MINISTERS’ DEPUTIES

CM Documents

CM(2020)27

4 February 2020[1]

1370th meeting, 11 March 2020 2 Democracy and political questions   2.4 European Committee on Democracy and Governance (CDDG) a. Abridged report of the 10th meeting (Strasbourg, 9-11 December 2019) Item to be considered by the GR-DEM at its meeting on 25 February 2020

 

1.         Opening of the meeting and adoption of the agenda

The Chair, Mr Peter Andre, opened the meeting and welcomed members and other participants. The list of participants appears in the meeting report prepared by the Department (see CDDG(2019)16). The Committee adopted its agenda as it appears in Appendix I. The Chair invited members to take note of the draft order of business.

2.         Recent developments

Council of Europe: oral information by the Secretariat

Ms Claudia Luciani, Director of Human Dignity, Equality and Governance of the Directorate General of Democracy, presented the main developments since the last plenary meeting of the CDDG.

Member States: exchange of views on the basis of information from delegations concerning ongoing reforms in their countries

The CDDG heard a comprehensive presentation by Ms Albana Kociu, Director of the Department of Public Administration, on challenges and achievements in the public administration reform in Albania, describing also the contribution provided by the Council of Europe Centre of Expertise for Good Governance. The presentation was followed by an exchange of views.

The CDDG also heard a presentation by Mr Vache Terteryan, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, on the reform of local self-government in Armenia.

The texts of both presentations are made available on the CDDG webpage.

 

3.         Information by the Chair and Bureau members on recent activities

The CDDG took note of document CDDG(2019)1, which listed the events which he had attended to represent the Committee. The Chair wished to draw the members’ attention to the Round Table on Artificial Intelligence (20 September 2019), the first meeting of the CAHAI (18-20 November 2019) and the GR-DEM meeting in which he took part. The document also listed other events which had been attended by the Vice-Chair and members of the Bureau.

4.         Promoting democratic governance through shared experience

Ms Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni,Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, encouraged the CDDG to continue to lead the Council of Europe’s intergovernmental work aimed at strengthening democratic institutions, public administration, decentralisation and good governance, with a particular emphasis on enhancing citizens’ participation and promoting public ethics.

During the past few years, growing concerns had emerged as regards the good functioning of European democracies and the decreasing trust of citizens in public institutions. These were exactly the issues to which the CDDG tried to provide solutions by acting as a forum for discussion where member States share their experience with ongoing reforms, by developing legal standards and soft law instruments, and by inspiring and participating in the  co-operation projects of the Centre of Expertise for Good Governance.

In the next biennium the CDDG had been asked to work on important emerging challenges, such as digital transformation and the impact of technology, including artificial intelligence, on electoral processes, governance and democratic institutions. These were new areas in which the Council of Europe could play a pioneering role and increase its relevance for the benefit of its member states and their citizens.

The full text of the speech can be found here.

Administrative and local government reform

Mr Michal Bagačka, State Secretary responsible for Public Administration, Slovak Republic, shared the experience of the Slovak Republic in strengthening local government and informed the CDDG of activities that were being implemented in co-operation with the Council of Europe, especially the Centre of Expertise for Good Governance. Council of Europe expertise had been valuable in identifying recommendations to improve the present system of internal control and address the problem of the excessive fragmentation of self-government in the Slovak Republic. Further co-operation with the Centre of Expertise could be envisaged on the status of the capital city.

The presentation was followed by an exchange of views. The full text of the presentation can be found here.

Mr Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson, Minister of Transport and Local Government, Iceland, presented the system of local government in Iceland, highlighting challenges such as the low population density and the high number of municipalities: more than half of the them had less than 1000 inhabitants and one third had less than 500. Many municipalities were not socially sustainable in terms of age. An extensive equalization system was in use. Draft legislation was being considered by parliament to reform the system of local government. If adopted, this proposal would further reduce the number of municipalities and increase their number of inhabitants. This would both strengthen local democracy and bring about considerable economic gains.

The presentation was followed by an exchange of views. The full text of the presentation can be found here.

The video can be found here.

Mr Viacheslav Nehoda, Deputy Minister of Regional Development, Ukraine, presented challenges and achievements in the decentralisation process in Ukraine. From 2015 to 2019, the number of amalgamated communities had risen from 159 to 1008. The process was still ongoing, with more communities to follow suit. Amalgamation had been undertaken on a voluntary basis, with important incentives being provided through State support. 2020 represented an important timeline for the reform, with Constitutional and legislative changes to be introduced ahead of the local elections. The majority of the Ukrainian population supported the reform and found that the quality of services in amalgamated communities was better than before amalgamation.

