Overview

MCL-16(2009)4a
Addendum I

Council of Europe Conference

of Ministers responsible

for Local and Regional Government

“Good local and regional governance in

turbulent times: the challenge of change”

16th Session, Utrecht, 16 - 17 November 2009

Overview of CDLR activities under the
Budapest Agenda

PART I - CHALLENGES IDENTIFIED AND ACTIONS COMMITTED TO IN THE BUDAPEST AGENDA,
REVISED IN VALENCIA

THEME	CHALLENGES	ACTIONS	ACTIVITIES
Legal framework and institutional structure	1. Giving full effect to the principle of subsidiarity by defining and legislating on the competences, structures and boundaries of local and regional authorities	1. When engaging in processes of reform of local and regional self-government, to respect the European Charter of Local Self-Government and be guided by Recommendation Rec(2004)12 on the processes of reform of boundaries and/or structure of local and regional authorities 2. To monitor developments in regional self-government with a view to identifying in particular innovations and any issues common to a number of states	See Part II.A
2. Fostering effective relations between different levels of territorial administration, particularly between central and local authorities	3. To share our knowledge, experience and views concerning the relationship between central and local authorities with a view to identifying good practice and drawing up guidelines on this topic
3. Encouraging and creating the necessary conditions for inter-municipal co-operation	4. To share our knowledge, experience and views concerning inter-municipal co-operation with a view to identifying and promoting good practices and drawing up guidelines on this topic

THEME

CHALLENGES

ACTIONS

ACTIVITIES

Legal framework and institutional structure

1. Giving full effect to the principle of subsidiarity by defining and legislating on the competences, structures and boundaries of local and regional authorities

1. When engaging in processes of reform of local and regional self-government, to respect the European Charter of Local Self-Government and be guided by Recommendation Rec(2004)12 on the processes of reform of boundaries and/or structure of local and regional authorities

2. To monitor developments in regional self-government with a view to identifying in particular innovations and any issues common to a number of states

See Part II.A

2. Fostering effective relations between different levels of territorial administration, particularly between central and local authorities

3. To share our knowledge, experience and views concerning the relationship between central and local authorities with a view to identifying good practice and drawing up guidelines on this topic

3. Encouraging and creating the necessary conditions for inter-municipal co-operation

4. To share our knowledge, experience and views concerning inter-municipal co-operation with a view to identifying and promoting good practices and drawing up guidelines on this topic

THEME

CHALLENGES

ACTIONS

ACTIVITIES

Democratic participation and public ethics

1. Responding to the changing ways in which citizens engage in public life at local level and, in some cases, the decreasing willingness to do so

1. To continue work on the ways in which information and communication technologies can facilitate democratic reform at local and regional level

2. To examine the desirability and feasibility of forms of remote voting in local and regional elections

3. To develop and make use of tools to assess the effectiveness of measures taken to enhance participation in public life at local level

4. To examine the desirability and feasibility of introducing convention-based legal standards on the participation of citizens in public life at local and regional level

See Part II.B

2. Ensuring ethical behaviour by local and regional authorities, elected representatives and officials, whilst respecting local and regional self-government as well as individual rights and legitimate interests

5. To continue to promote the Handbook of Good Practice on Public Ethics at Local Level and prepare, where possible, handbooks suited to the particular situation in member States and thematic documents targeted at specific audiences

6. To gather and share good practices concerning the evaluation of compliance with standards of public ethics at local and regional level

7. To exchange experiences and provide the information necessary for the review of the Handbook, with a view to preparing a revised version in 3 to 4 years time

3. Addressing the low level of electoral turnout in elections at local and regional level in many countries

8. To pursue the implementation of Recommendation Rec(2001)19 on the Participation of Citizens in Local Public Life and of Recommendation Rec(2004)13 on the participation of young people in local and regional life

4. Broadening the scope for participation by foreign residents in public life at local level

9. To seek to overcome any obstacles to acceding to the Convention on the Participation of Foreigners in Public Life at Local Level and to seek to ratify it as soon as possible

