762nd meeting – 5 September 2001
Item 12.1
8th Plenary Session (Strasbourg, 29-31 May 2001) -
Texts adopted
(CM/Del/Dec(2001)761/12.1)
Decisions
The Deputies
Concerning Recommendation 87 (2001) on local and regional democracy in Lithuania
1. took note of the Recommendation, especially of paragraph 13;
2. agreed to forward the Recommendation to the governmental and parliamentary authorities of Lithuania;
3. decided to bear the Recommendation in mind in the context of the thematic monitoring on local democracy;
4. adopted the following reply to the Recommendation:
“The Committee of Ministers has considered Recommendation 87 (2001) on local and regional democracy in Lithuania. It agrees to transmit it to the governmental and parliamentary authorities of Lithuania and to bear it in mind in the context of the thematic monitoring on local democracy.”;
Concerning Recommendation 89 (2001) on local and regional democracy in Slovenia
5. took note of the Recommendation;
6. agreed to forward the Recommendation to the governmental and parliamentary authorities of Slovenia;
7. decided to bear the Recommendation in mind in the context of their thematic monitoring on local democracy;
8. adopted the following reply to the Recommendation:
“The Committee of Ministers has considered Recommendation 89 (2001) on local and regional democracy in Slovenia. It agrees to transmit it to the governmental and parliamentary authorities of Slovenia and to bear it in mind in the context of its thematic monitoring on local democracy”;
Concerning Recommendation 90 (2001) on financial relations between state, regional and local authorities in federal states – Conclusions of the Moscow International Conference (5-7 October 2000)
9. took note of this Recommendation;
10. agreed to bring this Recommendation to the attention of their Governments, especially the Appendix;
11. welcomed the International Conference as an example of the fruitful co-operation between the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe and the intergovernmental sector of the Council of Europe in the field of local democracy;
12. agreed to transmit this Recommendation to the Steering Committee on Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR) for information, so that it could take account of the Final Declaration, appended to the Recommendation, in its future activities;
13. adopted the following reply to the Recommendation:
“The Committee of Ministers has considered Recommendation 90 (2001) on financial relations between state, regional and local authorities in federal states – Conclusions on the Moscow International Conference (5-7 October 2000). It welcomes this example of the fruitful co-operation between the Congress and the intergovernmental sector in the field of local democracy and expresses its appreciation to the Congress for having organised this Conference on such a topical issue. The Committee of Ministers has brought this Recommendation to the attention of the member Governments and has transmitted it to the Steering Committee on Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR) for information, so that it could take account of the Final Declaration, appended to the Recommendation, in its future activities.”;
Concerning Recommendation 91 (2001) on the Forum of cities and regions of South-East Europe – 7th Economic Forum (Skopje, 16-18 November 2000)
14. took note of this Recommendation;
15. agreed to bring it to the attention of their Governments;
16. invited GR-EDS to consider the Recommendation, in particular paragraphs 11 a, b, d and e, with a view to preparing a draft reply;
Concerning Recommendation 92 (2001) on follow-up action to be taken on the Conference “Cities and regions: cultural diversity – a precondition for a united Europe” (Innsbruck, 11-12 December 2000)
17. took note of this Recommendation;
18. agreed to bring this Recommendation to the attention of their Governments;
19. agreed to forward this Recommendation to the European Commission, for information;
20. agreed to transmit the Recommendation to the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, for information;
21. agreed to transmit it to the Council for Cultural Co-operation (CDCC) and to its specialised Committees CC-ED, CC-CULT, CC-HER and CC-PAT, for information;
22. invited their Rapporteur Group on Education, Culture, Youth and Sport (GR-C) to consider this Recommendation, in particular paragraph 6a, with a view to preparing a draft reply;
23. encouraged their member states to continue to participate actively in the European Year of Languages 2001;
Concerning Recommendation 93 (2001) on the communication and information policy of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe
24. took note of this Recommendation;
25. agreed to bring this Recommendation to the attention of their Governments;
26. agreed to bear this Recommendation in mind when discussing the draft Budget for 2002;
27. invited their Rapporteur on Information Policy to consider this Recommendation, with a view to preparing a draft reply to it;
Concerning Recommendation 94 (2001) on the conclusions of the 12th European Conference of Ministers responsible for regional planning (CEMAT) and the follow-up action to be taken (Hanover, 7-8 September 2001)
28. took note of this Recommendation;
29. agreed to bring it to the attention of their Governments;
30. agreed to transmit it to the Committee of Senior Officials of the European Conference responsible for Regional Planning (CEMAT) with a view to the preparation of the 13th Session;
31. agreed to forward it to the European Commission, for information;
32. adopted the following reply to the Recommendation:
“The Committee of Ministers has considered CLRAE Recommendation 94 (2001) on the conclusions of the 12th European Conference of Ministers responsible for regional planning (CEMAT) and the follow-up action to be taken (Hanover, 7-8 September 2001). It has brought it to the attention of the Governments of its member states, transmitted it to the Committee of Senior Officials of the European Conference responsible for Regional Planning (CEMAT) with a view to the preparation of their 13th Session, and agreed to forward it to the European Commission, for information.”;
Concerning Recommendation 95 (2001) on mobile telephone base stations and local/regional authorities
33. took note of this Recommendation;
34. agreed to bring this Recommendation to the attention of their Governments;
35. adopted the following reply to this Recommendation:
“The Committee of Ministers took note of Recommendation 95 (2001) of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe on mobile telephone base stations and local/regional authorities, and brought it to the attention of the Governments of its member states, for them to take it into consideration.
