From Subsidiarity to Success: Strong Regions for a Strong Europe

Conference organised in the frame of the 25^th Anniversary of Assembly of European Regions (AER)

Brussels, 14 June 2010

Speech by Knud ANDERSEN, Vice-Chairman of the Chamber of Regions, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, Council of Europe

“The role of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in promoting regional democracy”

Madam President,

Secretary General,

Dear members of the Assembly,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for me to address you today on this joyful occasion – the 25^th anniversary of the Assembly of European Regions. I wish to convey to you our whole-hearted congratulations on behalf of the acting President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, who was unable to be with us today, on behalf of all Congress members and from me personally.

The Congress and the Assembly of European Regions share the link that is almost paternal. The predecessor of the Congress, the Conference of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe, was instrumental in creating AER twenty-five years ago. Nine years later, in 1994, the Congress was set up in its current form. It comes as no surprise that both the Congress and AER have been enjoying a very productive relationship of close co-operation. This partnership is strengthened by the geographical proximity of our headquarters in the city of Strasbourg, and also reflected in the fact that the Assembly has observer status in the Congress Bureau, and many AER member regions have their representatives in our Congress.

The Assembly’s strategic goals and principles, its vision of a grassroots Europe are perfectly in line with the goals and principles of the Congress. May I recall that the regional dimension was added to the activities of the Conference of Local Authorities in 1975, making it Conference of Local and Regional Authorities. Needless to say that regionalisation has been high on our political agenda, reflecting the growing power and importance of regions in many Council of Europe member states and the strengthening of regional democracy on our continent.

Much as your Assembly, we recognise the regions as key partners in the European project. We both recognise that decentralisation in Europe created a shift in power from one centre towards a network of powers, including regional powers. We must now make sure that this shift is accompanied by the transfer of competences that are matched with the necessary means for regional authorities to fulfil their tasks. The Assembly of European Regions has been playing a very important role in this process. For our part, we in the Congress have been actively involved in encouraging regionalisation across our continent, and particularly in monitoring the development of regional democracy in our 47 member states.

As a result of the current reform of the Congress, which is part of the broader reform of the Council of Europe as a whole, our monitoring activity will be expanded, and along with it the regional dimension of our monitoring. We also continue to advocate for a stronger representation of regions in the second chamber of national parliaments, and we organised a conference on this subject in 2008, together with the French Senate.

The Congress has intensified its action to promote co-operation between regions, with the setting-up of a Working Group on Interregional Co-operation at the end of 2007 and the creation of the Adriatic Euroregion in 2006 and the Black Sea Euroregion in 2008. These Euroregions of a new type provide co-operation platforms for local and regional authorities from both EU and non-EU countries.

In this context, I would like to pay tribute to the support given by AER to the activities of the Chamber of Regions, in particular in the preparation of the draft European Charter of Regional Democracy and, more recently, in the drafting of the Reference Framework on Regional Democracy. Your Assembly is also following closely the work done within the Council of Europe at the intergovernmental level – I mean CDLR and its working groups, and we very much appreciate this involvement and the support of Congress position there. It must not be forgotten: there the Congress discusses with governmental representatives of the 47 member States of the Council of Europe on a regular basis. This gives us a different role in the institutional architecture of the Council of Europe and we hope that the Committee of the Regions will achieve this position in the EU context as well.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In celebrating the 25^th anniversary of AER and taking stock of the accomplishments of the past quarter of the century, we should at the same time brace ourselves for the challenges lying ahead and seize the new opportunities in the field of regionalisation, offered by several recent developments.

I am speaking about the 3^rd Protocol to the Madrid Convention on transfrontier co-operation, which enables the creation of Euro-regional groupings between EU and non-EU countries, and which was opened for signature last November at the Conference of Ministers of Local and Regional Government in Utrecht.

But mainly, I am speaking about the Reference Framework on Regional Democracy, approved by the Ministers last November as a first step towards a binding legal instrument on regional governance in Europe.

Allow me to take a step back and recall the history of our effort to put regional democracy on a legal footing, much as local democracy is underpinned by the European Charter of Local Self-Government.

The Standing Conference of Local and Regional Authorities and then the Congress followed very closely the development of regionalisation in different countries. For example, it organised, in June 1993 in Geneva, the Conference on "Regionalisation in Europe: Evolution and Perspectives", which was an important manifestation of the Council of Europe's interest in regions and regionalisation.

In 1997, the Congress adopted the draft European Charter of Regional Self-Government, which received full support of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly. However, this first project was not accepted by national governments as a binding instrument. Nevertheless, the Ministers responsible for Local and Regional Government adopted in 2002 the so-called “Helsinki principles” of regional self-government.

At the same time, the Congress was continuing the work started in 1997, still looking to have a binding European treaty on regionalisation. After eleven years of elaboration and consultations, and incorporating the various positions taken by national authorities on this issue, the Congress adopted, in 2008, a draft European Charter of Regional Democracy.

