CONFERENCE FOR THE 35TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PARLIAMENT OF GALICIA - “The Influence of Joining the European Union”.
Santiago de Compostela (Galicia, Spain) 5th May 2017.
5 May 2017
Speech by Gudrun Mosler-Törnström, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
I would like to thank the President of the Parliament of Galicia, Mr Santalices Vieira, for inviting the Congress of the Council of Europe to this special event today and I take this opportunity to congratulate the Autonomous Community of Galicia and also the current and former members of the Parliament of Galicia and all the authorities present on the 35th anniversary of this indispensable democratic institution representing the people of Galicia.
This anniversary fits well into the series of celebrations Spain will hold in 2017. On 24 November 2017 Spain will celebrate the 40th anniversary of accession to the Council of Europe – at the time as the 20th member of our Organisation defending democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Today the Council of Europe encompasses 47 member States.
On 15 June 1977 Spain held the first democratic elections in which the Spanish people opened the path towards democracy, and today, 40 years later, we are happy and proud to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Parliament of Galicia. 40 years after those first elections democracy is well established and the regional parliaments play an important role in the institutional setting of directly elected representative bodies at the different levels.
I am particularly pleased to be with you today because my political background is within a regional parliament. I was elected a member of the Landtag – the regional parliament – of Land Salzburg in Austria in 1999 and served as its President and currently as its Vice-President.
The Congress and regionalisation in Europe
In the Congress we strive for the full implementation of the principle of subsidiarity – which remains a solid and modern concept. Subsidiarity signifies that the citizen remains at the core of the decision-making processes and ensures that decisions are taken in the most effective and beneficial way and at the proper level, the one at which one is able to find satisfactory solutions to the diverse problems and challenges. Powers should therefore be fairly distributed among all tiers of government and legislation drafted and policies implemented in a spirit of respect and partnership: as you know, this is what we now call “Multi-level governance”.
Regional parliaments add real value to democracy as they legislate and control regional governments. They also have a key role in transposing European legislation into the national legal systems. The origin of many a law adopted by a national or a regional parliament lies in international treaties and conventions. It is not only the European Union but also the Council of Europe, where after discussions common standards are developed. Spain, for example, has ratified 130 of the more than 200 conventions and treaties of the Council of Europe, which its member States have negotiated and agreed to implement. And many of them are relevant for the regional parliaments.
As you may know, the Congress monitors the compliance of local democracy in the 47 member states of the Council of Europe with the provisions of the European Charter of Local Self-government.
On a regular basis, the Congress draws up country-by-country reports and recommendations addressed to governments focusing on the articles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government. This Charter guarantees the rights of communities and their elected local, and - if they are not specifically excluded - regional authorities and we are extremely satisfied that the Charter has now been ratified by all 47 member States.
The Congress has always been convinced of the need for a similar text for the regional level and, indeed, drafted a European Charter for Regional Democracy. The political conditions in member States, however, did not allow for its adoption.
The Congress is also the voice of the regions with legislative powers in the preparation of these conventions. I am pleased to say that the Congress has a well-established tradition of cooperation with Galicia and its Parliament thanks to Pilar Rojo Noguera, when she chaired the Conference of European Regional Legislative Assemblies, the CALRE. I can say that these links were very successful for promoting regional parliamentarianism at European level.
12 members of the regional parliaments of Spain are members of the Congress. I would like to mention in particular Mr Pedro Puy Fraga, who represents the Parliament of Galicia in the Chamber of Regions.
The Congress has been tirelessly advocating for regional self-government by fostering the principles of subsidiarity, proximity, good governance and active citizenship. We are convinced that regional self-government contributes to the principles of stability and democracy within the country and in Europe as a whole. Strong democratic regions contribute to inclusive, safe and fair societies. Regionalisation is thus a way to enhance democracy and legitimacy and give it a firmer foothold in our countries, in particular in a context where the impact of the economic and financial crisis of the past years, both at national and European levels, has had a tremendous influence on the exercise and quality of regional democracy.
A recent Congress report on “Trends in regionalisation in Council of Europe member States” showed that regionalisation has barely made any progress over the past decade. We are well aware that regionalisation is a lengthy and complex process, often marked by tendencies to recentralise power – which makes it all the more important not to move backwards, especially in the context of the current trend towards recentralisation in several Council of Europe member States. This tendency is a threat for regional government in terms of loss of autonomy, inadequacy of the allocated financial resources and lack of consultation it entails.
According to this Congress report the situation is somewhat different in Spain. As President of the Congress I welcome and acknowledge the achievements reached by the Spanish regions. Our report shows that the Spanish Comunidades Autonomas are considered real and efficient regional institutions. The degree of devolution in Spain has progressively increased. The regions are now responsible for more public spending and have more public employees than the national administration. The system of financing has been revised to give them more financial responsibilities and autonomy. Devolution, however, is still a source of lively debates. Regionalisation must respect national borders and should not be regarded as a problem or a danger, but rather as a means to maintain unity. Regional autonomy can represent a solution to achieve negotiated settlements in conflicts often linked to historical factors: the principles of regional democracy find their most convincing institutional frameworks in strong regions and in regions with special status, as the Congress advocated in its report on “Autonomy and borders in an evolving Europe”.
In the Congress we need committed European-minded politicians who are also rooted in their regional homelands, close to the people they represent. An internal co-ordination mechanism, such as a conference of Presidents of regional parliaments, is therefore useful to identify priorities and to develop strategies on how to address issues in Madrid, Vienna, Berlin, Rome and also in Strasbourg and Brussels. In addition, the regional members in the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and in the Committee of the regions have an important role to play!