The full text of the presentation can be found here.

Other international organisations

 

Mr Sean Dougherty from OECD Network on Fiscal Relations presented the work of the Network regarding sub-national public finance and fiscal decentralisation. He outlined the approach of the Network, its priorities and ongoing work. By focusing on the relationship between central and subcentral government and its impact on efficiency, equity and macroeconomic stability, he illustrated the impact of fiscal decentralisation on sub-national government performance, economic growth and equality.

Mr Dougherty’s presentation was followed by an exchange of views. The full text of the presentation can be found here.

5.         Co-operation with Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe

Mr Andreas Kiefer, Secretary General of the Congress, updated the CDDG on the recent activities of the Congress, focusing on the Congress’ contribution to achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals, its country-specific monitoring and its election observation missions. He presented the Carta Monitor website, which provides access to the analysis, article by article, carried out during the Congress' monitoring missions and allows for a comparative analysis on several articles and countries.

He referred to a number of publications on issues such as transparency, public ethics and civil participation in local affairs, encouraging CDDG members to explore the possibility of having them translated into a wide range of languages in order to maximise their outreach.

From an institutional point of view, the Congress planned to strengthen co-operation and synergies with the Parliamentary Assembly. Moreover, a revision of the Charter of the Congress was under discussion, whereby, as of 2020, member States without regions would no longer be obliged to nominate members to the Chamber of Regions (without voting rights). Subject to the approval of the Committee of Ministers, member States would also be invited, by the end of June 2020, to nominate members for their respective national delegations to the Congress for a five-year mandate.

The presentation was followed by an exchange of views. The links to the main documents which were referred to by Mr Kiefer can be found in document CDDG(2019)15.

6.         Review meeting on implementation of Recommendation CM/Rec (2017)5 on standards for e-voting

The Chair recalled that Recommendation CM/Rec(2017)5 on standards for e-voting asked member States to keep under review their policy on, and experience of, e-voting, and in particular how and to what extent the provisions of this recommendation were being implemented in order to provide the Council of Europe with a basis for holding review meetings on the implementation of this recommendation at least every two years.

In the terms of reference for 2018-2019, the CDDG had been asked to hold such a review meeting. A questionnaire had been sent out to all member States with a view to collecting information in preparation of the meeting. 30 member States had replied to the questionnaire. Their replies had been shared with the members of the CDDG while a summary was publicly available (CDDG(2019)2).

The CDDG heard presentations by Mr Gregor Wenda, former Chair of the Ad hoc Committee of Experts on legal, operational and technical standards for e-voting (CAHVE), and Ms Ardita Driza Maurer, former member of the CAHVE and currently expert consultant for the CDDG. The experts provided information about additional countries and highlighted that experiences and opinions were mixed: while few member States had positive experiences with using e-voting, others expressed concerns relating to security, public trust, costs, transparency and protection of personal data. The overall impression was that, whereas the general willingness for introducing e-voting in member States was low, Recommendation CM/Rec(2017)5 on e-voting was very useful for countries that were considering introducing it and for those which had e-voting already in place. Additionally, the use of electronic tools in various stages of the electoral cycle – aside from the actual vote casting – was established in many countries and that this practice was found to be beneficial.

The CDDG concluded that there was a need for constantly reviewing the implementation of the Recommendation CM/Rec(2017)5 and that it would hold another review meeting in 2021. In addition, the CDDG welcomed the opportunity to continue to work on the use of electronic tools in various stages of the electoral cycle in its terms of reference for 2020-2021 and agreed to further include the expertise of the former CAHVE members in the process.

7.         Decisions by the Committee of Ministers of relevance to the work of the CDDG

7.1       Issues presented for consideration by the CDDG

The CDDG took note of the Secretariat memorandum CDDG(2019)3-rev which listed decisions taken by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe since the CDDG’s plenary meeting of 28-30 November 2018 and which were of relevance to the work of the Committee. 

The CDDG took note of Assembly Recommendation 2162 (2019) on Improving the protection of whistle blowers all over Europe and approved elements for a draft reply by the Committee of Ministers (Appendix II).

The CDDG took note of Congress Recommendation 438 (2019) on Fair distribution of taxes in transfrontier areas: Potential conflicts and possibilities for compromise. During a preliminary discussion on this matter, a delegation made a statement and asked for it to be included in the meeting report (Appendix III). The CDDG discussed possible elements to be included in a draft reply. It instructed the Secretariat to circulate written elements drafted on the basis of the discussion, which would be submitted for further comments and final approval by the CDDG by written procedure in January 2020.

