High-level Event “Governing in partnership – United to build a stronger Europe”

Brussels, 12 December 2011

Organised by the Council of European Municipalities and Regions in co-operation with the Assembly of European Regions, the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions and EUROCITIES

Panel debate “Towards a new model of governance in Europe”

Speech by Keith Whitmore, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe

Mr President of CEMR,

Mr President of the European Commission,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe fully supports the position that we need a new model of governance in Europe – a model that could be described as multi-level governance and that must be based on equal partnership of the different tiers of government.

This model will replace the traditional system of vertical hierarchical subordination of different LEVELS of government, in which competences are delegated from the top down, with a system of equal partnership between different KINDS of government, based on the sharing of responsibilities between domains of governance – local, regional, national, European – whose scope and competences will be clearly identified and delimited. This delimitation, in turn, must be based on the criteria of effectiveness and efficiency of action when assigning responsibility to a particular domain of governance.

Our arguments in favour of this new model can be summarised as follows:

European unification and continuing integration allowed for further decentralisation of power and the growing application of the principle of subsidiarity. As a result, local and regional governments are acquiring greater competences in an increasing number of fields.

This is a welcome development for both European institutions and national governments because of the growing complexity of tasks they are facing, exacerbated by several major factors: European integration itself; globalisation; economic and financial crisis. Against this background, on the one hand, the transfer of responsibilities to lower levels unburdens higher levels and helps to optimise the use of resources.

On the other hand, the ever-growing complexity of tasks at hand brings to the fore the need for partners in addressing and solving the problems. In other words, European institutions and national governments can no longer “go it alone”.

 

At the same time, today we are witnessing a more global crisis of democracy in Europe. Last year’s report of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly said this crisis is characterised by a growing gap between the institutions and the citizens, a lack of public trust in democratic mechanisms and people’s disillusionment with democratic processes as a whole due the lack of effective rights of citizen participation and other institutional deficits of democracy (the weakness of parliaments vis-à-vis the executive, government work geared to short-term electoral success and lacking long-term vision, etc.).

As a result, the traditional system of representative democracy is being increasingly challenged by elements of direct democracy, calling for a new model of participatory democracy based on direct and continuous participation of citizens in governance, not limited only to elections. We can see today a surge in citizen activism outside the established institutions of governance, and especially at local level – through civil society, voluntary activities and social networks, for example. New information and communication technologies offer vast opportunities for citizen participation in the framework of so-called e-democracy. In its turn, participatory democracy will also require a new model of governance.

This is why the Congress supports the initiative of the Committee of the Regions to draft a European Charter of Multi-level Governance. At the same time, it is our conviction in the Congress that the European Charter of Local Self-Government must be the basis from which we can proceed building this new system of multi-level governance. The Charter was indeed the first treaty to set forth the clear definition of competences for each level of governance and the principle of subsidiarity – a system that has been put in place in the national settings of member states, and the functioning of which the Congress has been monitoring. Applying the principles of the Charter to the European level, using them as a basis for a European Charter of Multilevel Governance would be a logical continuation of the evolutionary process. At the same time, we are convinced that the application of the Local Self-Government Charter itself must be broadened.

We are convinced that the way to overcome the current crisis is through innovation and through greater participation of our citizens in democratic processes and the decision-making at the grassroots. Innovative approaches to local economy will kick-start the investments, also from the national level, and will eventually lead to the economic revival of the community. Increased public participation and direct involvement in local governance will give our citizens a sense of empowerment, and will help to restore confidence and bridge the gap of the democratic deficit.

To conclude, the challenges that Europe is facing require a system of multilevel governance based on close interaction at all government levels. Local and regional authorities today are much more than service providers. By implementing strategies and finding policy solutions for local situations, they have become full-fledged political players in the development of their communities and as such partners for national governments. There is a wide range of issues that need to be addressed through joint efforts: dealing with the impact of the economic crisis, improving cohesion, building intercultural relations in societies, fighting corruption – to name but a few. 

For its part, the Congress can bring to the system of multilevel governance its toolbox of legal instruments, its experience in monitoring the situation of local and regional democracy and its pan-European outreach and direct access to both local and regional authorities AND national governments across the continent.

Thank you.