Opening of the AEBR Annual Conference dedicated to “Territorial Cohesion in Post-crisis Scenario”

Dundalk-Newry (Ireland-Northern Ireland), 21 -23 October 2010

Speech by Günther Krug, Vice- President of the Chamber of Regions of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, Council of Europe

Mr President,

Excellencies,

Dear colleagues, Dear friends,

It is a great pleasure for me to address you on behalf of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. As its Vice-President, I am pleased to share some thoughts with you on the challenges faced by local and regional authorities in coping with the financial and economic crisis.

Before doing so, I want to thank the organisers of the conference for this excellent and timely initiative. Against the background of European integration, the contribution of trans-border cooperation at inter-municipal and inter-regional level, is taking on a growing importance today, and it is high on the political agenda of the Congress of the Council of Europe.

The main objective of our Congress is to bring together local and regional elected representatives from 47 European countries; the Congress is a truly pan-European platform for co-operation and experience-sharing.

This pan-European dimension enables the Congress to pool best practices and help to coordinate inter-municipal and inter-regional co-operation among more than 200 000 territorial communities across the whole European continent.

At the same time, the Congress’ political role, within the framework of the Council of Europe, allows the Congress to address recommendations to national governments and enables them to listen and respond. 

The Congress is fully committed to developing and strengthening democratic stability through active trans-border co-operation. 

We believe trans-border co-operation can actively contribute to strengthen the functioning of local and regional democracy at grassroots level and to foster respect for human rights beyond community barriers and state borders.

The promotion of tolerant and trusting relationships beyond borders is one of the main targets to be achieved.

AEBR, sharing the same values as the Congress, has already done tremendous work in helping to advance the process of targeted co-operation initiatives between regions with very different cultures, administrative traditions and legal practices. It is common political will, however, which is vital in making real progress for the benefit of the citizens.

The Co-operation agreement, signed in March 2010, between the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and the Association of European Border Regions (AEBR) offers us a realistic chance to enhance our capacity to act in a concerted manner on the level of border regions Europe wide.

We witnessed within the Congress that cross-border co-operation, along with inter-regional co-operation, is gaining ground and growing in scale and political relevance.

The enlargement of the Council of Europe, followed by that of the European Union, offered opportunities for structured dialogue and targeted co-operation among communities, across Members States’ political and administrative borders and the continuation of this process has meant a gradual disappearance of these lines of demarcation.

The Council of Europe thought of it well in advance and played a pioneering role in this area when in 1980 it already adopted, the European Outline Convention on trans-frontier co-operation between territorial communities and their respective authorities.

The Convention lays down a solid framework for both inter-regional and inter-municipal cross-border co-operation. Its scope has even been extended, since its adoption, by three additional protocols. Among other things, they offer the possibility of co-operation agreements between communities who do not share a border. The most recent one, the 3^rd Additional Protocol, which was opened for signature at the end of last year, is aimed at making it easier to create Euroregional groupings (GEC) between communities of both EU and non-EU countries. Nine countries have already signed this Additional Protocol.

The Congress invites all countries, which have not yet signed and ratified this important tool to do so, in order to further promote, through this legal instrument, trans-border co-operation within and outside EU borders.

In this context the Congress is very much interested to know more about the results of on-going evaluation of the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC), set up in July 2006, in the framework of the EU, so as to better facilitate collaboration in future trans-border co-operation and related activities between EU and non-EU countries.

Taking into account the political ambition to give a boost to inter-municipal and inter-regional co-operation beyond traditional borders involving Council of Europe and EU member states, the Congress of the Council of Europe set up two Euroregions of a new generation – the Adriatic Euroregion, whose headquarters are located in Croatia, Pula, and the Black Sea Euroregion, with its headquarters in Constanta, Romania.

These Euroregions offer a platform for structured co-operation at national, regional and local level and serve as a launching pad for initiatives involving not only national governments but, first and foremost, regions and municipalities. 

The Congress very much encourages increased co-operation between a growing number of Euroregions in order to create additional synergies and solidarities among regions on our continent.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The relevance of inter-municipal and inter-regional co-operation has grown and has proved its value in the context of the ongoing economic and financial crisis and the need to find innovative and co-ordinated solutions to the problems faced by local and regional authorities.

An increasing number of municipalities and regions have made the choice to join their forces and use the economies of scale in the provision of public services, for example, in the area of public transport, energy sources, water management, waste management, access to public health structures etc.

In some countries, both national governments and local authorities are looking into creating and planning together urban infrastructures and dividing related costs and sharing burdens. 

There is a growing need for an overall commonly agreed work programme and a clear cut sharing of responsibilities and powers for the benefit of commonly agreed action plans and the expected outcomes to be achieved.

Democracy requires transparency and accountability throughout the policy-making process.

We in the Congress are fully convinced that equality in rights and duties, in accordance with capacities and the potential of the partners involved, must be the basis of any approach in trans-border co-operation. After all, this co-operation is a form of partnership for innovation and joint action, which offers the opportunity for making headway together, spreading new ideas and shaping together new policy approaches. This kind of innovative action is precisely what our citizens expect from local and regional authorities. They are perceived as a possible counter- power, balancing out the negative impact of globalisation policies without clear rules and democratic control mechanisms, and especially in times of economic crisis.

This is one of the major reasons why the Congress attaches high importance to trans-border co-operation and networking between European local communities and regions; as a means of both promoting sound partnerships for innovation, rooted in the real world and not in the cyberspace of a virtual economy, and reducing, by concerted steps, development gaps between communities through joint economic management and adequate handling of existing resources.

We would like to launch, together with you, an appeal to national governments, to involve their local and regional stakeholders as real partners right from the beginning when conceiving, structuring and implementing new concepts aimed at stabilizing financial and economic mechanisms, in their respective countries and beyond.

This should start with a change in the framework of attributing governmental finance for local and regional authorities, while bearing in mind, that shifting responsibilities can only work if an adequate transfer of resources is also secured. 

I strongly hope that this conference will give a new boost and added input to our common endeavour for innovative approaches and solutions for trans-border co-operation as a tool for democratic change and political and economic stability throughout Europe.

It is at local and regional level where the joint efforts of elected representatives, offer a real force to be reckoned with and bring about the most tangible results.

We have a common goal; an efficient and independent local and regional self-government that serves the needs of its citizens.

In order to be able to make the difference with regards to the impact of the financial and economical crisis, we need to have all partners on board and only the cooperation of all stakeholders concerned will give us a realistic chance of reducing the impact of the crisis on our citizens.

Finally, I wish to reaffirm once again that the Congress remains your committed partner in this work for a better and stronger democracy in Europe, for a better quality of life for our citizens, and for a better response to their concerns.

This is and remains our common goal, and this is our common commitment.

Thank you very much.