THEME	CHALLENGES	ACTIONS	ACTIVITIES
Local and regional finance and public services	1. Reaching a level of resources for local and regional authorities which is commensurate with their responsibilities	- 1. To make use of, implement and promote, as appropriate, the existing Council of Europe acquis in the field of local and regional finance, in particular Recommendations Rec(2004)1 on the financial and budgetary management at local and regional levels and Rec (2005)1 on financial resources for local and regional authorities 2. To promote and assess the impact of the Council of Europe’s acquis in the field of local finance 3. To make use of and implement, as appropriate, the Committee of Ministers recommendations in the field of local and regional public services 4. To share experiences on leadership, benchmarking and capacity-building for local and regional authorities with a view to identifying good practice and possibly preparing a recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member States in these fields 5. To examine the possible ways in which local and regional authorities can co-operate with other authorities (inter-municipal co-operation, co-operation with authorities of a different level) and with the private sector (partnerships, concession of public services, contracting out certain elements) for improving public services offered to their citizens 6. To consider updating some of the previous reports in the field of local and regional finance and notably the report on “Local finance in Europe” examined by us the 11th session of the Conference (Lisbon, 1996)	See Part II.C
	2. Finding an optimum structure of income sources in order to allow local and regional authorities to offer their citizens services which are adapted to their requirements
	3. Fostering the leadership and capacity of local and regional authorities to deliver good local and regional governance and providing citizens with services of the highest possible quality while respecting budgetary constraints
	4. Striking the right balance between a high degree of freedom for local and regional authorities in managing their finance and a high degree of accountability

THEME	CHALLENGES	ACTIONS	ACTIVITIES
Transfrontier and inter-territorial co-operation	1. Finding ways and means of providing territorial communities or authorities and their transfrontier co-operation bodies with the capacity necessary to engage in and develop transfrontier co-operation	1. To identify the persons or institutions in charge of, or responsible for transfrontier and interterritorial co-operation at the level of the state (or the regions, as appropriate), with a view to creating within the Council of Europe an informal network through which to request and share information and documentation 2. In co-operation with the associations of local authorities at national and European level, to develop and promote the use of training methods and tools aimed at enhancing the capacity of local authorities to engage in sustainable transfrontier co-operation initiatives	See Part II.D
	2. Removing remaining legal and administrative obstacles to transfrontier and interterritorial co-operation	3. To make use of the “check list” of measures to be taken prior to or after the ratification of the Madrid Outline Convention on Transfrontier Co-operation between Territorial Communities or Authorities and its Protocols with a view to giving these instruments the greatest possible effect 4. To make use of, and implement, as appropriate, Recommendation Rec(2005)2 of the Committee of Ministers on good practice in and the removal of obstacles to transfrontier and interterritorial co-operation
	3. Establishing a clear and effective legal framework for institutionalised co-operation between territorial communities or authorities (euroregions)	5. To continue the work engaged in the Council of Europe on a draft Protocol to the Madrid Outline Convention on Euroregional Co-operation Groupings

PART II - CDLR ACTIVITIES UNDER THE BUDAPEST AGENDA, REVISED IN VALENCIA

PROGRAMMATION OF ACTIVITIES (by theme and action)		2005		2006		2007		2008		2009
PROGRAMMATION OF ACTIVITIES (by theme and action)		I	II	I	II	I	II	I	II	I	II
Theme 1 Legal framework and institutional structure
1	Promotion Rec (2004)12
	Assessment impact Rec (2004)12
2	First report on regional self-government
	Report on regional self-government
3	Report on relations central and local authorities
4	Report on inter-municipal co-operation
	Manual on inter-municipal co-operation
5	Detailed comparative study of competences of local authorities
	Analytical tool autonomy local authorities
6	Structure and operation reports
Theme 2 Democratic participation and public ethics
1	CDLR associated to work ICT & good governance
	Activity on ICT and local democracy
	Presentations on ICT & good governance
2	CDLR associated to work remote voting
	Activity on remote voting
3	Evaluation and researchers’ role
	CLEAR and test of the framework
	Draft recommendation on evaluation
4	Convention based legal standards
5	CD-ROM and promotional activities
	Preparation of national handbooks
	Preparation of thematic documents
6	Activity on compliance
7	Preparation of national contributions
8	Survey Rec (2001) 19
	Accompanying docs Rec(2001) 19
	Campaign Rec (2001)19 = European Local Democracy Week
9	Tour de table on ETS 144 and report for 16th ministerial session
Theme 3 Local and regional finance and public services
1	Promote acquis
	Booklets and CD ROM
2	Assessment conformity and impact + funding of new competences
3	Recommendation local and regional public services
4	Report on performance management
	Report on accounting rules
	Report on internal audit
	Recommendation on capacity-building
5	Report “public-private partnerships”
6	Report on local finance in Europe
Theme 4 Transfrontier and inter-territorial co-operation
1	Updating web-site
	Updating report Current state of TFC
	Establishing network of national correspondents on TFC
2	Drafting practical guide
	Elaborating capacity building programme TFC
	Dissemination Rec (2005)3
3	Information meetings TFC conventions
4	Dissemination and promotion Rec (2005)2
	Promoting bi-lateral /regional agreements TFC in South-Eastern Europe
5	Informal meeting 3^rd protocol TFC
	Elaboration 3^rd protocol TFC

