Seminar on strengthening the capacities and co-operation of local elected representatives of Albania
Tirana, 28 September 2011
Opening session
Speech by President Keith Whitmore, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe
Dear fellow local elected representatives,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you to this Seminar, organised by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe, NALAS.
The Congress is a political assembly of local and regional elected representatives from 47 European countries that are member states of the Council of Europe. Congress members represent more than 200,000 territorial communities of our continent. This pan-European dimension makes the Congress the voice of municipalities and regions of Europe vis-à-vis national governments, defending the interests and rights of local and regional authorities.
We do so by monitoring the implementation of the European Charter of Local Self-Government and respect of its principles of local democracy, which is the core mission of the Congress. Complementary to this monitoring, the Congress also observes local and regional elections in European countries, as a unique political body with a mandate to do so. This way we ensure the full application of democratic principles at local and regional levels both by national governments and by territorial authorities.
In order to improve its response to the challenges of local and regional democracy, the Congress has decided on a new orientation for its activities and priorities for 2011 and 2012. It has committed itself to moving beyond its traditional role of standard-setter, and to assisting, in a practical way, in overcoming the problems identified during its monitoring activities.
This means that the Congress is ready to offer its expertise in helping both national and territorial authorities to implement the changes proposed in its recommendations, in particular on the issues of competences, role and mandate of local and regional elected representatives, as well as on the role and functioning of their associations.
This Seminar is a direct result of this new orientation. It is also a direct follow-up to the observation by the Congress of local elections in Albania on 8 May this year. While the official report of the election observation mission will be debated during the Congress session next month, the difficulties revealed during elections have compelled the Congress, together with NALAS, to bring together newly elected local representatives from across the political spectrum in Albania for this one-day Seminar. We are very pleased at your positive response to our invitation, and to see so many of you here with us today.
The problem I am referring to is an alarming lack of communication between elected representatives in Albania, the absence of dialogue between them, which is a major obstacle for democratic, political and institutional development of this country. In the long run, it is also a major obstacle for Albania’s further integration in Europe.
It is clear that political competition between parties is certainly normal in a pluralist democracy. However, like any competition, it must be healthy and cannot lead to a paralysis of power and a paralysis of democratic public action. As elected representatives, we all have a primary responsibility for the well-being of our citizens, which must be above and beyond any political divide. We all have a duty before the voters to work for their benefit. In a pluralist democracy, this means establishing dialogue, negotiating solutions and making compromises with other parties of the political spectrum, both in power and in opposition.
This shared responsibility of putting the citizen in the centre of our action is something that unites all elected representatives, and this unity of purpose is the basis of a common platform on which political dialogue should be built. We must begin by defining the points on which we all can agree, and move forward from there.
The partner of the Congress in organising this Seminar, NALAS, is a vivid example of such dialogue, proof that is both crucial for democratic development and possible. NALAS is itself the result of the Congress’ effort to build a common platform for co-operation between local authorities in South-East Europe, and I am pleased to welcome here today its President, Mr Vladimir Moskov.
We are convinced of the need for a real political dialogue to improve local democracy and ensure that the principles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government are implemented in Albania. This is why we have taken this initiative of inviting mayors of the 65 municipalities, their counterparts from smaller communities, and chairs of municipal councils.
The issues which will be discussed today are of crucial importance for this country – I am speaking about dialogue between different political parties, between majority and opposition, and between local and central authorities. Several mayors from other European countries, who are active members of the Congress or of NALAS, are with us today, to meet you and to contribute to the debate with their own experience.
We hope that this Seminar will help to build a common ground, and to create a climate of confidence between you as the newly elected local representatives of Albania. We certainly hope that this will encourage you to develop a positive dialogue with your peers on your key role as part of a democratic, pluralist political system. We also hope that you will genuinely move towards the creation of a common platform for all municipalities in Albania.
We will be happy to enter into a partnership with all of you. Indeed, in the next months some of you will become members of the Congress, and will be our privileged partners for the strengthening of local self-government and good governance in Albania.
Last but not least, I would like to thank the international community in Tirana, which has been supporting this initiative from the very beginning. I would like to thank in particular our partners for this Seminar – the Swiss co-operation agency and the OSCE presence in Tirana, for offering the necessary support to bring us together today.
I also welcome Ambassador Sequi, Head of the EU Delegation in Tirana, and I hope that the European Union and the Commission will be supportive of the future projects of the Congress directly linked to local democracy.
I look forward to our debates today, which I am sure will be stimulating.
Thank you.