Ministers’ Deputies

CM Documents

CM(2005)45     23 March 2005[1]

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924 Meeting, 20 April 2005
10 Legal questions

10.4 14th Session of the Conference of European Ministers responsible for Local and Regional Government
(Budapest, 24-25 February 2005)

Report by the Secretary General

Prepared by the Directorate General I – Legal Affairs

(Directorate of Cooperation for Local and Regional Democracy)

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Introduction

The Conference of European Ministers responsible for Local and Regional Government held its 14th Session in Budapest on 24-25 February 2005, at the invitation of the Hungarian Government.

Two themes were on the agenda:

1. Challenges and priorities for European states and for the Council of Europe in the field of local and regional democracy;

2. Results of the work carried out since the last Ministerial Conference with particular reference to the legal instruments on regional self-government.

A total of 38 member States of the Council of Europe were represented at the Conference, of which 31 by a Minister or State Secretary. The Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities were all represented at the Conference.

The list of participants can be found in Appendix 1; the agenda appears in Appendix 2.

Mrs Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary General opened the Conference. Mrs Lamperth, Minister of the Interior of Hungary, was elected to the Chair and Mr Nick Raynsford, United Kingdom Minister for Local Government and the Regions, was elected Vice-Chair.

Opening addresses were made by the President of the Republic of Hungary, the Deputy Secretary General, the representative of the Committee of Ministers, the representative of the Parliamentary Assembly and the President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.

Theme 1: Challenges and priorities for European states and for the Council of Europe in the field of local and regional democracy

Theme 1 was devoted to the challenges and priorities for European states and for the Council of Europe in the field of local and regional democracy.  The theme was introduced by Mrs Lamperth.

She started by drawing attention to the new challenges that the world and Europe in particular must face, which are not only globalization but also the fact that the role of the state is changing, the shift in the role and authority of politics and that the deficiencies of democracy are becoming more and more apparent. In this context international organisations are trying to redefine themselves and also the Council of Europe has to develop a new strategy and programme for itself in which local democracy, citizen’s participation in local issues, the fight against corruption as well as decentralization and subsidiarity must be given a high priority. Mrs Lamperth went on to express her support for the common overall objective of delivering good local and regional governance as something that citizens have the right to expect. The action of individual states, she stressed, is enhanced by international co-operation, enabling them to share and learn from each other’s experience, to develop a common understanding or even common rules and regulations. She qualified the co-operation between states within the Council of Europe as a two-tier co-operation, whereby on the one hand member States are entitled to receive some services or assistance and on the other hand jointly adopt legal rules and recommendations and make common decisions on the operation of the Organisation. Priorities for the joint work to be carried out are to identify the challenges and to determine the future tasks. Drawing on the information from surveys contained in the memorandum of the Secretariat General[2], she identified challenges under the following headings:

 

1.   democratic citizenship and participation at local and regional level;

2.   legal framework and institutional structure of local and regional government;

3.   local and regional finance;

4.   leadership and management capacity of local and regional authorities;

5.   public ethics at local and regional level;

6.   transfrontier and interterritorial co-operation of terrritorial communities or authorities.

She invited her colleagues to react to these points as well as to the items that were envisaged to be included in the Agenda for future action.

In conclusion Mrs Lamperth underlined the importance of Theme 1 and the fact that it was the first time that the Ministers responsible for Local and Regional Government together made an attempt to sketch a general picture of local and regional democracy throughout the continent and to establish comprehensive, mutual objectives, including what they expect from the Council of Europe. This new approach, she hoped, would contribute to further effectiveness of action.

The discussion provided the occasion for all ministers to contribute to the identification of the common challenges they face in the field of local and regional democracy and to agree on the objectives and actions to be pursued, both by member States individually as well as through their co-operation within the Council of Europe.  Many delegations also took the opportunity to highlight recent developments in their country. At the centre of discussion were the draft Declaration on Delivering Good Local and Regional Governance and the Agenda for Delivering Good Local and Regional Governance that is appended to it. The discussions showed that both drafts captured well the common challenges and proposals for future action, so that these documents could be adopted without substantial changes being required (Appendix 3).