I. A. LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE
ACTIVITY	EXPECTED OUTPUTS	RESULTS
Action 1. When engaging in processes of reform of local and regional self-government, to respect the European Charter of Local Self-Government and be guided by Recommendation (2004) 12 on the processes of reform of boundaries and/or structure of local and regional authorities
Promotion of Recommendation (2004)12 in member States contemplating or engaged in relevant processes of reform	Accompanying documents for promotion in interested member States Events in interested member States	No requests to organise an event at national level. The preparation of a promotional brochure was postponed.
Assessment of the impact in member States of Recommendation (2004)12	Report on impact based on a questionnaire	No specific activity.
Action 2. To monitor developments in regional self-government with a view to identifying in particular innovations and any issues common to a number of states
Preparation of a report on developments in regional self-government across member States, identifying in particular innovations and any issues common to a number of States	A written report with conclusions for the Committee of Ministers	The report was presented to the 15^th session of the Ministerial Conference in 2007, adopted by the Committee of Ministers and published in 2008.
Preparation of a (first) substantial report on developments in regional self-government across member States , identifying in particular innovations and any issues common to a number of States	A written report with findings for the 15^th session of the Ministerial Conference	See above.
Action 3. To share our knowledge, experience and views concerning the relationship between central and local authorities with a view to identifying good practice and drawing up guidelines on this topic
Preparation of a report on the relationship between central and local authorities	A written report with guidelines	The report on the relationship between central and local authorities was adopted by the CDLR in December 2007 and published in 2008.
Action 4. To share our knowledge, experience and views concerning inter-municipal co-operation with a view to identifying and promoting good practices and drawing up guidelines on this topic
Preparation of a report and guidelines identifying good practice on inter-municipal co-operation	A written report with guidelines	The report on inter-municipal co-operation was adopted by the CDLR in 2007 and published in 2008. A manual was prepared and adopted by the CDLR in 2008 and published in 2009.
Other
Detailed comparative study on local authorities competences	A detailed comparative report on local authorities competences An analytical tool for assessing the degree of autonomy of first-tier local authorities	The report was adopted by the CDLR in 2007 and published in 2008. The analytical tool was developed and supplemented by an explanatory report. Hungary, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom (England), Austria and Finland are currently testing the tool.
Structure and operation reports	Country specific reports on local and regional government	Reports are regularly published. Since 2005, the reports on: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey have been published.