7.2       CDDG Terms of Reference 2020-2021

-      Exchange of views and consideration of a workplan

The Secretariat presented the terms of reference for 2020-2021 as adopted by the Ministers’ Deputies and a workplan to tackle the specific tasks. A reflection on some of the specific tasks of the next biennium had already started, namely as regards the impact of the digital transformation on democracy and governance and new technologies in the electoral cycle. In this respect, the Secretariat referred to documents CDDG(2019)5, CDDG(2019)6, and CDDG(2019)7.

The CDDG took note of its terms of reference for the biennium 2020-2021. It decided to set up the following subordinate bodies and approved their terms of reference as set out in document CDDG(2019)4-rev:

-      a working group on democracy and technology (GT-DT);

-      a Rapporteur on democracy and technology (R-DT);

-      a working group on accountability (GT-RE).

It was underlined that all member States could appoint representatives/ independent experts to the working groups. The Secretariat was instructed to look into the possibility of setting up an online platform to enable all member States to follow the work of both working groups and be able to contribute to it.

The CDDG decided the following defrayal of expenses:

-      in GT-DT, one representative/independent expert from each of the following member States: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, United Kingdom;

-      in GT-RE, one representative/independent expert from each of the following member States: Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Slovak Republic, Spain.

Defrayal of expenses for R-DT was decided in accordance to CDDG(2019)4-rev.

The CDDG invited member States to indicate the name of their representatives/independent experts by 23 December 2019.

The CDDG appointed:

-      Mr Peter Andre (Austria) as Rapporteur on democracy and technology (R-DT);

-      Mr Edwin Lefebre (Belgium) and Ms Siobhan Smyth (United Kingdom) as Rapporteurs on gender equality;

-      Mr Markku Mollari (Finland) as Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities.

8.         State of implementation of the CDDG activities according to its terms of reference 2018-2019

8.1       Public ethics

-      Information on the meetings of the CDDG working group on public ethics (18-19 March and 16-17 September 2019, Strasbourg)

The CDDG took note of the meeting reports.

-      Guidelines on public ethics

Following an exchange of views, the CDDG approved, with small changes, the Draft Guidelines on public ethics with a view to their transmission to the Committee of Ministers for adoption (see CM(2020)27-add).

-      Revised handbook of good practice on public ethics

Following an exchange of views, the CDDG examined the revised handbook, which consisted on the draft Guide: “Steps to implementing public ethics in public organisations”’. With the addition of some case studies and the inclusion of drafting proposals, the CDDG approved the draft Guide (see CDDG(2019)9). The CDDG also decided that, since the Guide would be a living document, additional case studies could be submitted and examined by the CDDG on a regular basis, with a view to their inclusion.

-      Feasibility study on a Council of Europe indicator framework on public ethics

The CDDG heard a presentation of the feasibility study from the Secretariat. The CDDG approved the study whose main conclusion is that the Council of Europe should not be preparing this kind of framework but the Centre of Expertise for Good Governance could be given the task of elaborating a model benchmark/checklist on public ethics (see CDDG(2019)10).

8.2       E-democracy

-      Information on the meetings of the CDDG working group on e-democracy (14-15 March and 12-13 September 2019, Strasbourg)

The CDDG took note of the working group meeting reports.

-      Guidelines on e-democracy in the form of a toolkit

The CDDG examined the draft Guidelines in the form of a toolkit. Following an exchange of views, with the addition of case studies and some modifications, including in the glossary, the CDDG approved the draft Guidelines in their substance. At the same time, it appointed Ms Monika Filipova (Slovak Republic), Ms Gordana Gapikj-Dimitrovska (North Macedonia), Mr Paul Rowsell (United Kingdom) as Rapporteurs, asking them to make the appropriate changes to the text with a view to bringing out a clear narrative and ensuring its internal coherence. It also instructed the Secretariat to collect additional case studies and to involve the Centre of Expertise for Good Governance in the drafting of a checklist to be included in the draft Guidelines.

The CDDG decided that the draft Guidelines should be submitted to the next Bureau and then to the next plenary CDDG for final approval.

8.3       Strategy for Innovation and Good Governance

Ms Alina Tatarenko, Head of the Centre of Expertise for Good Governance, presented the state of play as regards ELoGE accreditations and progress in the promotion of the 12 Principles of Good Democratic Governance.

