Standing Committee
Euro-Mediterranean Partnership of the Local and Regional Authorities (COPPEM)
XVI General Assembly
Palermo, Italy, 17-18 December 2011
Speech by Keith Whitmore, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe
Mr President,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear colleagues,
It is a great pleasure for more to address today the General Assembly of COPPEM, a long-standing partner of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. I am speaking to you today for the first time as President of the Congress, and I would like to thank the leadership of COPPEM and personally President Lombardo for giving me this opportunity to present the Congress and its current work.
For those of you who may not be very familiar with the Congress and its activities, we are an assembly of local and regional elected representatives from 47 European countries and the principal arm of the Council of Europe as far as the local and regional dimension of its action is concerned. Our core mission is to advance and defend local and regional democracy and to assess its situation by monitoring the implementation of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in member states, including through local and regional election observation.
Our main objectives are, on the one hand, to strengthen territorial self-government and its institutions vis-à-vis the national level – in terms of the overall legal framework for local and regional democracy, more competences and greater financial autonomy for territorial authorities, non-interferences in local and regional affairs and genuine partnership between subnational and national government levels in policy-making and policy implementation.
On the other hand, we are working closely with municipal and regional authorities and their national associations to improve everyday governance of local and regional communities – whether it involves boosting citizen participation, fighting corruption, dealing with cultural diversity or ensuring better local integration and cohesion. Experience-sharing between more than 200,000 communities of Europe is one important tool for achieving these objectives, which is why the Congress pays particular attention to promoting intermunicipal and interregional co-operation, including cross-border co-operation, across the continent and beyond, in particular with the southern rim of the Mediterranean.
We maintain constant political dialogue with national governments, both directly and through the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, working to overcome the shortcomings which the Congress points out in its recommendations. I should underline that this direct dialogue is one distinctive feature of the Congress, allowing for regular interaction with the 47 member states in following up the implementation of our proposals. In fact, under its Charter, the Congress acts as an advisor on local and regional matters to both the Committee of Ministers – which is to say national governments – and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe – which is to say national parliaments.
The Congress’ interest in developing Euro-Mediterranean co-operation, in involving our partners across the Mediterranean Sea in the work to strengthen territorial self-government has been long-standing. This is exactly the area where the Congress and COPPEM share strong common interests and can develop practical synergies. The moment for this is ripe today as never before, as we are speaking against the background of historic changes and transformations underway in North Africa and across the Arab world, against the background of new neighbourhood policies that are being implemented by both the European Union and the Council of Europe.
A new page is being turned over today in the countries of the southern Mediterranean, bringing about hope for democratic change – change that will certainly open the door for new opportunities at the grassroots level, opportunities for local authorities and for co-operation with their counterparts across the Mediterranean.
We must seize this opportunity to boost the dialogue between European and Arab municipalities and regions and to bring our communities closer. For its part, the Congress stands ready to accompany the changes that are being brought about by the current events, in particular in Tunisia and Morocco, with its expertise and assistance in building a democratic, citizen-oriented local self-government in these countries, focused on people’s needs.
We are currently preparing a report which will highlight the opportunities for local and regional democracy presented by the Arab Spring, and the way in which the Congress can seize these opportunities, thus contributing to the Council of Europe neighbourhood policy. This contribution can also be channeled through the Congress’ participation in the Council of Europe’s North-South Centre and the Euro-Arab Cities Forum co-organised by the Congress.
In this regard, I should add that our joint experience in organising the Euro-Arab Cities Forum – and COPPEM is, of course, participating in the Steering Committee of the Forum – shows that if we look at the issues at stake, we share common problems indeed:
- the need for better governance and better performance of local and regional authorities;
- the challenges posed by the global phenomena of climate change, the economic crisis, migration, and the ageing population;
- the issues linked to the necessity of sustainable development and social cohesion, and greater citizen participation;
- as well as the growing cultural diversity of our societies and communities.
These are only some common concerns that we should reflect upon together, and that we should approach in as practical way as possible, looking for solutions that would be applicable in both European and Arab cities and regions.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The events in the Arab world have created a positive momentum for change. This momentum must be used to engage our partners across the Mediterranean Sea in building citizen-oriented governance at the grassroots, in the spirit of solidarity, in the spirit of stretching out a helping hand to our neighbours.
