Conference on the European Charter for Local Self-Government

6 May 2011, Vilnius, Lithuania

Speech by Britt-Marie Lovgren, Vice-President of the Governance Committee of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a pleasure and an honour for me to represent the President of the Congress, Keith Whitmore at this conference. It is my pleasure because I see many participants who are already familiar with our work in the field of local self-government, and even some who are actually directly involved in this work.

I am certainly pleased with this initiative of the Local Authority Association of Lithuania to hold this conference and to give me this opportunity to Meet and discuss with you.

It is also a great honour because the Congress which I represent has been indeed at the source of our efforts to promote, consolidate and reinforce local democracy across the European continent. The spectacular advance of local and regional democracy across Europe, which is a landmark of contemporary European societies, has been achieved through our championing this cause for more than 60 years.

For us in the Congress, there is no democracy without local democracy. It is at grassroots level where citizens’ involvement in democratic processes begin.

Of course there is always room for improvement: democracy-building is never finished, never complete. The health of local democracy and the quality of local governance still varies in Europe, and we all must pursue our efforts to bring about further improvement.

The Congress of the Council of Europe is there to ensure this through its monitoring of the European Charter of Local Self-Government. To give local governance a legal basis, the European Charter was opened for signature in 1985. It lays down the core principles of local governance and common standards for protecting and developing the rights of local communities and their authorities. The Charter’s entry into force in 1988, and its ratification by 45 European countries to date, sped up the momentum of the devolution of power on our continent, releasing the potential of communities and empowering them to take up the many challenges facing our society. It has ushered in a new stage of democratic development, leading to a democracy which is more citizen-oriented, more participatory and therefore more effective.

This is also evident from the additional protocol to the Charter, opened for signature in November 2009, which reaffirms the right of citizens to participate in the affairs of a local authority.

The Congress is tasked with monitoring the implementation of the European Charter of Local Self-Government and thus the development of local and regional democracy. To do this we carry out country-by-country monitoring exercises to assess situations at local and regional level, fact-finding missions to look into cases of potential violations of the Charter, and observation of local and regional elections to see the Charter’s practical application to the electoral process.

On 18 June 2010, the Congress adopted monitoring guidelines, to make sure that every member state of the Council of Europe is monitored at least once every five years, and to improve transparency, quality and effectiveness of the monitoring exercise.

While the rights recognised in the Charter apply first and foremost to local authorities, the Charter stipulates that they may also apply to regional authorities where they exist. However, the magnitude of regional development in Europe calls for a specific legal instrument to address the issues of regional governance.

In 2009, the Ministers responsible for Local and Regional Government, meeting in Utrecht, adopted a Reference Framework on Regional Democracy. Although not of a binding character, this reference framework represents a new departure in our efforts.  It will serve as a reference point for any government wishing to begin a process of regionalisation or reform of its local and regional structures.

It is also a means of helping governments to strike the best possible balance in the apportionment of powers and responsibilities among different tiers of government. The text stresses the principle of subsidiarity, the principle of social and territorial cohesion and the need for solidarity among the components of a sovereign state.

Apart from being the first legal text laying down the tenets of regional democracy, the Reference Framework reaffirms respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity as one of its main principles, and offers a variety of models for regional autonomy, which could also be used in settling territorial disputes. We are convinced that flexible models of regional autonomy constitute a sound alternative to conflict, and I could use as an example the status of Gagauzia in the Republic of Moldova, which the Congress helped to negotiate. But first and foremost, the Reference Framework will serve to preserve and enhance regional identity and development in the political, economic, social and cultural spheres.

Regional authorities, whatever their nature or particular institutional character, now possess references and principles concerning their democratic structure, their organisation, competences and own resources, their place within the state, their relations with other authorities, and their relations with citizens.

However, we still look forward to a time when a Regional Democracy Charter will be adopted as a binding instrument.

Over the years, the Congress has gained considerable experience and knowledge of various models of local and regional self-government, various methods and practices of the Charter’s implementation, and various tools for improving local democracy. As a body representative of more than 200,000 territorial communities of Europe, the Congress offers a unique pan-European platform for cooperation and sharing this experience, a forum for an exchange of new approaches and best practices, and a framework for coordinating our action for the benefit of communities.

The Congress’ recommendations, and its legal expertise of national legislation on local self-government, have helped many Council of Europe member states with their legal reforms in this domain.

But let me come back to the European Charter of Local Self-Government, which has become the cornerstone for local democracy in Europe and an integral part of national good governance.

First and foremost, the Charter recognises local self-government as a right of communities to manage their own affairs through freely elected bodies, the right that should be enshrined in the Constitution. It reaffirms that it is at local level that the right of citizens to participate in the conduct of public affairs can be exercised most directly, and lays down, for the first time, the principle of subsidiarity – that the responsibility for public services should be transferred to the level where they can be delivered most efficiently, the level closest to the citizen.

The Charter also stipulates that local authorities should have their own administrative structures and their own finances matching their competences, and that local elected representatives should exercise their duties without interference from any other authority, national or regional.

But beyond the recognition of the need for decentralisation, the Charter represents an evolution of our understanding of democracy, reflecting the conviction that local democracy is an essential element of democracy itself, not just a tribute paid to the growing power of local authorities. This new understanding acknowledges that the devolution of power towards local communities will release their potential and stir up action involving numerous players at all levels of governance, to make it possible to take up the great challenges of today. Local authorities are the first line of response to the issues of concern to our societies – be it biodiversity, cohesion within and between communities, climate change, intercultural dialogue, or urban environment.

The importance of local and regional democracy, and self-government, as the foundation of any democratic system has been recognised by all stakeholders in the democratic process. It is at the level of our communities, in our cities and in our regions, where the concerns of our citizens are dealt with most directly and effectively.

As I said at the outset, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities has been ensuring the Charter’s implementation since its entry into force. In our monitoring exercises, we are assisted by the Congress' Group of Independent Experts, which advises us on the interpretation of the Charter, and also the national and European associations of local and regional authorities, which can provide a vital  “early warning system” in their respective countries.

Later today you will be hearing from a member of our Group of Independent Experts, Professor Zoltan Szente, who will fill you in on some of the more technical details of how we work.

We will now be taking our action further. The Congress is currently revising its procedure to ensure compliance by member states with its recommendations – in other words, the follow-up involving exchanges of views with government officials and the feedback from national associations.

We will continue to insist that the Charter of Local Self-Government be integrated into national legal systems, and that member states withdraw their reservations on the application of the Charter, which they made under Article 12 when ratifying it. We are also calling on the remaining two Council of Europe countries that are not yet party to the Charter – Monaco and San Marino – to ratify it, to make the Charter’s application universal within the Council of Europe space.

Finally I would add that the Charter's influence extends far beyond Europe. It was taken up by the United Nations and inspired “decentralisation guidelines”, adopted by UN-Habitat in 2007.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I hope I have been able to communicate to you some of my enthusiasm that this Charter is a text that we can be proud of, and an important tool to guide our work at the local and regional level.

Thank you