In the Declaration, the Ministers also addressed messages to the Third Summit, the Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.

The programme under theme 1 also provided a slot for the State Secretary at the Central State Office for Administration of the Republic of Croatia, Mr Antun Palarić, to make a presentation of the results of the South-Eastern Europe Regional Ministerial Conference on “Effective democratic governance at local and regional level” held in Zagreb on 24-25 October 2004, at which the ministers from the region had committed themselves to specific work programmes.

Furthermore, on the afternoon of the first day, a one-hour colloquy was held between the Ministers and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities devoted to the theme “Twenty years of the European Charter of Local Self-government; Findings of the monitoring and resulting suggestions for further action”.

The exchange of views underscored the importance that both Ministers and the Congress itself attach to the monitoring of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, which has become the undisputed legal point of reference across the continent. The monitoring process is appreciated as a powerful instrument for dialogue and communication between the Congress and member States and is complemented by the monitoring of local and regional elections by the Congress. Members of the Congress highlighted as concerns the absence of a convention on regional self-government and the adoption in some cases of legislation which is not in conformity with the ECLSG. They further recommended that attention be given to the questions of relations between local and regional authorities on the one hand and central state structures on the other, the position of capital and other large cities, the demarcation of powers and financial autonomy. A number of these topics are included in the Agenda for Delivering Good Local and Regional Governance.

Theme 2: Results of the work carried out since the last Ministerial Conference with particular reference to the legal instruments on regional self-government

The second theme of the 14th Session was a sequel to the 13th Session of the Conference in Helsinki, in June 2002, at which the Ministers adopted the Helsinki Declaration on Regional Self-Government.

As the Finnish Minister of Regional and Municipal Affairs, Mr Hannes Manninen, recalled in his introduction to theme 2, the Committee of Ministers had, further to that Session, given terms of reference to the CDLR “to elaborate legal instruments of different types on regional-government”. The CDLR submitted its Final Activity Report to the Committee of Ministers in June 2004. The decisions taken by the Ministers’ Deputies following this report were brought to the attention of the Chair of CDLR, the preparatory body of the Conference, by the Chair of the Ministers’ Deputies with the request to bring them to the attention of members of the CDLR and through them to the Ministers responsible for Local and Regional Government.

Unlike at the previous session, and as was to be expected following the decisions by the Committee of Ministers, the topic provoked little discussion. The Ministers adopted a statement on regional self-government which appears as Appendix 4. Particular attention is drawn to the request it makes to the Committee of Ministers. In view of their agreement to hold the 15th Session of their Conference in Spain in autumn 2007, the Ministers request the Committee of Ministers to instruct the CDLR to produce a substantial report on developments, innovations and issues of regional self-government and communicate it to that session.

Conclusion

The 14th Session was a very well organised and useful one and one that was different from the previous ones because of the strategic approach of identifying objectives, challenges and actions in the field of local and regional democracy, both for member States and for the Council of Europe. It may be hoped that the strategic engagement of Ministers at the Session in Budapest will help pave the way for the further development and domestic implementation of the Council of Europe’s acquis across the continent. For that reason the Committee of Ministers may wish to give a favourable response to the invitation the Ministers addressed to it.

Appendix 1

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

ALBANIA / ALBANIE

Mr Ben BLUSHI, Minister of Local Government and Decentralization

Mr Bledar ÇUÇI, General Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Decentralisation of the Republic of Albania

Mrs Sadete RINGAJ, Head of European Integration Section

Mr Eduardo SULO, Ambassador

AUSTRIA/ AUTRICHE

Mr Ulrich THEIMER, Deputy Head of Department for Registry and Community Affairs, Ministry of Interior

AZERBAIJAN / AZERBAÏDJAN

Mr Zahid GARALOV, President of the Standing Commission on Regional Affairs

Mr. Habib YUSIFOV, Deputy chief of the Centre of work and methodical assistance to municipalities, Ministry of Justice

