Present :

Dubravka SUICA

Vice-president

Croatia

Jean-Claude FRECON

Vice-president

France

Onno VAN VELDHUIZEN

Vice-President 

Netherlands

Halvdan SKARD

Past President

Norway

Refik  RRUGEJA

Albania

Enric CASADEVALL MEDRANO

Andorra

Montserrat CAPDEVILA PALLARES

Andorra

Emin YERITSYAN

Armenia

Abulfaz BABAYEV

Azerbaidjan

Jef GABRIELS

Belgium

Ljubo BESLIC

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Zdenek BROZ

Czech Republic

Anna Margrethe KAALUND

Denmark

Mihkel JUHKAMI

Estonia

Pentti TOIVANEN

Finland

Michel GUEGAN

France

Mamuka ABULADZE

Georgia

Rainer KUTSCHKE

Germany

Gellert SZABO

Hungary

Fabio PELLEGRINI

Italy

Antanas CERNECKIS

Lithuania

Emile EICHER

Luxembourg

Vasile PANCIUC

Romania

Jan BRONS

Poland

Mikhail CHERNISHEV

Russian Federation

Yuri MISCHERIAKOV

Russian Federation

Paolo RONDELLI

San Marino

Ann BESKOW

Sweden

Gaye DOGANOGLU

Turkey

Volodymyr UDOVYCHENKO

Ukraine

James MCCABE

United Kingdom

2.         INSTITUTIONAL COMMITTEE

Lars O. MOLIN, Vice-Chair                                                                                                        Sweden

Davor ZMEGAC                                                                                                                        Croatia

Michel GUEGAN                                                                                                                        France

Jean-Louis TESTUD                                                                                                                    France

Ekaterine BERISHVILI                                                                                                              Georgia

Wolfgang KELSCH                                                                                                                 Germany

Jürgen SCHÜTZ                                                                                                                     Germany

György ILLES                                                                                                                         Hungary

Guiseppe ANZALONE                                                                                                                    Italy

Angelo MUZIO                                                                                                                               Italy

Janis TEIKMANIS                                                                                                                        Latvia

Bronis ROPE                                                                                                                          Lithuania

Maria NATOLI                                                                                                                              Malta

Marija CATOVIC                                                                                                                 Montenegro

Jan BRONS                                                                                                                              Poland

Artur TORRES PEREIRA                                                                                                        Portugal

Radu Paun JURA                                                                                                                    Romania

Mikhail GULEVSKIY                                                                                                Russian Federation

Tihomir PETKOVIC                                                                                                                     Serbia

Cees BIJL                                                                                                                    The Netherlands

Ivan KULICHENKO                                                                                                                    Ukraine

Feryat DEMIRCI                                                                                                           United Kingdom

Christopher NEWBURY                                                                                                United Kingdom

OTHER MEMBERS OF THE CONGRESS

Marc COOLS                                                                                                                          Belgium

SECRETARIES OF THE NATIONAL DELEGATIONS TO THE CONGRESS

Marc THOULEN                                                                                                                      Belgium

Pierre CORNELOUP                                                                                                                   France

OTHER PARTICIPANTS

Oskars KASTĒNS, Latvian special assignments Minister for Social Integration                                      

Fons BORGINON, Representative of Marino Keulen, Flemish Minister for Home Affairs, Urban Policy, Housing and Civic Integration

Arnold d’Oreye de LANTREMANGE, Municipality of Kraainem                                                              

François van HOOBROUCK d’Aspre, Municipality of Wezembeek-Oppem                                           

Damien THIERY, Municipality of Linkebeek                                                                                          

CONGRESS SECRETARIAT

Jean-Philippe BOZOULS, Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Local Authorities

Tim LISNEY, Co-Secretary of the Chamber of Local Authorities

Almut SCHROEDER, Secretary a.i. of the Institutional Committee

Stéphanie POIREL, Co-Secretary of the Institutional Committee

Lilit NIKOGHOSYAN, Co-Secretary of the Institutional Committee

Anna ONIPENKO, Assistant of the Institutional Committee

Martine SCHANDENE, Assistant of the Committee on Sustainable Development

1          OPENING OF THE MEETING BY THE VICE-PRESIDENT, Dubravka SUICA

Ms Dubravka SUICA (Croatia, EPP/CD), Vice-President of the Chamber, opened the Session and welcomed the participants.

