future synergies

Introduction by Ian MICALLEF (Malta, L, EPP/CD)

Statements by:

       Luc Van den BRANDE (Belgium), President of the Committee        of the Regions of the European Union

Etienne BUTZBACH, Member of the Mediterranean
Committee of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG),
Mayor of Belfort (France)

       Hon. Jesmond MUGLIETT (Malta), Parliamentary Assembly of        the Mediterranean (PAM), Vice-President of the 2^nd Standing        Committee, Member of the Parliament

       Raffaele LOMBARDO (Italy), President of the Standing Committee        Euro-Mediterranean Partnership of the local and regional authorities        (COPPEM), President of the Region of Sicily

Irene LOIZIDOU (Cyprus, R, EPP/CD),
Municipal Councillor of Engomi, Nicosia

Debate

Conclusions by Ian MICALLEF (Malta, L, EPP/CD)

·            Public water and sewer services for sustainable development
Rapporteurs : Vladimir GORODETSKIY
(Russian Federation, L, SOC) and Piet JANSEN
(The Netherlands, R, EPP/CD)

[CG(16)6REC]

[CG(16)6RES]

[CG(16)6REP]

        Statement by Prof. Dr Hasan Zuhuri SARIKAYA,
        Co-Chair of the World Water Forum,

        Undersecretary of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry
        of Turkey

9.00 – 10.00

Meeting of the Bureau of the Congress

Room 6

9.00 – 10.00

MEETINGS OF STATUTORY COMMITTEES

·         Committee on Social Cohesion

·         Institutional Committee

Room 9

Room 10

10.15 – 12.30

Hemicycle

PLENARY SITTING

·         Statement by María TENA, Director General for Local Administration, Spain, on behalf of the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe

Oral reply to written questions
Deadline for tabling written questions: Tuesday 3 March at 10.30am

: ……

·         Statement by Lluís Maria de PUIG (Spain), President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

Questions and answers

·         International financial crisis: consequences for European territorial authorities

: ……

       Debate with the contribution of guest speakers:

: ……

       Maurice VINCENT, Mayor of Saint-Etienne, President of
       “Saint-Etienne Métropole” (France)

       Vladimir MOSKOV, Mayor of Goce Delcev (Bulgaria),
       Vice-President of NALAS[1]

        Michèle SABBAN, President of AER[2], Vice-President of the         « Région Ile-de-France » (France)

       Svetlana ORLOVA (Russian Federation, R, EPP/CD),
       Vice-Chair of the Council of the Federation (Russian Federation),
       Head of the Russian delegation to the Congress

        Yevgen KARTASHOV (Ukraine, L, ILDG), Chairman, City of
        Zaporizhzhya

        Continuation of the debate scheduled on 5 March 2009 afternoon

12.00 – 12.30

Award Ceremony of the Dosta ! Congress Prize for Municipalities[3]
in the hemicycle, including a traditional Rom dance from the Balkans by Simona Jovic

14.00 – 15.00

Bureau of the Chamber of Local Authorities

Room 8

Hemicycle

15.15 – 18.00

·           OPENING by the President

  Ian MICALLEF (Malta, EPP/CD)

·         Presentation of the agenda and adoption of the order
of business of the Chamber

[CPL(16)OJ1]

[CG(16)1PROV]

·           Intercultural Cities
  Rapporteur : Jens NILSSON (Sweden, SOC)

[CPL(16)1REC]

[CPL(16)1RES]

[CPL(16)1REP]

        Presentation by Carlos Alberto PINTO (Portugal, EPP/CD)
        on the cultural dimension of the European Urban Charter II

        Round table with Mayors of the Intercultural Cities programme:

- Georges KEpENEkian, deputy Mayor of Lyon (France)

- Heinz BUSCHKOWSKY, Mayor of Berlin Neukölln
  (Germany)

- Adam WASILEWSKI, Mayor of Lublin (Poland)

- Dmytriy SYCHOV, Mayor of Melitopol (Ukraine)

- Graziano DELRIO, Mayor of Reggio Emilia (Italy)

- Thomas FACCHINETTI, Commissioner for Foreign Nationals

  of the Canton of Neuchâtel (Switzerland)

·         Equality and diversity in local authority employment   and service provision
  Rapporteur : Esther MAURER (Switzerland, SOC)

[CPL(16)2REC]

[CPL(16)2RES]

[CPL(16)2REP]

        Presentation by Isaac ALBERT, deputy Mayor of Terrassa (Spain)

14.00 – 15.00

Bureau of the Chamber of Regions

Room 6

Room 1

15.15 – 18.00

·           OPENING by the President
  Ludmila SFIRLOAGA (Romania, SOC)

·         Presentation of the agenda and adoption of the order
of business of the Chamber

[CPR(16)OJ1]

[CG(16)1PROV]

