Seminar “Local public ethics: from vision to action”

Kyiv, 21 – 23 June 2016

Intervention by Sergii Chernov, Vice-president of the Congress

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It is a great honour for me to be here today to represent the Congress in the opening of the second regional Conference we are organising within the programme “Strengthening institutional frameworks for local governance”.

Dear Deputy Mayor Prokopiv, dear Mr Andarak dear Mr Ehnberg, on behalf of the Congress, I would like to thank you for your involvement and commitment to be here with us.

I would also like to express my special gratitude to the European Union, for providing, for the first time in its long-standing co-operation with the Council of Europe, the necessary funding for the Congress to promote local governance in the Eastern Partnership countries. After more than one year of project implementation, our joint efforts in promoting and strengthening the European standards of democracy in this region are becoming more and more tangible.

Dear colleagues from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus, we are delighted to have you with us in Kyiv. The added value of this thematic programme lies precisely in its regional dimension, as it is a way to transcend the administrative borders, integrating national policies into a regional perspective.

Following the first regional seminar held one year ago in Georgia, we have been working intensely together and exchanging, mainly at country level. Today, having more than 60 mayors and local elected representatives from all the countries of the Eastern Partnership, demonstrates our joint determination to implement higher ethical standards in public policies, and to promote ethical governance and transparency in your daily activities. The opportunity to exchange good practices and to discuss the issues of joint concern during the seminar will undoubtedly help us all in this purpose.

Having said all this, I am privileged to support the thematic programme “Strengthening institutional frameworks for local governance” and I am pleased to be able to contribute to the implementation of the seminar, by sharing my experience as a Vice President of the Congress, President of Ukrainian association of district and regional councils and Chairman of Kharkiv Regional Council.

I am also pleased to inform you that the Congress has chosen “ethics and transparency” as the general theme of our two sessions this year, as the issue of corruption is not only an important matter at national level, but importantly, at the local and regional levels – those closest to our citizens. Corruption not only erodes the pillar of the rule of law, but is also a serious danger for local democracy, undermining citizen’s trust and confidence in the fairness of democratic institutions.

The Council of Europe standards are the basis for the preventative work of the Congress,  and we should all campaign for them to be applied in our countries. In the Congress, we believe that local authorities should be major stakeholders in the democratic system of a country. In this respect, I would like to underline that we should remember that the transfer of power to local level comes with serious responsibilities. It is therefore for us to set a good example and to ensure that our methods of governance are clean, transparent and beyond criticism.

Therefore, to have the opportunity to work with you on these topics during the seminar and later on is of major importance for all of us, leaders of local and regional authorities.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

One important aim of the thematic programme “Strengthening institutional frameworks for local governance” is to support the on-going processes of local government reform in the participating countries and to promote ethical behaviour by locally elected representatives in the region; this is a matter which is closely related to the current Congress initiatives at European level.

Indeed, through our co-operation activities the Congress is, in a sense, working “in the field” – and we are finding that the peer-to-peer approach in our activities is a good incentive to enhance our leadership and practice of good governance and ethical decision making.  This is the feedback we have received both from members of the Congress and from mayors and local representatives in Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

We will continue our work with you at both national and regional levels, supporting you in your efforts leading change in your communities and in implementing innovative and ethical actions at the local level, to promote a more transparent and inclusive local governance, where  citizens have a real say.

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today I invite you all to contribute to plenary and working group discussions, and to share your concerns as well as your examples of good practice with your peers, with Congress members and with experts. Let us join forces to promote an accountable and transparent local government to increase the trust of citizens in our authorities.

Thank you for your attention.