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Ref. CG-PR 007 (2016) Local and regional democracy in France Strasbourg, 22 March 2016 – On 22 March 2016 the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe adopted a recommendation on local and regional democracy in France following a monitoring visit in May 2015 to Paris, Reims, Ay-Champagne and Châlons-en-Champagne. This is the first monitoring report since France’s ratification of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in 2007. The rapporteurs Jos Wienen (Netherlands, EPP/CCE) and Gudrun Mosler-Törnström (Austria, SOC) noted the progress made in the decentralisation process in France, especially in the field of co-operation between local and regional authorities and transfrontier co-operation. They were also pleased to observe that these authorities enjoy greater financial autonomy as a result of the increasing proportion of own resources in their budgets. In the recommendation adopted, however, the Congress expresses concern, in particular as regards the procedures employed for passing Law No. 2015-29 of 16 January 2015 on regional boundaries, regional and departmental elections and changes to the election timetable, in that there was no effective prior consultation of the regions. The Congress invites the authorities to review the process for consulting local authorities’ direct representatives on all decisions concerning them (Article 4), in particular those concerning their boundaries (Article 5). It further recommends that France review its equalisation system to render it more equitable, transfer responsibility for deciding local tax rates back to the local level and clarify the sources of local authorities’ financial resources. Lastly, the report calls on the French authorities to clarify the division of responsibilities between the different tiers of local government to avoid all overlaps and continue to increase the proportion of own resources in local authorities’ budgets. Interview with the co-rapporteurs (Youtube) File 30th Session of the Congress France acceded to the Council of Europe on 5 May 1949. It signed the European Charter of Local Self-Government (ETS No. 122, hereafter “the Charter”) on 15 October 1985 and ratified it on 17 January 2007. France signed the Additional Protocol to the European Charter of Local Self-Government on the right to participate in the affairs of a local authority (CETS No. 207) on 16 November 2009, but has not yet ratified it. ***** Live webcast of debates: All the debates will be webcast live from Tuesday 22 March at 11 am. TV / Videos: Broadcast-quality videos of the debates and speeches may be downloaded free of charge around two hours after delivery. For other requests, please contact the Council of Europe’s Audiovisual Department, Tel: +33 3 88 41 25 64 (before the session); +33 3 88 41 35 00 (during the session). Photos: Professional quality photos may be downloaded free of charge and may be used copyright-free with the caption © Council of Europe. Accreditation: Directorate of Communication, [email protected] Media Box: A mobile studio is available for journalists. If you are interested in scheduling an interview during a session, contact [email protected] or call +33 3 90 21 48 95. More information on the Mediabox Social networks: Twitter: www.twitter.com/COECongress - @COECongress - #CoECongress Youtube Channel: www.youtube.com/CouncilOfEurope (Congress Playlist) Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/councilofeurope/albums For further information: Please consult the Congress website and the 30th session file. |
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The Congress has two chambers, the Chamber of Local Authorities and the Chamber of Regions. It brings together 324 full and 324 substitute members representing more than 200 000 European territorial communities. |