2          DRAFT AGENDA

[CPL/SA (15) OJ 1]

The President proposed to invert the items no.4 (Urban Charter) and no.7  (Biodiversity), to allow Mr Mayoral I Antigas time to make his presentation before he had to leave. The proposal was agreed. The draft agenda was adopted accordingly.

3          DRAFT MINUTES OF THE SPRING SESSION

[CPL/SP (14) PV 1]

The draft minutes of the Chamber's Spring Session, held in Strasbourg on 20 November 2007, were adopted.

4          LOCAL DEMOCRACY IN LATVIA

[CPL(14)11REP]
[CPL(14)11REC]
[CPL(14)11RES]

The rapporteur, Mr FRÉCON (France, SOC), presented the draft report and recommendation, concerning  the fact-finding mission to Latvia that he had led on 14 and 15 April 2008.  There was a difficult situation in Latvia with respect to the 15% of the population, mostly Russophone, who were classed as non-citizens and deprived of basic political rights. The Latvian authorities were aware of the problem and had taken a number of measures to facilitate the naturalization of these people. However, they had chosen a naturalization process, whereas a number of them wished to preserve their own identity. He believed that it was imperative for the Latvian authorities to give the vote to its non-citizens in order to speed up their integration, in the interests of national reconciliation.

The President gave the floor to Mr Oskars KASTENS, special assignments minister for social integration of Latvia.

Mr. KASTENS outlined the measures that his government had made, since Latvia obtained its independence in 1991, to facilitate the integration of immigrants. He maintained that the main difference between the rights of citizens and non citizens was that the latter were not able to vote or work in the civil service. The number of non-citizens had decreased by a half since 1995, with some 130,000 people being naturalised. Since June 2008, non-citizens could travel to Russia without a Latvian visa and a recent poll had shown that 74% of non-citizens believed that there were advantages to not taking citizenship. He was convinced that granting voting rights to non-citizens would lesson the incentive for acquiring Latvian citizenship.

The Chair opened the floor for debate.

Mr SKARD (Norway, SOC), asked whether the minister considered it legitimate to dissociate the question of nationality from the right to vote.

Mr KASTENS replied that a considerable number of those concerned were reluctant to give up the benefits, such as special travel rights, of their current situation. At the same time, the priority of his government in this matter was to reduce the number of non-citizens by promoting the naturalisation process.

Mr TESTUD (France, EPP/CD), asked whether the Minister was not concerned at a risk of a serious split in Latvian society.

Mr KASTENS replied that he was convinced that the naturalisation process was the best way to deal with this issue. He reminded the Chamber of the recent poll where 74% had expressed satisfaction with the current situation.

Mr BIJL (Netherlands, SOC), asked whether Mr KASTENS' ministry would still exist in ten years' time.

Mr KASTENS replied that, since it had been created in 2003, the integration of immigrants had been a priority for the ministry. The ministry worked closely with the local authorities in the largest municipalities, which were home to the highest number of non-citizens.

Mr VAN VELDHUIZEN (Netherlands, ILDG) observed that, in Estonia, non-citizens have the right to vote in local elections and asked why Latvia had not adopted the same policy.

Mr KASTENS replied that, unlike Estonia, when Latvia had regained its independence it had restored its pre-war constitution. The status of non-citizens was not the same as in other countries of the European Union and Latvia's non-citizens enjoyed consular protection abroad.

Mr FRÉCON (France, SOC), rapporteur, summed up the debate, expressing disappointment that there had been no developments since the Congress had undertaken its fact-finding mission.

The Chair closed the debate.

The Chair informed the Chamber that 17 amendments had been tabled for the draft recommendation.

