Halvdan Skard: “The success of the Congress reform depends on the commitment of national delegations”

The 19^th Congress Plenary Session in October adopted a report on the reform of the Congress, authored by Past-President Halvdan Skard (Norway). In an interview he describes how the reform should improve structures, working methods and the impact of Congress action.

Interview – 28 October 2010

Question: The Congress reform process resulted in fewer committees, more monitoring, and refocusing on fewer subjects than before. How will the Congress benefit from these changes?

Halvdan Skard: The current reform should be seen as part of a continuing process. The Congress must constantly adapt to changing circumstances, and the result of this reform should be a sharper focus for our work, stronger impact of our action and its better visibility. This way the Congress will increase its role as an instrument for expressing and defending the interests of European local politicians in the fields of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

The success of the reform will of course depend on the commitment of national delegations, which is why this process has been very thorough and comprehensive, open to the participation by all members and partners concerned. Its success is certainly also dependent on having adequate resources, and some of the suggestions have been necessary mostly because of the financial situation of the Congress. With more resources available, some reform proposals could have been more far-reaching.

Question: What is proposed to be done to make the Congress more “visible”?

Halvdan Skard: The revamped Congress website provides more information on the adopted texts and the follow-up given to them. This will help members to improve the implementation of the Congress proposals in their own countries. Also, in order to have maximum impact and make the best use of its limited resources, the Congress needs to work with partners who can relay and publicise its activities. National delegations and national associations of local and regional authorities are obvious natural partners in this respect, and the Congress communication policy should treat them accordingly, as priority multipliers for disseminating information about Congress activities.

Question: National associations of local authorities being natural partners, how do you see their future co-operation with the Congress?

Halvdan Skard: The Congress will continue to rely on national associations to relay its action so-to-say “on the ground”, in the national setting. This is why the Congress holds regular consultations with associations, and invites them to participate in its work.

At the same time, co-operation between associations themselves, between local authorities in different countries is also of utmost importance. In my country, Norway, the local authorities’ association has been very active in supporting local authorities in more recent Council of Europe member states, for example in the South Caucasus. Through this work, which is fully financed by the State (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), the association contributes with the competence and experience from the local political level to helping its counterparts in other countries.