Reply of the Committee of Ministers to the CLRAE Recommendation 32 (1997). - Council of Europe. Committee of Ministers, Ministers'Deputies - Decision 614/1.4 Appendix 6 (January 1998)

614th meeting - 14 January 1998

APPENDIX 6

(item 1.4)

REPLY OF THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS TO THE CLRAE RECOMMENDATION 32 (1997)

1. The Committee of Ministers noted with great interest the proposals in Recommendation 32 (1997) on the Contribution of the CLRAE to the Second Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe Member States. It recalls that these proposals were presented to the Deputies’ Working Party to prepare the Second Summit (GT-SOM2) at its meeting in St Petersburg on 9 June 1997 and were subsequently discussed at the joint meeting between the GT-SOM2 and the Bureau of the CLRAE on 3 July, which focused on a more limited number of priority poposals presented by the Bureau to this meeting (see document CG/BUR(4)13).

2. After the Vienna Summit (8-9 October 1993), which confirmed the Council of Europe's role as "the pre-eminent European political institution capable of welcoming, on an equal footing and in permanent structures, the democracies of Europe freed from communist oppression", the Strasbourg Summit marked, eight years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and fifty years after the division of Europe into two blocs, our continent's recovered unity, bringing together 46 Heads of State and Government representing nearly all the states of Europe.

3. In adopting the Final Declaration, the Heads of State and Government:

- solemnly founded that European unity on the fundamental principles of the Council of Europe - pluralist democracy, respect for human rights, the rule of law - and reaffirmed their determination to ensure that all member states of the Council complied fully with the requirements and responsibilities of membership;

- gave the Council of Europe their full support, with a view to intensifying its contribution to cohesion, stability and security in Europe, and stressed the importance of developing its co-operation with the other European and transatlantic organisations, particularly the European Union and the OSCE.

4. Supplementing this Final Declaration with an Action Plan, the Heads of State and Government defined four priority fields of action for the Council of Europe - democracy and human rights, social cohesion, citizen security, democratic values and cultural diversity - and launched a process for structural reform of the Organisation, looking ahead to its 50th anniversary in 1999.

5. The Final Declaration of the Strasbourg Summit, includes the following aspects, which correspond to the priorities put forward by the Bureau of the CLRAE:

- recognition of the contribution of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe to supporting democratic development in member states;

- an acknowledgement of the fundamental role of the institutions of local democracy in preserving stability in Europe;

- support for the efforts of the Council of Europe and of local, regional and national authorities to improve the quality of life of disadvantaged areas: urban and industrial.

6. At their 101st meeting (6 November 1997), the Ministers emphasised the need for the complete and rapid implementation of the decisions taken by the Heads of State and Government on 11 October. They therefore decided:

- to establish a Follow-up Committee for the Second Summit, in the form of an ad hoc Working Party of the Deputies (GT-SUIVI), which will report on the follow-up to the Final Declaration and the implementation of the Action Plan to each of their meetings up to the 104th (May 1999), at which the Council of Europe’s fiftieth anniversary will be celebrated. The CLRAE will be associated on a permanent basis to the work of the GT-SUIVI through its Secretariat, and joint meetings between the CLRAE Bureau and the GT-SUIVI will be organised on an occasional basis (following the model of the joint meeting held on 3 July 1997 with the GT-SOM2);

- to establish a committee of wise persons with the special task of drawing up proposals for structural reform. The terms of reference, composition and chairman of this committee were decided on by the Deputies at their 613th meeting (23 December 1997).

7. The Committee of Ministers continues to bear in mind the other proposals set out in Recommendation 32 (1997). Their examination will continue within the relevant bodies.