Mr STEPANOVS (Latvia, EPP/CD) presented Amendment no.1 to the draft recommendation, proposing to delete paragraph 7.b.

Mr FRÉCON (France, SOC), rapporteur, was against the proposed amendment.

The President the proposed that the amendment be put to a vote.

Amendment no.1, put to the vote, was rejected.

Mr STEPANOVS (Latvia, EPP/CD) presented Amendment no.2 to the draft recommendation, proposing to delete paragraph 8.c.

Mr FRÉCON, rapporteur, was against the proposed amendment.

The President the proposed that the amendment be put to a vote.

Amendment no.2, put to the vote, was rejected.

Mr STEPANOVS (Latvia, EPP/CD) presented Amendment no.3 to the draft recommendation, proposing to delete the last part of paragraph 9.a.

Mr FRÉCON (France, SOC), rapporteur, was against the proposed amendment.

The President the proposed that the amendment be put to a vote.

Amendment no.3, put to the vote, was rejected.

Mr STEPANOVS (Latvia, EPP/CD) presented Amendment no.4 to the draft recommendation, proposing to delete paragraph 11.b.

Mr FRÉCON (France, SOC), rapporteur, was against the proposed amendment.

The President the proposed that the amendment be put to a vote.

Amendment no.4, put to the vote, was rejected.

Mr STEPANOVS (Latvia, EPP/CD) presented Amendment no.5 to the draft recommendation, proposing to reword paragraph 11.e. as "consider signing and ratifying".

Mr FRÉCON (France, SOC), rapporteur, supported the proposed amendment.

The President the proposed that the amendment be put to a vote.

Amendment no.5, put to the vote, was adopted.

Mr STEPANOVS (Latvia, EPP/CD) presented Amendment no.6 to the draft recommendation, proposing to reword paragraph 13 as "Recommends that the Parliamentary Assembly take account of the preceding observations and recommendations, in the framework of its procedure of periodic reporting on member states not currently under a monitoring or post-monitoring procedure".

Mr FRÉCON (France, SOC), rapporteur, supported the proposed amendment.

The President the proposed that the amendment be put to a vote.

Amendment no.6, put to the vote, was adopted.

Mr FRÉCON (France, SOC), rapporteur, presented Amendment no.7 to the draft recommendation, proposing to replace "people" by "the elderly" in paragraph 11.c.

The President the proposed that the amendment be put to a vote.

Amendment no.7, put to the vote, was adopted.

Mr FRÉCON (France, SOC), rapporteur, presented Amendment no.8 to the draft recommendation, proposing to add "in local elections" after "right to vote" in paragraph 11.b.

The President the proposed that the amendment be put to a vote.

Amendment no.8, put to the vote, was adopted.

Mr MISHCHERYAKOV (Russian Federation, ILDG) presented Amendment no.9 to the draft recommendation, proposing to replace "sign of the vitality of Latvian democracy" by  "sign of the consolidation of real democracy in Latvia" in paragraph 7.d

Mr FRÉCON (France, SOC), rapporteur, was against the proposed amendment.

The President the proposed that the amendment be put to a vote.

Amendment no.9, put to the vote, was rejected.

Mr MISHCHERYAKOV (Russian Federation, ILDG) presented Amendment no.10 to the draft recommendation, proposing to add "and contribute to the social and economic development of the country" after "Latvian society" in paragraph 8.b

Mr FRÉCON (France, SOC), rapporteur, supported the proposed amendment.

The President the proposed that the amendment be put to a vote.

Amendment no.10, put to the vote, was adopted.

Mr MISHCHERYAKOV (Russian Federation, ILDG) presented Amendment no.11 to the draft recommendation, proposing to delete "considerable" in paragraph 9.b.

Mr FRÉCON (France, SOC), rapporteur, was against the proposed amendment.

The President the proposed that the amendment be put to a vote.

Amendment no.11, put to the vote, was rejected.