II. B. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION AND PUBLIC ETHICS
ACTIVITY	EXPECTED OUTPUTS	RESULTS
Action 1. To continue work on the ways in which information and communication technologies can facilitate democratic reform at local and regional level
To be associated with any work of the CoE relating to ICT, good governance and democracy	Participation in CoE committees and working groups by CDLR representatives	Recommendation Rec(2009)1 on electronic democracy (e-democracy) was adopted on 18 February 2009 at the 1049th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies.
In light of other work of the CoE, a possible own activity of the CDLR	Not applicable	No specific activity.
Presentations on recent work and experiences in member States concerning the use of ICT for good governance and democratic reform	Presentations to the LR-DP meeting	Activity carried out at meetings of the LR-DP committee in September and June 2006. Presentations collected in a document and available on internet.
Action 2. To examine the desirability and feasibility of forms of remote voting in local and regional elections
To be associated with any work of the CoE relating to remote voting	Participation in CoE committees and working groups by CDLR representatives	No specific invitation. CDLR comments on remote voting had been taken up by the Venice Commission when revising the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters in respect of gender equality (family voting).
In light of other work of the CoE, a possible own activity of the CDLR	Not applicable	No specific activity.
Action 3. To develop and make use of tools to assess the effectiveness of measures taken to enhance participation in public life at local level
Evaluation of participation policies and the involvement of independent researchers	Presentations and exchange of views Possibly: elements for adding to the acquis	LR-DP committee’s activity held at meetings in September 2005 and in 2006. The topic has been included in the draft recommendation (see below).
CLEAR framework for auditing participation	“Road-test” in 4 local authorities over 5 member States; reports; final conference; auditing tool	The CLEAR framework was prepared and adopted by the CDLR in 2008, it has been appended to Recommendation Rec(2009)2 (see below).
Desirability and feasibility of a draft recommendation on the evaluation, auditing and monitoring of participation and participation policies at local and regional level	Decision on desirability and feasibility of draft recommendation	Recommendation Rec(2009)2 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the evaluation, auditing and monitoring of participation and participation policies at local and regional level was adopted on 11 March 2009 at the 1050th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies. The use of the CLEAR is to be promoted, inter alia through the Centre of Expertise.
Action 4. To examine the desirability and feasibility of introducing convention-based legal standards on the participation of citizens in public life at local and regional level
Desirability and feasibility of introducing convention-based legal standards on the participation of citizens in public life at local and regional level	A report to the 15^th session of the Ministerial Conference and/or the Committee of Ministers	A report had been submitted to the 15^th session of the Ministerial Conference which requested the finalisation of the draft with a view to its adoption in 2008. The draft Additional Protocol to the European Charter of Local Self-Government on the right to participate in the affairs of a local authority was finalised by the CDLR in April 2009, adopted by the Ministers’ Deputies at their 1064^th meeting (9 September 2009) and opened for signature in Utrecht.
Action 5. To continue to promote the Handbook of Good Practice on Public Ethics at Local Level and prepare, where possible, handbooks suited to the particular situation in member States and thematic documents targeted at specific audiences
Preparation and dissemination of a CDROM including the acquis and assistance to national promotional activities	CDROM and material support for national events (assistance with the translation, participation of the Secretariat and experts)	The revised CD-ROM including the Council of Europe acquis was prepared and produced.
Preparation of national handbooks	At least 4 national handbooks following the structure of the Council of Europe Handbook	The preparation of the national Bulgarian, Albanian, Moldovan and Ukrainian handbooks was finalized in 2007. Romania published a national handbook in 2008.
Preparation of thematic documents	Simplified thematic documents targeted at various audiences	The simplified version of the Handbook of Good Practice on Public Ethics at Local Level was adopted by the CDLR in November 2005.
Action 6. To gather and share good practices concerning the evaluation of compliance with standards of public ethics at local and regional level
To gather and share good practices concerning the evaluation of compliance with standards of public ethics at local and regional level	Study presenting an outlook of European situation and including conclusions and guideline	The activity is underway and will be implemented in 2010 in co-operation with a rapporteur.
Action 7. To exchange experiences and provide the information necessary for the review of the Handbook, with a view to preparing a revised version
Preparation and collection of national contributions	At least 25 national contributions	The update of the Handbook will be undertaken in 2010 in co-operation with the rapporteur on public ethics.
Action 8. To pursue the implementation of Recommendation (2001) 19 on the Participation of Citizens in Local Public Life and of Recommendation Rec(2004)13 on the participation of young people in local and regional life
Survey on the follow-up and implementation of Recommendation (2001) 19 and the degree to which the challenge has been met.	Report for the 15^th Session of the Ministerial Conference with an overview of the situation in member States	A survey of member States was carried out. The results were examined and proposals of follow-up developed. The information gathered was used also for the preparation of the report on citizen participation by the rapporteur.
Accompanying documents to Recommendation (2001)19 to increase access and user-friendliness and, possibly a logo	Core texts for accompanying documents for sending by central authorities to local authorities and possibly a logo	Accompanying text used by Norway and the Czech Republic. States that so wish can obtain it from the Secretariat.
Campaign including the production of handbooks and/or fact sheets aimed at civil society : this activity has become : feasibility of introducing a European Local Democracy Week (CDLR, May 2006)	n/a	Through a close co-operation between the CDLR and the Congress, the project of launching the European Local Democracy Week was realised in 2007 at the 15^th session of the Ministerial Conference. Since then, the Week is organised every year in October, in a number of member States (about 25, 3000 participating municipalities in 2009).
Action 9. To seek to overcome any obstacles to acceding to the Convention on the Participation of Foreigners in Public Life at Local Level and to seek to ratify it as soon as possible
Annual tour de table on the developments in respect of the European Convention on the participation of foreigners in public life at local level	Overview	The CDLR held tours de table when it deemed it appropriate. The last results have been included in the report on citizen participation.