This new version was the first text laying down the tenets of regional democracy. It reaffirmed respect for territorial integrity as one of its main principles, and offered a variety of models for regional autonomy. In particular, the draft Charter underlined the added value of greater regionalisation based on the inclusion of the principle of loyalty and respect of territorial integrity of the state, the principles of good governance, participation of citizens and the reaffirmation of respect for local self-government. However, the new Charter did not receive support of national governments, either.

Instead, drawing on the text of the draft Charter and the Helsinki principles, they elaborated, through CDLR, a reference framework on regional democracy. Although not of a binding character, this reference framework represents an encouraging compromise and a new departure in our efforts. Certainly, we can now work on the protection and improvement of regional governance, using this text as the basis. On the other hand, we in the Congress remain convinced that the reference framework represents only the beginning of the process of elaborating a normative text in the form of a Charter or a Convention. We strongly believe that the future will lead the Council of Europe to the adoption of an international legal instrument providing for the monitoring of regional democracy.

Let us look in greater detail at this document and its potential impact.

The reference framework is a compilation and a synthesis of decisions by the Ministers and of the 2008 draft Charter of the Congress, serving as a reference point for any government wishing to begin a process of regionalisation or reform of its local and regional structures.

The reference framework is also a means of helping governments to strike the best possible balance in the apportionment of powers and responsibilities among different tiers of government. The text stressed the principle of subsidiarity, the principle of social and territorial cohesion and the need for solidarity among the components of a sovereign state (or "federal" loyalty).

Regional authorities, whatever their nature or particular institutional character, will now possess references and principles concerning their democratic structure, their organisation, competences and own resources, their place within the state, their relations with other authorities, and their relations with citizens.

The combination of all these principles and "rules for living" within a State set-up constitutes the essence of the principles of democracy.

This veritable code of rights and duties of regional entities, aimed at intermediate authorities between central government and the basic (local authority) tier, will have two principal functions.

The first will be to serve as a source of inspiration when countries decide to establish or reform their regional authorities. The second will be to act as a body of political reference principles on which the Congress can rely in monitoring regional democracy in the Council of Europe member states.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Although lacking the binding force of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, the reference framework nonetheless has a major symbolic value, because the standards it embodies have the general approval of the Congress and the Parliamentary Assembly, as well as the support of the Committee of the Regions and, more broadly, the regional community and its main associations.

While preserving its own regional diversity, each country draws on the 6 chapters and 55 paragraphs of the reference framework for those principles, concepts and features which it considers most suitable and most relevant in order to shape its regional institutional practice and so develop quality governance for the benefit of its population.

Through its flexibility, its choice of alternatives and the scale of regional options it offers, the text may also be of use to federal, regionalised or merely decentralised states.

However, if it is to be applied in a credible way in keeping with the spirit which attended its drafting, the reference framework must be implemented everywhere on the basis of the underlying principles it contains – namely, unfailing democratic legitimacy, sufficient autonomy, real potential for action, recognition by the state and a respected status within it, as well as citizen involvement.

The wish of the Congress is that this text, much as the European Charter of Local Self-Government, may inspire those who have the task of leading and managing regional authorities in this 21st century, which demands much in terms of democracy and the quality of governance.

The Congress also hopes that in those countries where the regional level does not yet exist, the text may engender the "regional desire" to establish this kind of intermediate structure which brings power and the citizen closer together.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In conclusion, I would like to stress once again our profound gratitude and appreciation for the support that the Assembly has been giving to the Congress action over these twenty-five years, and for your close involvement in our work. I am convinced that the existing co-operation between AER and the Congress, co-operation which already brings positive results, must be pursued and developed even further.

It is clear that your Assembly has its own agenda and its own, proper role to play in the European construction, not only within the European Union but also beyond its borders, in the Europe of 47. We have a common ground – the basic principles of regionalisation, which we fully share, as evident from your support to the projects which I have just mentioned. We in the Congress strongly believe that AER is in a position to channel Congress action in the field, in regional communities, which would allow for the implementation of our recommendations and proposals.

I would like to recall that AER gave its political and technical support to the elaboration of a legal instrument on regional democracy. Having been personally involved in this work, I can attest to the effectiveness and efficiency of our co-operation, which could be pursued further in the field – for example, on the basis of your Basel Declaration of 1996. In this regard, we are following with great interest your work on regionalism and look forward to your forthcoming report on this subject.

There are many areas indeed where we can create practical synergies for joint action in regional communities. One recent example is the Conference on regional co-operation in the Black Sea basin, organised by AER, in which the Congress has been strongly involved to present the Black Sea Euroregion, a platform for practical co-operation in the field. But more generally, and as Secretary General of your Assembly Klaus Klipp has recently suggested at a meeting of the Congress Bureau, AER could represent an important bridge to relay the knowledge of the Congress and its work to European regions, in particular in the framework of its specialised committees. For its part, the Congress has always been following with great interest the work of AER, and our Secretariats are now in regular contact with each other.

Let us delve deeper to explore this potential for co-operation – for the benefit of our citizens, for the benefit of our regions, strong regions for a strong Europe. The first twenty-five years have shown clear advantages of our joint action. Wishing once again a very happy birthday to your Assembly, we in the Congress look forward to strengthening it in the future.

Thank you.