The CDDG took note of the report on the third meeting of the European Stakeholders’ Platform (23 May 2019) as well as of a document with the Programme and key conclusions and recommendations of the Conference on the 12 Principles of Good Democratic Governance and the European Label of Governance’ Excellence (28 October 2019).

9.         Developing tools on good democratic governance and supporting reforms

Centre of Expertise for Good Governance

Ms Alina Tatarenko presented the activities of the Centre of Expertise in 2019, which were described in the annual report of the Centre CDDG(2019)13.

-      Activity report of the Centre of Expertise: state of implementation and activities in 2019

In 2019, the Centre of Expertise had provided support to 19 Council of Europe member States and Belarus. As of the end of 2019, it managed the implementation of projects and activities for a total budget of over €10 million, a steep increase compared to nearly €4 million at the end of 2018.

The CDDG took note of the Annual Activity Report 2019.

10.       Election of the Bureau

The Committee elected: Ms Monika Filipova (Slovak Republic), Chair, for one year; Mr Markku Mollari (Finland), Vice-Chair, for one year; and the following Bureau members: Mr Peter Andre (Austria), for two years; Ms Natalia Las Heras Oliete (Spain), for two years; Mr Edwin Lefebre (Belgium), for one year; Ms Milica Marković (Serbia), for two years; Mr Paul Rowsell (UK), for two years.

11.       Chairmanships of the Committee of Ministers

Activities under the French Presidency (17 May 2019 – 27 November 2019) and Priorities of the Presidency of Georgia (27 November 2019 – May 2020)

The CDDG took note of the activities that had been carried out under the French Presidency of the Committee of Ministers as well as the Priorities of the Georgian Presidency.

12.       Activities of other Council of Europe bodies

The CDDG took note of document CDDG(2019)15, which provided an overview of the activities of a wide range of Council of Europe bodies in the area of good governance and provided the relevant links. In addition, the CDDG heard the following oral presentations:

-      by Mr Gerhard Ermischer, Vice-President of the Conference of INGOs, on the activities of the INGOs Conference, and inter alia the revised code of good practice on civil participation in the decision-making process (link: https://www.coe.int/en/web/ingo/-/conference-of-ingos-adopts-revised-code-of-good-practice);

-      by Mr Daniel Popescu, Head of the Democratic Governance Department, on the 2019 edition of the World Forum for Democracy;

-      by Mr François Friederich, Head of the Electoral Assistance Division, on the activities of the division in 2019.

The CDDG took note of the recommendations in the report on the Evaluation of the intergovernmental committees by the Directorate of Internal Oversight (DIO). It welcomed that the CDDG would have two meetings per year in the next terms of reference and stood ready to tackle its ambitious terms of reference. It reserved itself the right to discuss a possible revision of the rules presiding its functioning. The CDDG confirmed its commitment to reinforce effective coordination and co-operation with other intergovernmental committees and Council of Europe bodies in the carrying out of its terms of reference.

13.       Other business

Reports of meetings of the Bureau

The CDDG took note of the information presented in the meeting reports of the Bureau.

14.       Adoption of the abridged meeting report

The CDDG adopted the abridged meeting report.

15.       Date and place of the next meeting

The 11^th plenary meeting of the CDDG would be held on 27-28 April 2020 in Strasbourg.

A provisional calendar of meeting dates for the CDDG, CDDG Bureau and the working groups is presented in Appendix IV.

APPENDIX I

AGENDA

APPENDIX II

ELEMENTS FOR A REPLY BY THE MINISTERS’ DEPUTIES TO Recommendation 2162 (2019) of the Parliamentary Assembly on “Improving the protection of whistle blowers all over Europe”

The European Committee on Democracy and Governance (CDDG) has taken into account Recommendation 2162 (2019) of the Parliamentary Assembly on “Improving the protection of whistle blowers all over Europe” and Resolution 2300 (2019) related thereto in the preparation of the draft Guidelines on public ethics and the draft Guide “Steps to implementing public ethics in public organisations”, which it approved at its 10^th plenary meeting (Strasbourg, 9-11 December 2019) with a view to their transmission to the Committee of Ministers.

The CDDG agrees with the Assembly that whistle blowers play an essential role in any open and transparent democracy and that the recognition they are given and the effectiveness of their protection in both law and practice against all forms of retaliation constitute a genuine democracy “indicator”.

The CDDG is of the opinion that whistle blowers should be protected against direct or indirect retaliation, including dismissal, suspension, demotion, loss of promotion opportunities, punitive transfers, reductions in or deductions from wages, harassment or any other punitive or discriminatory treatment.