	III. C. LOCAL AND REGIONAL FINANCE AND PUBLIC SERVICES
	ACTIVITY		EXPECTED OUTPUTS		RESULTS
	Action 1. To make use of, implement and promote, as appropriate, the existing Council of Europe acquis in the field of local and regional finance, in particular Recommendations Rec (2004) 1 on the financial and budgetary management at local and regional levels and Rec (2005) 1 on financial resources for local and regional authorities
	Promote the acquis at various national and international events in respect of local and regional finance		Inclusion of presentations of the acquis at various national and international conferences and seminars		The acquis, and Rec(2005)1 in particular, was presented to and used by the OECD Network for fiscal relations among levels of government during the discussions of its Statistical Committee on the definitions of the various types of resources.
	Prepare and disseminate booklets and CDROMs including the acquis		A booklet including the complete acquis on local (and regional) finance: Charter, Rec(2004)1 and Rec(2005)1 A revised CDROM including the acquis		The new CD-ROM containing the acquis on local finance was prepared and published in 2006. The Handbook on finance at local and regional level was also finalised and published.
	Action 2. To promote and assess the impact of the Council of Europe’s acquis in the field of local finance
	A questionnaire to assess the degree of conformity with the guidelines included in the acquis and its impact on policy and law making		Report on the implementation and impact of the acquis		Two reports adopted by the CDLR were adopted and published on the Internet in 2009.
	Action 3. To make use of and implement, as appropriate, the Committee of Ministers recommendations in the field of local and regional public services
	Finalisation of the recommendation on local and regional public services		Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers		Recommendation Rec(2007)4 on local and regional public services was adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 31 January 2007.
	Action 4. To share experiences on leadership, benchmarking and capacity-building for local and regional authorities with a view to identifying good practice and possibly preparing a recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member States in these fields
	Drafting of a recommendation on capacity building		Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member states		Recommendation (2007)12 on capacity building at local and regional level was adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 10 October 2007.
	Finalisation of the report on Performance management at local level		A written report with conclusions and guidelines		The Report on performance management at local level was adopted by the CDLR and then published in 2006.
	Finalisation of the report on Accounting rules at local level		A written report with conclusions and guidelines		The Report on accounting rules and practice at local level was adopted by the CDLR and then published in 2006.
	Preparation of a report on Internal audit at local and regional level		A written report with conclusions and guidelines		The Report on internal auditing at local and regional level was adopted by the CDLR and then published in 2006.
Action 5. To examine the possible ways in which local and regional authorities can co-operate with other authorities (inter-municipal co-operation, co-operation with authorities of a different level) and with the private sector (partnerships, concession of public services, contracting out certain elements) for improving public services offered to their citizens
Preparation of a report and guidelines identifying good practice in the relationship of local/regional authorities and the private sector		A written report with conclusions and guidelines		The Report on good practice in the relationship between local/regional authorities and the private sector ("public-private partnerships") was adopted by the CDLR and then published in 2009.
Action 6. To consider updating some of the previous reports in the field of local and regional finance and notably the report on “Local finance in Europe” examined by us the 11th session of the Conference (Lisbon, 1996)
Preparation of a general report and guidelines on “Local finance in Europe”		A written report with guidelines		(See also under action 2).