Congress thematic priorities and activities
In recent times we have been confronted by several new challenges in rapid succession: the economic crisis, a growing mistrust of politics and politicians, a lack of solidarity in the reception and distribution of refugees and migrants, the rise of various forms of extremism, nationalism and terrorism.
The economic crisis, in particular, and the consequent decline in the regions’ revenues, has placed the regions’ capacity to satisfy citizens’ expectations at risk and, in turn, has exacerbated popular discontent.
There is no doubt that regional parliaments need to act in all these fields in complementarity and co-ordination with other tiers of government.
One of the challenges we face is how to prevent corruption. Upright and transparent regional governments will enjoy the trust of the people and the regional parliaments with their regional ombudsman institutions and courts of auditors have a special role in this process. The Congress has organised debates and exchanges of good practice on good governance and the respect for the rule of law in territorial administrations. Our aim is to restore trust in politics and in the public administration. Good political governance is possible only if the population trusts its elected representatives at all levels. We, as local and regional politicians, must therefore act as models for society as a whole.
The Congress has worked extensively in recent years to identify ways to prevent corruption, notably through the strengthening of public ethics and transparency. We promote rigorous governance frameworks and the development of common standards, while supporting the development of e-democracy tools at local and regional levels. These tools can help increase transparency and improve citizen participation. Currently we are revising the European Code of Conduct for the political integrity of local and regional elected representatives, adopted by the Congress in 1999.
Good governance remains an essential democratic principle: with a decision-making process brought closer to citizens, taking the form of direct participation of all parties and associations in the management of public affairs so as to create an efficient public administration to serve the population.
Another challenge is the trend to radicalisation leading to terrorism. With a view to combating radicalisation and violent extremism the Congress has drawn up a strategy for cities and regions. We closely co-operate with the European Union in this endeavour and produced the “Guidelines for local and regional authorities for the prevention of radicalisation and manifestations of hate at grassroots level” as well as launching the “Alliance of European cities against violent extremism” (a platform for exchange aimed at facilitating co-operation for preventing radicalisation).
“Countering Populism”
In his 4th report on the “State of democracy, human rights and the rule of law“ with the title „Populism – How strong are Europe’s checks and balances?” the Secretary General of the Council of Europe recently presented a definition of populism. He is worried about the growing tendency – among politicians and in parts of the media – of labelling every person or political party one disagrees with a populist. Those political forces which claim that they represent the will “of the people” in order to dismantle democratic checks and balances which stand in their way are the real problem. And here members of parliaments at all levels have a role and responsibility to counter a rhetoric which is a real danger for our democratic traditions and institutions.
We in the Council of Europe want to do something truly relevant: looking at Europe’s defences against the populist threat to our democracies. And assessing what member states and the institutions – Committee of Ministers, Parliamentary Assembly and Congress - together, can do to counter it. Dangerous populism thrives where the democratic institutions are weak, where social rights are lacking, and where minorities have not been properly integrated. Only the governments of the member States can take the lead in fixing such problems. And the Council of Europe takes its role in supporting these efforts very seriously.
What is on the table? The Session of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Council of Europe meeting on 19 May in Cyprus will discuss the proposed concrete actions where new efforts areneeded. Namely:
- Supporting integration and inclusive societies;
- Challenging the populist narrative;
- Protecting freedom of expression and tackling misinformation (fake news);
- Supporting the successful integration of migrants and refugees;
- And combatting hate speech, xenophobia and discrimination.
Let me also mention in this context that the 2017 World Forum for Democracy, taking place in Strasbourg from 8 to 10 November, will put the question: “Is populism a problem?” with the aim of finding the reasons for, and solutions to, the apparent disconnection between citizens and political actors in a rapidly changing media and communication system, where populist ideas seem to successfully fill a certain vacuum. The Congress will participate in this Forum and I hope there will be a good representation of the Spanish delegation.
Europe and the regions
The response to all these challenges cannot be other than European, with the involvement of regional governments and parliaments in national and European decision-making processes. Regional parliaments and governments must play an active part in this process and in European integration.
Decentralisation, regionalisation and quasi-federal structures provide different pathways to the same destination: the final objective is to bring political and administrative structures nearer to citizens in order to respect their cultural diversity and heritage and to strengthen democracy for all. Here, regional Parliaments such as the Galician, have an important role to play.
My engagement in and for self-government in Spain will not end today. At the end of the month I will be in Bilbao, where I shall address the General Assembly of the Association of Basque Municipalities. You can be sure that I will continue to bring together and to combine the forces of self-government so as not to divide, but to unite.
His Majesty the King of Spain visited Strasbourg last Thursday, 27 April 2017, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Spain’s accession to the Council of Europe. I had the privilege of meeting him and of listening to his speech to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. He referred to the principles proclaimed in the Spanish constitution of 1978 – freedom, equality, justice and political pluralism – and confirmed the commitment of Spain to these truly European values.
His Majesty made a statement which I want to share with you, because it is highly relevant for national parliaments, for regional parliaments and also for provincial and municipal councils. He said: ”Democracy requires the bringing together of emotion, reason, trust, participation, a constructive attitude and a conciliatory spirit. It requires sincere dialogue and, as a consequence, the taking of decisions in a responsible manner”.
In my view this can also be the leitmotiv for fruitful work in the Parliament of Galicia in the future.
I thank you once again for inviting the Congress of the Council of Europe to be part of this important event and I wish the Parliament of Galicia a bright future!