Chamber of Regions
34th SESSION
Strasbourg, 28 March 2018
CPR34(2018)01
20 March 2018
COMMUNICATION OF THE PRESIDENT
OF THE CHAMBER of REGIONS
GUNN MARIT HELGESEN
Wednesday, 28 March 2018
(9 min)
Dear colleagues,
This Session is taking place at a sombre moment for our continent.
In the European Union and in non-EU countries, there is an on-going debate and uncertainty about the future of the European project –
a debate which is unfolding in the context of transformations in the European political landscape, marked by the rise of populism and by challenges to the democratic values on which this continent is built;
in the context of tensions and conflicts both within and between our countries that scar our common European space;
in the context of new dividing lines being formed, with their potential for fragmentation of this continent.
Many of these issues have direct relevance and implications for the regional dimension of Europe, and our Chamber must address them in its work. Some of these issues are on the agenda of our Session today.
However, it is also a sombre moment for this Organisation and for our Congress. We all heard yesterday the communication of the Congress President, which I fully support. It is my strong conviction that if we are to remain relevant, if we are to bring about tangible impact in pursuing our mission, change is a must. We must reform and adapt this Congress and this Chamber to respond to the reality of the situation.
With this conviction, I am participating in the Strategic Group on the Congress Reform, as President of the Chamber of Regions. I can assure you that I will devote all my energy and insight to this work, to produce relevant and practical proposals for the reform that we will be debating during our next Session in November.
We, members of the Chamber of Regions, much as our colleagues in the Chamber of Local Authorities, must engage in reflection on the future of the Congress – its structure, the scope of its activities, its operational mode. In this regard, and to start the debate, I would like to offer today three avenues of reflection that, in my opinion, should be guiding our discussions.
First, we need to look at the very structure of our Chamber. As you all know, our Chamber has members that do not sit with full capacity – those with the asterisk after their name, as we say, meaning those without the right to vote. Yet, the ability to participate in decision making through voting is an essential function of elected representatives and our Chamber as a whole. We should ask ourselves whether this inequality of members in a “two-speed” Chamber – with members who vote and those who do not – is a politically tolerable situation, and what purpose it serves.
In the reform which we are launching, we must envisage regional members with equal rights, first and foremost the right to vote. This will not be easy, because not all our member States can be represented by regions that go beyond the notion of “functional”, that are truly regional entities in the sense of our understanding of regions with directly elected political bodies. We currently have around 17 countries not having such regions. How can their territorial interest be represented in our Chamber in full capacity? This is the first line of thought I ask you to reflect upon.
Second, and a very much related question we should ask ourselves, is whether the principle of numerical parity of members of the two Chambers serves any practical purpose. Every country, indeed, has local authorities; however, as I have just said, not every country has regions. Yet today, both Chambers of the Congress have the same number of members.
Should this artificial numerical parity be maintained? Or should we be more flexible in the composition of national delegations, allowing our countries a choice of deciding on more representatives for the local level – or, in other cases, more representatives for the regional level? In my opinion, this could only strengthen the political relevance of our Chamber, and should be the second line of thought to pursue.
Thirdly, let us reflect on the proportion of the types of regional authorities represented in our Chamber. In self-governing regions, the regional authorities consist in equal part of the legislative and the executive branches; in other cases, regional government means mostly the executive branch. Yet our Chamber has a large number of regional councillors and very few representatives of the executive.
I ask myself whether our reform should include measures to enhance the executive dimension of the Chamber of Regions, for a balanced representation, in order to reflect the reality in our member States.
Dear colleagues,
These are just some avenues of reflection in the reform process that we have embarked upon, and to which I call on you to contribute your thoughts and experience from your national frameworks. We must engage together in this process in order to set the record straight, as it is important for this Chamber to contribute as fully as possible to the Congress reform. As our President said yesterday, we must be at full liberty to discuss all possible aspects, with no taboos attached.
Our Chamber represents the voice of the regions within our Congress – regions that are crucial actors in the economic dynamism of our member States. The role of regions in national economic development has been long recognised; it is this recognition indeed that led to the creation of the Chamber of Regions within the predecessor of this Congress more than 40 years ago.
Our Chamber has a major role to play in the European political dialogue, in representing and defending regional interest across our continent – and it has an important role, together with the Chamber of Local Authorities, in the debate on the future of this Congress.
I am convinced that in this future Congress, the Chamber of Regions – our Chamber – will always have the place it so rightly deserves.
I invite you all to participate and to bring forward your ideas and your insights to the Strategic Group. I would be very happy to bring your contribution to the Group! Your energy and your input are crucial for the success of this reform.
Thank you.