·         Good governance: a key factor for the sustainable economic development of regions
Rapporteur: Uno ALDEGREN (Sweden, SOC)

[CPR(16)3REC]

[CPR(16)3RES]

[CPR(16)3REP]

       Statement by Vladimir KISSIOV (Bulgaria), Rappporteur        of the Commission for Territorial Cohesion of the        Committee of the Regions (COTER) on governance and        partnership at national and regional level

·            The digital divide and e-inclusion in the regions
       Rapporteur: Jean-Marc BOURJAC (France, SOC)

[CPR(16)1REC]

[CPR(16)1RES]

[CPR(16)1REP]

       Statement by Christian PAUL, Vice-Chairman in charge        of town and country planning, European and contractual        policies and ICT, Burgundy (France)

·           The future of cultural tourism - towards a sustainable model

         Rapporteur: Günther KRUG (Germany, SOC)

[CPR(16)4REC]

[CPR(16)4RES]

[CPR(16)4REP]

·         Co-operation with CALRE[4] and REGLEG[5]
  Exchange of views with:

  Herwig VAN STAA (Austria, EPP/CD), President of
  the Conference of European Regional Legislative Assemblies
  (CALRE)

        Message from Mercedes BRESSO, President of REGLEG

·         Observation of the elections to the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara (Georgia)
(3 November 2008)

        Rapporteur: Günther KRUG (Germany, SOC)

[CPR(16)2REC]

[CPR(16)2REP]

9.00 – 10.00

Meeting of the Bureau of the Congress

Room 6

9.00 – 10.00

MEETINGS OF STATUTORY COMMITTEES

·           Culture and Education Committee

·           Committee on Sustainable Development

Room 9

Room 8

Hemicycle

10.15 – 12.30

·            Local democracy in Malta

Statement by Dr Chris SAID, Parliamentary Secretary
for Public Dialogue and information, Malta

·            Citizen participation at local level

       Presentation by Christopher NEWBURY (United Kingdom, EPP/CD) on the draft protocol to the European Charter of Local Self-Government on democratic participation at local level

       Presentation by Eduard GURVITS (Ukraine, ILDG), Mayor of Odessa

       Presentation by Keith WHITMORE (United Kingdom, ILDG) on European Local Democracy Week

·             Closing by the President of the Chamber

Room 1

10.15 – 12.30

·         The Black Sea Euroregion

·            Message from Nicuşor-Daniel CONSTANTINESCU,

       President of the Black Sea Euroregion, President of the County        of Constanta, Romania

Exchange of views with:

Miljenko DORIĆ, Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on Local and Regional Democracy of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (Croatia)

Varuzhan NERSISYAN (Armenia, SOC), Mayor of Ijevan

Nataliya ROMANOVA (Ukraine, ILDG), Chair of the Chernigiv Regional Council

Gheorghe VASILACHE (Moldova, NR) , President of the Region of Cahul

Halil Vehbi YENICE, Member of the Executive Committee of the Union of Municipalities of the Marmara Region and Mayor of Izmit-Saraybahce, Turkey

Petre ZAMBAKHIDZE (Georgia, NR), Member of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara

·            Closing by the President of the Chamber

Hemicycle

14.00 –16.30

PLENARY SITTING

·         Formal adoption of texts approved by the Chambers

[CG(16)8]

·         Congress Resources and its 2010 Budget
Rapporteur : Jean-Claude FRECON (France, L, SOC)

[CG(16)9REC]

[CG(16)9REP]

·         International financial crisis: consequences for European   territorial authorities
  continuation of the debate

·         Local and Regional democracy:

        Bosnia and Herzegovina
        Follow-up to the 2006 Congress report
       

[REC202(2006)]

[CG(13)30PART2]

        Statement by Perica RAJCEVIC (Bosnia and Herzegovina, R, NR),
        Member of the Parliament of the Republika Srpska on behalf of the national         delegation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Congress
       

        Contribution by Christopher NEWBURY (United Kingdom, L, EPP/CD),
        Rapporteur of the Congress
       

·            Transfrontier Co-operation

       - Introduction by: Ludmila SFIRLOAGA (Romania, R, SOC),        President of the Chamber of Regions of the Congress

       - South Adriatic Eurodistrict :

       Presentation by Marija KATOVIC (Montenegro, L, SOC),
       Mayor of Kotor

       - Strasbourg-Ortenau Eurodistrict:

       Presentation by Roland RIES, Senator-Mayor of Strasbourg

       (France)

      
       Contributions from:

       Stepan KIRICHUK (Russian Federation, R, SOC), President,        National Congress of Russian Municipalities

       Jean-Paul HEIDER (France, R, EPP/CD), Vice-President of        the Association of European Border Regions (AEBR)

       - Conclusions by Ludmila SFIRLOAGA (Romania, R, SOC),        President of the Chamber of Regions of the Congress

CLOSING OF THE SESSION BY THE CONGRESS PRESIDENT