Mr MISHCHERYAKOV (Russian Federation, ILDG) presented Amendment no.12 to the draft recommendation, proposing to replace paragraph 9.c. with "the fact that, due to their status as permanent residents, the vast majority of non-citizens are entitled to a certain number of citizens' rights, apart from voting and entry into the civil service, or using their mother tongue in their daily contacts with local authorities and during local election campaigns, in particular in those areas in which they are concentrated".

Mr FRÉCON (France, SOC), rapporteur, was against the proposed amendment.

The President the proposed that the amendment be put to a vote.

Amendment no.12, put to the vote, was rejected.

Mr MISHCHERYAKOV (Russian Federation, ILDG) informed the Chamber that Amendment no.12 to the draft recommendation was withdrawn.

Mr MISHCHERYAKOV (Russian Federation, ILDG) presented Amendment no.14 to the draft recommendation, proposing to add a new paragraph 11.f. as follows

"Annul the reservations made in May 2004 by the Latvian Saeima, on ratification of the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, which prevent non-citizens from using their mother tongue in their contacts with local authorities as well as in the names of certain geographical locations; extend the application of the afore-mentioned Convention to non-citizens, in accordance with the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly recommendations of 2001 to 2003 and resolution 1527 of 2006, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly of 2004 and the Recommendation of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights “

Mr STEPANOVS (Latvia, EPP/CD), spoke against the proposed amendment

Mr FRÉCON (France, SOC), rapporteur, was against the proposed amendment.

The President the proposed that the amendment be put to a vote.

Amendment no.14, put to the vote, was rejected.

Mr CHERNYSHEV (Russian Federation, EPP/CD) presented Amendment no.15 to the draft recommendation, proposing to delete paragraph 7.a

Mr FRÉCON (France, SOC), rapporteur, was against the proposed amendment.

The President the proposed that the amendment be put to a vote.

Amendment no.15, put to the vote, was rejected.

Mr CHERNYSHEV (Russian Federation, EPP/CD) presented Amendment no.16 to the draft recommendation, proposing to delete "in the light of history of the country" from paragraph 7.a

Mr FRÉCON (France, SOC), rapporteur, was against the proposed amendment.

The President the proposed that the amendment be put to a vote.

Amendment no.16, put to the vote, was rejected.

Mr CHERNYSHEV (Russian Federation, EPP/CD) presented Amendment no.17 to the draft recommendation, proposing add a new subparagraph 11.g as follows:

"Regardless of the difficulties linked to financial and economic crisis, keep in place state bodies in charge of society’s integration"

Mr FRÉCON (France, SOC), rapporteur, supported the proposed amendment.

The President the proposed that the amendment be put to a vote.

Amendment no.17, put to the vote, was adopted.

The President closed the debate proposed that the draft recommendation, as amended, be put to a vote.

The draft recommendation contained in document CPL(15)7REC, as amended, was approved.

5          LOCAL DEMOCRACY IN BELGIUM

[CPL(14)12REP]

[CPL(14)12REC]

[CPL(14)12RES]

The rapporteurs,  Mr GUÉGAN and Mr MILOVANOVIC, presented the report. Mr GUÉGAN outlined five issues which had concerned them most with respect to the implementation of the European Charter of Local Self-Government:

- the disruption to the management of local affairs that the affair had caused;
- the negative effect that this language issue had on the right to participation in local political life;

- the disproportionate nature of the Minister's response compared to the alleged infraction;

- the excessive powers of supervision that the regional authority possessed with respect to the communes;

- the failure to implement Congress Recommendation 131, adopted in 2003.

Mr Fons BORGINON, speaking on behalf of Mr KEULEN, the Flemish Minister for Home Affairs, Urban Policy, Housing and Civic Integration, set out the legal reasons which had prevented his minister from attending. He recalled that Mr KEULEN had asked for the debate to be postponed until legal proceedings had been exhausted. He underlined that Belgian municipalities enjoy a considerable degree of autonomy and maintained that the case in question was a matter of applying and respecting the law as it stands.