As stated in the draft Guide drawn up by the CDDG, procedures for reporting and submitting formal complaints on serious unethical or potentially criminal behaviour in relation to any public organisation should be laid down in law, regulations and codes of conduct. There should be internal and external mechanisms to whom misconduct and/or unethical behaviour can be reported. The relevant report should be treated as confidential.

 

As regards the recommendation that the Committee of Ministers begin preparations for a binding legal instrument on whistle blowers in the form of a Council of Europe convention, the CDDG believes that the elaboration of clear, pan-European standards would have an added value. The form that these standards remains open. Should the Committee of Ministers decide to pursue this avenue, the CDDG stands ready to give its contribution.

APPENDIX III

STATEMENT OF AMBASSADOR STEPHAN MÜLLER, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF LUXEMBOURG, DURING THE PLENARY MEETING OF THE CDDG ON 11 DECEMBER 2019

(in French only)

Concernant la Recommandation du Congrès des pouvoirs locaux et régionaux n° 438 (2019), le Luxembourg souhaiterait porter les points suivants à votre attention :

❖La suite réservée aux recommandations du rapport Lambertz au niveau intergouvernemental doit être respectueuse de l’orthodoxie institutionnelle du Conseil de l’Europe ;

❖Le Congrès est allé trop loin dans l’interprétation de son mandat en adoptant un tel rapport « ambitieux » pour ne pas dire « hors propos » alors qu’il n’a ni les moyens ni les outils pour en réaliser les objectifs sans faire double-emploi ;  

❖Il faut redresser la barre par rapport à une interprétation trop vaste du mandat, surtout au vu du cadre budgétaire actuel ;

❖Traitant de la coopération transfrontalière en matière fiscale, cette recommandation est la première à dépasser les rapports entre les Gouvernements centraux et leurs autorités locales et régionales respectives. Bien que la coopération transfrontalière ainsi que les ressources financières des collectivités locales entrent dans le mandat de cet organe consultatif, la conjonction de ces deux thématiques risquerait de créer précédent. 

❖La recommandation adressée directement au Comité des Ministres invite celui-ci à examiner cette question dans le cadre de son futur programme de travail en menant une étude approfondie sur le sujet. Nous sommes d’avis que ceci n’entre pas dans les compétences du Conseil de l’Europe.

❖Nous doutons que cette organisation dispose des outils et de l’expertise nécessaires afin de mener une étude approfondie sur « la nécessité de collecter des données de manière systématique et d’élaborer des indicateurs communs sur l’intensité et la direction des flux de main-d’œuvre, les tendances démographiques, les charges des collectivités et les conséquences des différents taux d’imposition ».

❖La réalisation d’une étude telle que celle demandée par le Congrès nous semble dépasser le mandat du Comité européen sur la démocratie et la gouvernance (CDDG). 

❖La souveraineté en matière fiscale traduit la liberté de chaque État de décider de son organisation interne dont la gestion de ses ressources. 

❖Même les dispositions de l’Union européenne ne couvrent pas l’impôt sur le revenu des personnes physiques. L’action de l’Union dans ce domaine repose davantage sur la jurisprudence de la CJUE qui veille à ce que les législations nationales soient conformes au droit de l’Union.

❖De même, on établirait un double-emploi regrettable avec les travaux de l’OCDE qui est l’organisation de référence lorsqu’il s’agit d’élaborer des lignes directrices harmonisées et cohérentes en matière de fiscalité internationale.

❖En outre, nous ne pouvons pas exclure que Conseil de l’Europe ne soit instrumentalisé pour faire avancer un débat auquel un terme a été mis au niveau national. Contourner ainsi les autorités nationales provoque des irritations superflues entre les membres de cette organisation. On créerait ici un lourd précédent et j’appelle les délégations à y réfléchir à deux reprises avant de jouer ce jeu. 

Par conséquent, de notre point de vue, cette recommandation ne nécessite aucun suivi.

APPENDIX IV

CALENDAR OF MEETINGS IN 2020

Dates and places of meetings are subject to availability of resources

COMMITTEE/BODY	DATE	PLACE
GT-DT	27-28 January	Strasbourg
GT-RE	13-14 February	Strasbourg
CDDG Bureau	9-10 March	Paris
11th CDDG	27-28 April	Strasbourg
GT-DT	21-22 September	Strasbourg
GT-RE	28-29 September	Strasbourg
CDDG Bureau	22-23 October	Paris
12th CDDG	3-4 December	Strasbourg