Strasbourg, 30 January 2009                                                                     LR-IC(2009)4

                                                                          

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE ON LOCAL AND REGIONAL DEMOCRACY

(CDLR)

COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS ON LOCAL AND REGIONAL

GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS AND CO-OPERATION

(LR-IC)

WORKSHOPS ON REGIONAL SELF-GOVERNMENT

Secretariat Memorandum

prepared by the Directorate General of

Democracy and Political Affairs

Directorate of Democratic Institutions

This document is public. It will not be distributed at the meeting. Please bring this copy.

Ce document est public. Il ne sera pas distribué en réunion. Prière de vous munir de cet exemplaire.

Introduction

After having been adopted in its broad principles by the CDLR in 2007, and confirmed by the Committee in its meeting in June 2008, the method of “workshops” was put into practice for the first time in December 2008.

The first edition of the CDLR workshops on local and regional democracy, focussing on the topic of “The representation of European regions at national and European level”, took place on 1-2 December 2008 in Salzburg (Austria) at the invitation of the Land of Salzburg, host and organiser of the event (in its function as LR-GI member representing Austria). The provisional report of this first event, such as it was also presented to the CDLR at its meeting in December 2008, can be found in Appendix I.

Recently (beginning of 2009) the preparatory work for CDLR workshop II on the topic “Regional Finance Adapted to Regional Competences: Assuring Coherence on a Long Term Basis” to take place in St. Gallen/Switzerland in 2009 has started. In collaboration with the Secretariat, the Canton of of St. Gallen (host and organiser of Workshop II), has identified the dates of
11-12 May 2009 as being the most convenient and would like to propose them to all delegations. A detailed draft proposal for this workshop as well as an entry form allowing interested delegations to register directly with the Swiss colleagues, can be found in Appendices II and III respectively. Both documents are presented in English only to the Committee given that the working language of the Workshop will be English.

Action required

Committee members are invited to take note of the information presented concerning
Workshop I and to express any comments or suggestions considered useful following the first edition of this new CDLR working method.

They are invited to have an in-depth discussion on the draft proposal presented concerning Workshop II on regional finances and to make any with a view to further narrowing down the topic and highlighting the questions to be raised.

In case they are interested by the topic, delegations are finally invited to register for this workshop by 6 April 2009 the latest, by means of the entry form appended (Appendix III), and to specify the national developments that motivate their interest.

Any member state interested in organising a future workshop on a specific topic in 2009 or later is invited to contact the Secretariat at any time.

Annexe I

PROVISIONAL REPORT OF THE FIRST CDLR WORKSHOP ON LOCAL AND REGIONAL DEMOCRACY (SALZBURG, 1-2 DECEMBER 2009)

AS PRESENTED TO THE CDLR IN DECEMBER 2008

The first edition of the CDLR workshops on local and regional democracy, focussing on the topic of “The representation of European regions at national and European level”, took place on 1-2 December 2008 in Salzburg (Austria) at the invitation of the Land of Salzburg, host and organiser of the event (in its function as LR-GI member representing Austria).

The first CDLR workshop was characterised by a very dynamic debate of the topic by the
27 participants of different origins and professional spheres (eleven Austrian experts, one academic expert from Germany, representatives from six member States represented at the CDLR, representatives of two organisations being CDLR observers (Congress and AER), two members of the Council of Europe Secretariat).

The following aspects can be found amongst the results of the discussion:

-          There are various forms of regional involvement in decision-making processes at national and European level (both in preparing legislation and implementing it). Amongst the main forms of the representation of regional interests identified are the following:

o    Formal institutions and procedures at national level ;

o    Close co-operation and coordination between regions;

o    Informal consultation processes and “lobbying” approaches;

o    The direct representation, notably in EU matters, through national or regional representations in Brussels, or through European organisations such as the Committee of the Regions or the Assembly of European Regions.

-          The efficient management of the very comprehensive and complex information flows of regional interest is a crucial matter (rapid reaction, good overview, precise direction of information, setting of priorities, technical expertise of staff). The executive being the main player, it generally manages to cope with this complexity which is, however, more problematic for parliaments.

-          The main focus of regional entities is oriented towards EU matters, but the Council of Europe as a European platform helping regions to be better “heard” in a wider European context should not be neglected.

A summary of the issues and results of the debate will be prepared in collaboration with the participants themselves and presented in a meeting report to be disseminated to all CDLR and LR-GI members.

On behalf of all participants, the CDLR Secretariat would once again like to thank the Land of Salzburg for their hospitality and very professional organisation of this event.