Mr Ahmed HUSEYNOV, Chairman of Sabayil municipality of Baku, Ministry of Justice of Republic of Azerbaijan

Mr Hamlet GOJAYEV

BELGIUM / BELGIQUE

M. Paul-Henri PHILIPS, Adjoint au Directeur, Administration des pouvoirs locaux, Direction des Finances, Ministère de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale

M. Marc THOULEN, Directeur, Association de la Ville et des Communes de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale

M. Phillippe COURARD, Ministre des Affaires intérieures et de la Fonction publique, Gouvernement Wallon

Mme Annie VANBOTERDAL-BIEFNOT, Directrice Générale, Ministère de la Région Wallonne - Direction Générale des Pouvoirs Locaux

Mme Laurence GINDT, Attachée, Direction générale des pouvoirs locaux, Ministère de la Région Wallonne

M. David GRASSO, Conseiller, Gouverment Wallon – Belgique

Mme Emel ISKENDER, Conseiller, Gouverment Wallon – Belgique

M. Rudy JANSSENS, Chef de Division, Administration des Affaires Intérieures, Ministère de la Région Flamande

M. Piet VAN DER PLAS, Chef de Division, Administration des Affaires Intérieures, Ministère de la Région Flamande

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA / BOSNIE-HERZEGOVINE

Mrs Borjana KRIŠTO, Minister of Justice

Ms Mirela SVETE, interpreter, Ministry of Justice

Mr Milenko MISIC, Minister-Counsellor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

BULGARIA / BULGARIE

Petya GEGOVA, Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works

CROATIA / CROATIE

Mr Antun PALARIĆ, State Secretary, Central State Office for Administration

Ms Miroslava-Nina MISKOVIĆ, Head of Department for Local and Regional Self-government and Co-operation, Central State Office for Administration

CYPRUS / CHYPRE

Mr Andreas CHRISTOU, Minister of the Interior

Mr Constantinos PAPAMICHAEL, Principal Administrative Officer, Ministry of the Interior

CZECH REPUBLIC / REPUBLIQUE TCHEQUE

Mr Josef POSTRANECKŶ, Deputy Minister of Interior for Public Administration

Mrs Markéta PÁNKOVÁ, Head of the Unit for International Relations in Public Administration, Modernisation of Public Administration Department, Ministry of the Interior

Mr Petr FEJTEK, Administrative Advisor, Modernisation of Public Administration Department, Ministry of the Interior

DENMARK / DANEMARK

Mr Christian SCHØNAU, Head of Division, Ministry of Interior and Health

Mrs Julie Iben ROTHE, Head of Section, Ministry of Interior and Health

ESTONIA / ESTONIE

Ms Einike URI, Deputy Secretary General for Regional Affairs, Ministry of Interior

Mr Sulev LÄÄNE, Adviser to the Ministry, Ministry of Interior

Mrs Kadri TELLER-SEPP, Adviser, Ministry of Interior, Local Government and Regional Administration Department

FINLAND / FINLANDE

Mr Hannes MANNINEN, Minister of Regional and Municipal Affairs, Ministry of Interior

Dr Cay SEVÓN, Director-General, Department for Municipal Affairs, Ministry of Interior

Ms Inga NYHOLM, Project Secretary, Ministry of Interior

Mr Matti KORKEALEHTO, Ministerial Advisor, Ministry of Interior

FRANCE

Mme Marie-Josée ROIG, Ministre déléguée à l’Intérieur

M. Bruno SABLIERE, Chef-adjoint de Cabinet, Ministère de l’Intérieur

M. Patrick LAPOUZE, Chef du Bureau des structures territoriales, Direction Générale des Collectivités locales, Ministère de l'Intérieur

GERMANY / ALLEMAGNE

Mr Rainer LINGENTHAL, Secretary General, Head of Department, Federal Ministry of Interior