We must share our experience gained here in Europe, by insisting that the right to local self-government be enshrined in new constitutions, and that local and regional authorities be elected in free and fair public polls, to begin with. We must help our counterparts in North Africa to respond to the key challenges that are similar here in Europe – such as:
- political and financial dependence of local and regional authorities on central governments;
- the need for clear delimitation of competences between different tiers of government, and for more competences for local and regional level;
- the need for appropriate local and regional financing, and action to respond to the economic crisis;
- the need to improve local and regional governance through greater transparency, accountability, and citizens’ participation in order, among other things, to fight corruption;
- finally, the overall need to strengthen the countries’ capacity for public administration at local and regional level, including through better training for elected representatives and their staff.
I am sure that these problems sound all too familiar to our counterparts on the southern rim of the Mediterranean.
So, what does the Council of Europe Congress bring to the table in developing Euro-Mediterranean co-operation?
If I were to sum it up in a few words, I would say that the Congress can provide the know-how in building and strengthening appropriate structures at local and regional level, as well as in the creation of associations of local and regional authorities.
First of all, I am speaking about our toolbox of instruments that would put the functioning of local authorities on a legal base, and make it easier. The most fundamental of these instruments is the European Charter of Local Self-Government, a key treaty that sets out the principles of local democracy and the rights of local communities, to be guaranteed and protected by national governments. The new, Additional Protocol to the Charter, opened for signature in November 2009, also provides guarantees for greater citizen participation at local level, which is an imperative in today’s world.
The Charter has already inspired the worldwide decentralisation guidelines, adopted by the United Nations, and – I am pleased to say – prompted discussions in the Arab world as well, in particular in Morocco. We are convinced that the Charter’s implementation and the respect of its principles serve as the foundation upon which we can build good governance. In particular, applying the principles of the Charter on the southern rim of the Mediterranean, as it is done in Europe, would set the development of local self-government on the right track, and would respond to many basic problems.
For example, the full recognition and respect of the principle of subsidiarity entails the transfer of competences to the local level, while the principle of local financial autonomy also implies the necessary financial and human resources. Respecting these principles will considerably reduce the dependence of local authorities on the largesse of central governments.
The principles of the Charter are also applicable to regional governance, and, in this regard, the Congress is pleased to be involved in the ongoing dialogue on regionalisation, underway in Morocco. Today, we can bring to this process another recent instrument – the Reference Framework for Regional Democracy, also adopted in November 2009, as a practical tool for setting up regional structures and apportioning responsibilities.
I could also mention the European Code of Conduct for political integrity of local and regional elected representatives, which is a useful instrument to boost transparency of local governance and to help fight corruption at local level.
Secondly, the Congress can use its experience in assessing the situation of local and regional democracy through monitoring and election observation, helping to build a necessary legal framework for self-government and to promote the necessary administrative practices for its implementation. Our experience in improving governance methods and delivery of public services comes with this package.
Thirdly, the Congress can offer the process of Euro-Arab dialogue its experience in promoting networking of local and regional authorities and experience-sharing between them, in particular by establishing their national associations as a framework for such cooperation. We were instrumental in creating the national association of local authorities in Morocco, and we have among observers in the Congress the Association of Palestinian Local Authorities, and, of course, the Arab Towns Organisation. We stand ready to continue this practice in other countries of the southern Mediterranean and of the Arab world in a broader sense.
Finally, the Congress is available to join forces with Arab municipalities in establishing concrete cooperation projects, and to put forward specific proposals in the areas of common interest – such as, for example, sustainable development, delivery of public services, water and energy, transport and mobility, integration and social cohesion, or intercultural dialogue.
In this context, it is heartening to see that one of the Congress’ initiatives – the European Local Democracy Week – is beginning to take root on the southern rim, with the participation of Moroccan municipalities scheduled for 2012. We hope that more Arab cities will join in this annual event, aimed at boosting citizen participation at local level and their involvement in local processes.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that the Congress is firmly committed to pursuing and strengthening the dialogue for cooperation and democratic development between European and Arab municipalities, and I welcome here in particular COPPEM members from the countries of the southern Mediterranean. The Congress and COPPEM have common interests in the Euro-Mediterranean region, and in this particular moment of history we share a common mission of helping our partners on the southern rim to take the road of democracy at the grassroots. We are well placed to lead in this action. We in the Congress stand ready to work with COPPEM and to take on board your initiatives. The participation of our two institutions in the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly, ARLEM, can be used to develop our practical co-operation and synergies, also involving the Committee of the Regions of the European Union, with which the Congress has a co-operation agreement.
Let us reflect on these opportunities during this General Assembly. I wish all of us a productive conference, and I look forward to our discussions.
Thank you.