Annexe Ii

                                                           

CDLR-Workshops on Local and Regional Democracy

Workshop II:

“Regional Finance Adapted to Regional Competences:

Assuring Coherence on a Long Term Basis”

11 – 12 May 2009

St Gallen, Switzerland

Draft proposal

Items	Proposals
Workshop theme
Theme	“Regional Finance Adapted to Regional Competences: Assuring Coherence on a Long Term Basis ”
Points to be discussed	Discussion of various aspects linked to finances of regional authorities: -          general principles in this field as to be found in European countries, -          sources of revenue for European regions, -          relations with central State with regard to the financial equipment of regions, -          instruments and procedures for evaluating the financial equipment of a region and the question if regional budgets are sufficient, -          specific challenges for certain countries concerning the adequacy between regional competences and finance, -          co-operation between regions for financing certain common tasks or infrastructures -          etc.
Practical aspects
Host, organizer	Canton of St.Gallen / Switzerland supported by the Council of Europe Secretariat
Length, dates	1 day (split over two half-days (afternoon/morning) for reasons of logistics and travel): Start:  Monday 11 May at lunchtime End:   Tuesday 12 May at lunchtime Optional: sight-seeing programme in the afternoon of 12 May
Number of participants	15-20 participants maximum
Type of participants	-          5-10 member States represented by one or several persons (members of CDLR or LR-IC, other representatives of national governments) -          External experts on the question (Swiss and international) from public administration, international organizations or universities -          Secretariat (local and Council of Europe)
Working language	English
Funding, contributions	Host (Canton of St. Gallen /Switzerland): meeting rooms, catering during the meeting, participation of local/national political representatives and experts from Switzerland Participating member States: all travel and subsistence expenses (accomodation and meals) for their experts Council of Europe: mission costs for Secretariat members, preparatory work for the workshop, participation of certain external experts (university, international organizations etc.)
Draft program
First half-day Afternoon of 11 May	Focus on Switzerland and general overview over the topic: -          General introduction of the topic (Host, Secretariat) -          The issue of regional finance and its different aspects from a “theoretical” point of view : present challenges and solutions (external experts/specialists) -          The issue of regional finance as perceived and discussed in Switzerland: present situation and challenges (Swiss experts)
Second half-day Morning of 12 May	Focus on different national situations, challenges and developments – general discussion: -          Country reports from member States exposing their present challenges and questions, ongoing developments or innovative solutions (certain contributions to be prepared and disseminated before the workshop) -          Moderated discussion of questions raised by different countries -          Common conclusions and follow-up
Context
General objectives	General objectives of CDLR workshops are: -          Exchange, discussion, analysis of present challenges in the field of regional democracy in Europe in order to produce useful conclusions for interested member States -          Mobilise a network of Member States concerned or having been concerned by similar challenges, so that they can exchange on their respective experience (and continue to do so after a workshop) -          Set-up and animation of a wider European network of experts in a given field on a mid-term basis -          Make use of the related acquis and information and knowledge base of the Council of Europe as a reference where useful -          Make use of the Council of Europe as a platform for in-depth discussions of specific topics
Related events	Other workshops of the CDLR on different topics are planned for 2009 and beyond
Contacts for further information
Contact in St. Gallen: Ms Marietta Germann Department for International and Federal Affairs, Canton of St. Gallen Postal address: Staatskanzlei, Koordinations-stelle für Aussenbeziehungen Regierungs-gebäude, CH - 9001 St.Gallen Phone: +41 71 229 75 03 e-mail: [email protected]		Contact in Strasbourg: Ms Maren Lambrecht-Feigl Directorate General of Democracy and Political Affairs, Direction of Democratic Institutions Council of Europe F - 67075 Strasbourg Cedex Phone: +33 3 90 21 47 78 e-mail: m[email protected]

Annexe IIi

CDLR-Workshops on Local and Regional Democracy

Workshop II:

“Regional Finance Adapted to Regional Competences:

Assuring Coherence on a Long Term Basis”

11 – 12 May 2009

St Gallen, Switzerland

Entry Form
Family name:
First name:
Title:
Institution, Organisation:
Postal address:
Telephone number:
E-mail address:

Special interest in the workshop - Suggestions
We would be particularly interested in the following aspects of the topic
Our specific interest is based on the following national situation or developments
We would be ready to actively contribute to the workshop concerning the following specific issues
We would like to make the following further suggestions with regard to the workshop (specific aspects to hightlight, national experts possibly to associate etc.)

For subscription to workshop II, please send this entry form by 6 April 2009

to the following address (by email or fax):

Ms Marietta Germann

Department for International and Federal Affairs, Canton of St. Gallen

Phone: +41 71 229 75 03 / Fax: +41 71 229 39 55

E-mail: [email protected]