Mr Heribert RECH, Minister of Interior of Baden-Württemberg

Mr Stephan KOHN, Federal Ministry of the Interior, Local Government Affairs

Mr Klemens FICHT, Head of Office of the Minister, Ministry of Interior of Baden-Württemberg

GREECE / GRECE

Mr Athanassios NAKOS, Deputy Minister of Interior responsible for Decentralisation

Ms Athina KONTOGIANNI, Advisor of the Minister of Interior – Public Administration and Decentralization

Ms Eleni KAITANIDOY, Advisor of the Vice Minister of Interior – Public Administration and Decentralization

Ms Eirini PANAGIOTIDOU, Section of Relations with International Organisations, Ministry of Interior, Public Administration and Decentralisation

Mr Dimitris HATZO, Embassy of Greece

HUNGARY/ HONGRIE

Mrs Mónika LAMPERTH, Minister of the Interior

Mrs Krisztina BERTA, Deputy State Secretary Responsible for International Affairs, Ministry of the Interior

Mr Sándor BUJDOSÓ, Deputy State Secretary Responsible for Local Governments, Ministry of the Interior

Ambassador György HERCZEG, Commissioner of the Minister, Ministry of the Interior

Mr István BALÁZS, General Director of Office, Head of Department, Office of Local Governments, Bureau of County Public Administration Offices and Notaries, Ministry of the Interior

ICELAND/ ISLANDE

Mr Gudjon BRAGASON, Director, Office for Local Government, Ministry of Social Affairs

IRELAND / IRLANDE

Mr Joe ALLEN, Principal Officer, Local Government Policy, Department of the Environment Heritage and Local Government

Ms Geraldine TALLON, assistant secretary, Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government

ITALY / ITALIE

Mr Enrico LA LOGGIA, Minister of Regional Affairs

Mr Salvo GLORIOSO, Political adviser to Minister La Loggia

Mr Gaetano ARMAO, Ministerial Advisor

Conseiller Paolo Andrea TRABALZA, Conseiller diplomatique du Ministre La Loggia

Mr Luigi PEPE, spokesman, Ministry of Regional Affairs

Mr Massimiliano COSENZA, Minister’s secretary

Mr Antonio INFANTE, Vice-Prefect, Department for Internal and Territorial Affairs, Central Directorate for Autonomies, Ministry of the Interior

LATVIA / LETTONIE

Mr Mãris Kučinskis, Minister of Regional Development and Local Government of Latvia

Ms IIze KUKUTE, State Secretary, Ministry of Regional Development and Local Government of Latvia

Ms IIze ČEŽE, Head of the Minister Bureau, Ministry of Regional Development and Local Government of Latvia

Mrs Zanda KALNINA-LUKASEVICA, Deputy Director, Local Governments Development Department, Ministry of Regional Development and Local Government

LITHUANIA / LITUANIE

Mr. Evaldas GUSTAS, State Secretary, Ministry of the Interior

Mr Paulius SKARDŽIUS, Director of Public Administration Department, Ministry of the Interior

Mrs. Gaile DAGILIENE, Directeur du Département de la Politique Régionale, Ministry of the Interior

LUXEMBOURG

M. Jean-Marie HALSDORF, Ministre de l'Intérieur et de l'Aménagement du Territoire

Mme Christiane LOUTSCH-JEMMING, Conseiller de Gouvernement 1^ère classe, Ministère de l’Intérieur et de l’Aménagement du Territoire

M. Jean-Pierre KLEIN, Président du Syvicol

M. Alphonse CRUCHTEN, Secrétaire général h. du Syvicol

MOLDOVA

Mr Pantelei TILTU, Head of the Government Office

Mr Laur MIHAIL, Ambassador, Embassy of Republic of Moldova

Ms Carolina PEREBINOS, First Secretary, Embassy of Republic of Moldova

NETHERLANDS / PAYS-BAS

Mr Philippe RAETS, Deputy Secretary General, Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations

Mr Auke van der GOOT, Senior Adviser, Directorate General for Kingdom Relations and Governance, Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations

NORWAY/ NORVEGE

Mr Frank Josef JENSSEN, State Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development

Mr Tor SAGLIE, Secretary General, Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development

Mrs Greta BILLING, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development

POLAND / POLOGNE

Mr Jerzy MAZUREK, Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Interior

Mr Adam MISIUWIANIEC, Head of the Division for Structure of Public Administration, Public Administration Department, Ministry of Interior and Administration

Ms Magdalena SZOMIELEWICZ, translator, Ministry of Interior and Administration

ROMANIA / ROUMANIE

Mr Liviu RADU, State Secretary for Public Administration Reform, Ministry of Administration and Interior

Mr Radu Mircea POPESCU, State Secretary for Local Communities, Ministry of Administration and Interior

Mrs Elena CIOCAN, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Administration and Interior

Mrs Carmen STEFAN, Secretary of the Romanian delegation to CLRAE, Ministry of Administration and Interior

Mr Gheorghe VLAD, Counsellor, Directorate for Public services & relationships with local government associations, Ministry of Administration and Interior

Mr Ioan BENTE, Attaché

RUSSIAN FEDERATION / FEDERATION DE RUSSIE

Mr Vladimir A. YAKOVLEV, Minister of Regional Development

Mr Sergey SAMOYLOV, Adviser of the President, Administration of the President

Mr Valery KUZMIN, Director of Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Mr Evgeny GUZEEV, Deputy Director of Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Mr Vyacheslav POZGALEV, Governor of Vologodskaya Region, Government of the Vologodskaya Region

Mr Leonid IOGMAN, Head of the Department of Economy, Government of the Vologodskaya Region

Mrs Marina CHUMAKOVA, Head of Organization-Protocol Department, Ministry of Regional Development

Mrs Irina TERKINA, Head of Administrative Department, Ministry of Regional Development

Mrs Irina PEREVERZEVA, Head of Self-Government, City of Kostroma

Mr Serguei MIROSHNIKOV, Head of Department of Local Governments, Ministry of Regional Development

Mr Vladimir LEPESHITSHEV, Adviser of the Vologodskaya, Government of the Vologodskaya Region

Mr Ashot BABLUMIAN, Head of Secretary Department, Ministry of Regional Development

Mr Anatoly SALTYKOV, Vice President

Mr Nikolai KARTSEV, Secretary

SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO / SERBIE-MONTENEGRO

Mr Željko ŠTURANOVIĆ, Minister of Justice of the Republic of Montenegro

Mrs Zorica BRAJKOVIC, Assistant Minister for Local self-government

Mrs Vanja BRAILO, Minister adviser in the Serbia and Montenegro Embassy in Budapest

Mr. Zoran LONČAR, Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government of the Republic of Serbia

Mr Bratislav DJOKIĆ, Assistant Minister for Local Self-Government, Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government of the Republic of Serbia,

SLOVAK REPUBLIC / REPUBLIQUE SLOVAQUE

Mr Jozef LISKA, Director General, Public Administration Section

Mrs Eva CHMELOVA, Department Director, Ministry of the Interior

SLOVENIA / SLOVENIE

Mr Ivan ŽAGAR, Minister, Governmental Office for Local-Self-Government and Regional Policy

Mr Roman LAVTAR, Director, Local Self-Government Directorate, Ministry of the Interior

Mr Andrej GERENČER, Ambassador, Embassy of Slovenia

Ms Ksenija ŠKRILEC, Counsellor, Embassy of Slovenia

SPAIN / ESPAGNE

Mr José Luis MÉNDEZ ROMEU, Secretary of State of Territorial Co-operation, Ministry of Public Administration

Ms Ana FERNÁNDEZ ROCA, Adviser of the Secretary of State of Territorial Co-operation, Ministry of Public Administration

Ms Lucia ORTIZ SANZ, Deputy Director of International Relations, Ministry of Public Administration

M. José M. RODRIGUEZ ALVAREZ, Sous-Directeur Général des Relations Institutionnelles et de la coopération locale, Direction Générale pour la Coopération locale, Ministère des Administrations Publiques