Mr Damien THIERY, Municipality of Linkebeek, speaking on behalf of the three non-appointed burgomasters, regretted the absence of Mr KEULEN, as well as his recent decision to confirm their non-appointment. He recalled that they had been democratically elected by electorates with large francophone majorities. He claimed that the three communes had been following federal law with respect to their language policy. He compared their case with that of thirteen burgomasters who had refused to hold elections but who had nevertheless been appointed.

The Chair opened the floor for the debate.

Mr TORRES PEREIRA (Portugal, EPP/CD), asked whether it would be possible to be more flexible with the current language provisions.

Mr BORGINON replied that the current language borders had been fixed in 1962 and that the current system, which represented a compromise, was working.

Mr RONDELLI (San Marino, SOC), asked whether the non-appointed burgomasters would appeal to the Council of State.

Mr THIERY replied that they would.

Mrs DOGANOGLU (Turkey, EPP/CD), asked whether the non-appointed burgomasters would take their case to the European Court of Human Rights.

Mr THIERY replied in the affirmative.

Mr BORGINON added that the Belgian Council of State would have to consider the affair before this.

Mr GABRIELS (Belgium, EPP/CD), recalled that the non-appointed burgomasters had yet to exhaust the legal procedures available to them in Belgium. The current language laws had been passed with a two-thirds majority in parliament and were now integrated into the constitution. It would be difficult for him to accept a recommendation which was against the constitution.

Mr TESTUD (France, EPP/CD), asked whether this affair did not threaten to damage Belgium's international image.

Mr BORGINON replied that, if Belgium suffered from a negative image in international institutions, it was because Belgians themselves, for their own political reasons, were painting their country in a negative light.

Mr GUÉGAN (France, NR) declared that Belgium was a wonderful country with a great tradition of linguistic diversity. It was for the Belgians to sort out their own problems. He appealed to them to apply common sense to this issue.

Mr FRÉCON (France, SOC) asked whether the Flemish authorities considered that the European Charter of Local Self-Government should not take precedence over Flemish legislation.

Mr BORGINON replied that if the preamble to the European Charter of Local Self-Government could be interpreted as requiring the direct election of mayors, then many member states would find themselves in contravention of the Charter.

Mr VAN VELDHUIZEN (Netherlands, ILDG) expressed unease with any legislation which could prevent an elected representative from taking office because of a language issue.

Mr VAN CAUWENBERGHE (Belgium, SOC) regretted the absence of Mr KEULEN. He considered it important for citizens to be able to understand local political issues. He wished to know why the Flemish burgomasters who had refused to hold elections had not received similar treatment.

Mr BORGINON replied that there was a clear political motivation behind these issues, since all the cases referred to had been initiated by Walloon Belgians.

Mr GUÉGAN (France, NR) summed up the discussions, adding that in any democracy it was important for voters to be able to understand the voting forms.

The President closed the debate and proposed that the draft recommendation be put to a vote.

The draft recommendation contained in document CPL(15)8REC was approved.

The President proposed that the draft resolution be put to a vote.

The draft resolution contained in document CPL(15)8RES was approved.

6          OBSERVATION OF THE ELECTIONS IN ISRAEL

Mr VAN VELDHUIZEN (Netherlands), vice-president, took the chair.

Mr FRECON (France), head of the Congress observation mission to Israel, gave an oral report of this mission. This was the first time that the Congress had been invited to observe elections in Israel. While the election had generally been conducted very well, and was free and fair, he was unhappy that the election had been held on a working day, with a resulting poor turnout. He recommended that future local elections be held on a non-working day, as was the case for national elections.

Mr ANZALONE (Italy) asked about Israel's plans to introduce electronic voting.

Mr PELLEGINI (Italy) agreed that the elections had been well-organised, but expressed concern about the travel restrictions for Palestinians and the fact that the Congress delegation had been unable to meet with Arab local elected representatives.

7          PREPARATION OF A DRAFT PROTOCOL TO THE EUROPEAN             CHARTER OF LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT ON DEMOCRATIC             PARTICIPATION AT LOCAL LEVEL

This item was postponed due to lack of time.

8          ANY OTHER BUSINESS

There was no other business.

9          CLOSURE OF THE SESSION

The chair declared the session closed.