IV. D. TRANSFRONTIER CO-OPERATION
ACTIVITY		EXPECTED OUTPUTS	RESULTS
Action 1. To identify the persons or institutions in charge of, or responsible for transfrontier and inter-territorial co-operation at the level of the state (or the regions, as appropriate), with a view to creating within the Council of Europe an informal network through which to request and share information and documentation
Updating of the website		Report	The website of the Directorate has been reshuffled and contains updated information in particular on “Euroregions”.
Updating of reports		Report	Updated versions of the report on the Current state of Transfrontier Co-operation and the Handbook on Transfrontier Co-operation were published in 2006.
Establishing a network of national correspondents on transfrontier co-operation		Handbook, electronic address book, occasionally, informal meetings	A number of countries have appointed their contact persons for the network. Information can be requested or exchanged via the Secretariat.
Action 2. In co-operation with the associations of local authorities at national and European level, to develop and promote the use of training methods and tools aimed at enhancing the capacity of local authorities to engage in sustainable transfrontier co-operation initiatives
Drafting of a practical guide for the NGOs, local and regional authorities, Euroregions		Handbook on the development of co-operation at cross-border level	The Practical Guide of Transfrontier Co-operation has been published in the official languages and translated into Russian, Serbian, Macedonian, Greek, Albanian and Italian.
Elaboration of the Capacity Building Programme in the field of the transfrontier co-operation		Toolkit, training tools, handbook on training institutions (update)	A compendium of good practices based on the results of the Russia VII programme was published in Russian. In 2009, a collection of training modules on transfrontier and interterritorial cooperation will be published in the framework of the MORE database (financed by Italy).
Dissemination and promotion of Recommendation Rec(2005)3		Translation into non official languages	Translations in a number of non official languages are available. The Secretariat can assist in the organisation of (inter)national events.
Action 3. To make use of the “check list” of measures to be taken prior to or after the ratification of the Madrid Outline Convention on Transfrontier Co-operation between Territorial Communities or Authorities and its Protocols with a view to giving these instruments the greatest possible effect
Information meetings in member countries with a view to promoting the signature and ratification of the Madrid Outline Convention and Protocols	Meeting reports		At the request of the countries concerned, meetings were held in ”the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” (2006), Monaco (2005), Serbia and Montenegro (2005), Bosnia-Herzegovina (2004) and Georgia (2003).
Action 4 To make use of, and implement, as appropriate, Recommendation Rec(2005)2 of the Committee of Ministers on good practice in and the removal of obstacles to transfrontier and inter-territorial co-operation
Dissemination and promotion of Recommendation Rec(2005)2	Translations into non-official languages		Translations of the Recommendation are available. No requests for awareness-raising events were received by the Secretariat
Promoting the signature of bilateral/regional agreements on transfrontier co-operation in Eastern / South-Eastern Europe (follow-up to the Chişinău Political Declaration)	Draft agreement(s) between SEE countries		Two model regional agreements on mutual assistance in the event of disasters and on local border traffic and were approved by the Committee of Ministers.
Action 5. (revised by the Valencia Declaration) To continue the work engaged in the Council of Europe on a draft Protocol to the Madrid Outline Convention on Euroregional Co-operation Groupings
Informal meetings on the draft Protocol to the Madrid Outline Convention on Euroregional Co-operation Groupings	Meeting reports		Information meetings were held between 2004 and 2006 in Brussels, Warsaw, Helsinki, Oslo and Bern.
Finalisation of the draft Protocol to the Madrid Outline Convention on Euroregional Co-operation Groupings	European Convention		The draft Protocol No. 3 to the European Outline Convention on Transfrontier Co-operation between Territorial Communities or Authorities concerning Euroregional Co-operation Groupings was finalised by the CDLR in April 2009, adopted by the Ministers’ Deputies at their 1064^th meeting (9 September 2009) and opened for signature in Utrecht.