The Committee of Ministers understands CLRAE's concerns regarding possible health effects on the European population resulting from exposure to the electromagnetic fields generated by mobile telephones. However, given the clear involvement of other international organisations in this field, the Committee of Ministers does not find it judicious to introduce questions of a scientific nature, which are dealt with in other international bodies, into the Programme of Activities of the Council of Europe.”
Concerning Recommendation 97 (2001) on local democracy in Ireland
36. took note of the Recommendation, especially of paragraph 16;
37. agreed to forward the Recommendation to the governmental and parliamentary authorities of Ireland;
38. decided to bear the Recommendation in mind in the context of the thematic monitoring on local democracy;
39. adopted the following reply to the Recommendation:
“The Committee of Ministers has considered Recommendation 97 (2001) on local democracy in Ireland. It agreed to transmit it to the governmental and parliamentary authorities of Ireland and to bear it in mind in the context of its thematic monitoring on local democracy.”
Concerning Recommendation 98 (2001) on the Draft World Charter on Local Self-Government – State of discussions
40. took note of this Recommendation;
41. agreed to bring this Recommendation to the attention of their Governments, the Parliamentary Assembly and to the states holding observer status with the Council of Europe;
42. confirmed its support for the World Charter of Local Self-Government and agreed to communicate it to the representatives of their member states to the United Nations;
43. adopted the following reply to this Recommendation:
“The Committee of Ministers has considered CLRAE Recommendation 98 (2001) on the Draft World Charter on Local Self-Government – State of discussions. It agreed to bring this Recommendation to the attention of their Governments, the Parliamentary Assembly and to the states holding observer status with the Council of Europe.
The Committee of Ministers has confirmed its support for the World Charter of Local Self-Government and agreed to communicate it to the representatives of its member states to the United Nations.”;
Concerning Recommendation 99 (2001) on international co-operation at regional level
44. took note of this Recommendation;
45. agreed to bring it to the attention of their Governments;
46. agreed to transmit it to the Steering Committee on Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR) for it to bear it in mind in the context of the programme of activities for 2002;
47. invited their Rapporteur on Local Authorities to consider this Recommendation with a view to preparing a draft reply;
Concerning Recommendation 100 (2001) on management of transboundary water resources in Europe
48. took note of this Recommendation;
49. agreed to bring it to the attention of their Governments;
50. agreed to transmit it to the Select Committee of Experts on Transfrontier Co-operation (LR-R-CT), for information;
51. invited their Rapporteur on Local Authorities to consider this Recommendation with a view to preparing a draft reply;
Concerning Recommendation 101 (2001) on the impact of globalisation on regions
52. took note of this Recommendation, especially of paragraphs 16a and b;
53. agreed to bring this Recommendation to the attention of their Governments;
54. agreed to transmit this Recommendation to the Steering Committee on Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR) and to the Committee of Senior Officials of the European Conference of Ministers responsible for Regional Planning (CEMAT), for information;
55. agreed to forward this Recommendation to the European Committee for Social Cohesion (CDCS) for it to take it into account, especially paragraph 16c, in its future activities;
56. agreed to forward this Recommendation to the European Commission and to the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, for information;
57. adopted the following reply to this Recommendation:
“The Committee of Ministers has considered CLRAE Recommendation 101 (2001) on the impact of globalisation on regions, agreed to bring it to the attention of the Governments of its member states, transmitted this Recommendation to the Steering Committee on Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR), to the Committee of Senior Officials of the European Conference of Ministers responsible for Regional Planning (CEMAT) and to the European Committee for Social Cohesion (CDCS), as well as to the European Commission and to the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, for information.
The Committee of Ministers is aware of the opportunities, but also challenges and threats for Europe, which are raised by the growing globalisation in all fields of life: economic, social, cultural and political. The Council of Europe is trying to respond to these challenges in, at least, social, cultural and political fields with the help of all its intergovernmental activities.
As for the Congress' request to speed up work to prepare a legal instrument on regional self-government, the Committee of Ministers would like to point out that the Steering Committee on Local and Regional Democracy is, in accordance with its terms of reference, “completing the groundwork for the elaboration of a legal instrument on regional self-government”, comprising the “drawing up of model forms of regional self-government”, the identification of “those principles which are common to all such models and which may constitute the core of a legal instrument” and the drafting of a text “which could be the core of a legal instrument, presenting these principles and models”, with the deadline of 31 December 2001. The Congress is taking an active part in the work of the Drafting Committee set up by the CDLR to assist it in completing the groundwork for the elaboration of a legal instrument on regional self-government and in carrying out the necessary drafting.
The Committee of Ministers will consider the CDLR report with utmost attention in 2002.
As for the question of studying the effects of globalisation on the social fabric of the Council of Europe member states, the Committee of Ministers would like to inform the Congress that a Forum on “New social demands and governance” will be organised in October 2001 and will deal with the following questions:
- How to detect new social demands?
- Are institutions adaptable, or do new social demands require new institutions?
- What is the role of the private sector in terms of social demands?
- What is the added value of cross-sectoral partnerships in a government's capacity to handle new social demands?
The conclusions of the Forum will result in a publication on new social demands and governance. A research project on this theme might be conducted in 2002.”;
Concerning Resolutions from 107 (2001) to 122 (2001)
58. took note of the above-mentioned Resolutions;
59. agreed to draw the attention of their Steering Committee on the Mass Media (CDMM) to Resolution 122 (2001) on the “Prix Europa” and regional television and radio programmes.