M. José Maria PÉREZ, Sous-Directeur Général Adjoint de Coopération Autonomique, Direction Générale de Politique Autonomique, Ministerio de Administraciones Publicas

SWEDEN / SUEDE

Mrs Barbro ROHDIN, Director, Division for Local Government Affairs, Ministry of Finance

Mr Marcus BENGTSSON, Director, Division for Democratic Issues, Human Rights, National Minorities, Non Governmental Organisations and Sport, Ministry of Justice

SWITZERLAND / SUISSE

Mr Werner LUGINBUEHL, Conseiller d’Etat, membre du Gouvernement du Canton de Berne

Mr Hans Martin TSCHUDI, Ancien membre du Gouvernement du Canton de Bâle-Ville, membre de la Délégation suisse auprès du Congrès des pouvoirs locaux et régionaux, Justizdepartment Basel-Stadt

Mr Fabrizio TASCHETTA, chef de section adjoint, Département fédéral des affaires étrangères

Dr Robert BAUMANN, Office fédéral de la Justice, Département fédéral de justice et police, Service du fédéralisme

"THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA" / "L'EX-REPUBLIQUE YOUGOSLAVE DE MACEDOINE"

Mr Rizvan SULEJMANI, Minister of Local Self-Government

Mr Plamen GEORGIEVSZKI, State Secretary, Ministry of Local Self-Government

Ms Eli CAKAR, State Counsellor, Ministry of Local Self-Government

Ms Flora KASTRATI, Chief of Cabinet, Head of the Sector for International Co-operation, Ministry of Local Self-Government

TURKEY / TURQUIE

Mr Abdülkadir AKSU, Minister of the Interior,

Mr Ataman YALGIN, Ambassador – Advisor to the Minister

Mr Kayhan KAVAS, Director General, Ministry of the Interior

Mr Bülent KILINC, Chief of Cabinet, Ministry of the Interior

Mr Ahmet Sait KURNAZ, Head of Department, General Directorate for Local Authorities, Ministry of the Interior

Mrs Feyzan KARAHAN, Interpreter

Mrs Elif PANAYIRCI, Interpreter

UKRAINE

Mr Roman BEZSMERTNYY, Vice Prime-Minister of Ukraine, Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine

Mr Orest MATVIISHYN, Deputy Head of the Directorate on co-operation with local authorities

Mr Volodymyr YATSIUK, Head of the Directorate on co-operation with local authorities

Mr Anatoliy ZAIETS, First Deputy Minister, Ministry of Justice of Ukraine

Mr Yurii MUSHKA, Ambassador

Mrs Svitlana GOMENYUK, interpreter

Mr Myhalo YUNGER, Counsellor

Mr Dmytro KERECHANYN, Secretary

UNITED KINGDOM / ROYAUME-UNI

The Rt. Hon. Nick RAYNSFORD MP, Minister for Local Government and the Regions, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Mrs Angela KERR, private secretary of the minister, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Mr Paul ROWSELL, Head of Democracy and Local Governance Division, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Mr Terry WILLOWS, Head of Democracy and Local Governance Division, International Branch

Mr Clive KINGMAN, Policy Adviser, Democracy and Local Governance Division, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

OBSERVERS / OBSERVATEURS

HOLY-SEE / SAINT-SIEGE

Mr Juliusz JANUS, Apostolic Nuncio, Budapest

Maître Marc LEYENBERGER, Avocat au Barreau de Strasbourg

COUNCIL OF EUROPEAN MUNICIPALITIES AND REGIONS / CONSEIL DES COMMUNES ET REGIONS D’EUROPE (CCRE)

M. Heikki TELAKIVI, Directeur des Affaires internationales, Association des Pouvoirs Locaux et Régionaux Finlandais

M. Christophe CHAILLOU, Secrétariat Général du CCRE

Mrs Helena PIHLAJASAARI, Member of the Bureau of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Association of Finnish local and Regional Authorities

ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT / ORGANISATION DE COOPERATION ET DE DEVELOPPEMENT ECONOMIQUES (OECD/OCDE)

Mrs Claire CHARBIT, Administrator in the Territorial Reviews and Governance Division, Directorate for Public Governance and Territorial Development (GOV)

ASSEMBLY OF EUROPEAN REGIONS (AER) / ASSEMBLEE DES REGIONS D'EUROPE (ARE)

M. le Professeur Charles RICQ, Directeur du Centre d'Observation Européen des Régions (COEUR)

THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF HOUSING AND PLANNING (IFHP) /

LA FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE POUR L'HABITATION, L'URBANISME ET L'AMENAGEMENT DES TERRITOIRES (FIHUAT)

M. Claude ROUGEAU, Vice-Président du regroupement ONG-villes du Conseil de l’Europe, Maire-adjoint, Président de l’Association Française pour l’Urbanisme (AFU) représentant la Commission de liaison des OING

COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES (CIS)

Mr Rudolf ALEKSEEV, Director of Department, Commonwealth of Independent States

*

*   *

COUNCIL OF EUROPE / CONSEIL DE L’EUROPE

Mrs Maud DE BOER-BUQUICCHIO, Deputy Secretary General

Ms Stefania KRUGER, Private Office of the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General

Committee of Ministers / Comité des Ministres

Mr Zoltán TAUBNER, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Hungary to Council of Europe

Parliamentary Assembly / Assemblée parlementaire

Mr Walter SCHMIED, Président de la Commission de l’Environnement, de l’Agriculture et des  Questions Territoriales

Mr Antonio Nazaré PEREIRA, Vice-Chairman

Mr Renzo GUBERT, Vice-Chairman

Mr Alan MEAL, Deputy, House of Commons

Mr Miljenko DORIC, Member of Croatian Parliament

Mr Alfred SIXTO, Secretary, Committee on the Environment, Agriculture and Local and Regional Affairs

Congress of the Local and Regional Authorities / Congrès des Pouvoirs Locaux et Régionaux

Mr Giovanni DI STASI, President (Italie/Italy)

Mr Halvdan SKARD, President of the Chamber of Local Authorities (Norvège/Norway)

Mr Yavuz MILDON, President of the Chamber of Regions (Turquie/Turkey)

Mrs Dubravka SUICA, Chamber of Local Authorities (Croatie/Croatia)

Mrs Helena PIHLAJASAARI, Chamber of Regions (Finlande/Finland)

Mr Jean-Claude FRECON, Chamber of Local Authorities (France)

Mrs Ludmila SFIRLOAGA, Chamber of Regions (Roumanie/Romania)

Mr Alan LLOYD, Chamber of Local Authorities (Royaume-Uni/United Kingdom)

Mr Hans Martin TSCHUDI, Chamber of Regions (Suisse/Switzerland)

Mr Anders KNAPE, Chamber of Local Authorities (Suède/Sweden)

Mr Günther KRUG, Chamber of Regions (Allemagne/Germany)

Dr Ian MICALLEF, Chamber of Local Authorities (Malte/Malta)

Mr Anatoly SALTYKOV, Chamber of Regions (Fédération de Russie/Russian Federation)

Mr Istvan BORBELY, Chamber of Regions (Hongrie/Hungary)

M. Karsten BEHR, Membre de la Commission institutionnelle (Allemagne/Germany)

M. Henk AALDERINK, Membre de la Commission institutionnelle (Pays-Bas/Netherlands)

M. Guido RHODIO, Membre de la Commission institutionnelle (Italie/Italy)

M. Heikki TELAKIVI, Conseiller de Mme PIHLAJASAARI (Finlande/Finland)

M. Nikolaï KARTSEV, Conseiller de Mr SALTYKOV (Fédération de Russie/Russian Federation)

M. Bernd SEMMELROGGEN, Expert auprès du Congrès (Allemagne/Germany)

Mr Ulrich BOHNER, Chief Executive of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe

Mr Gunther MUDRICH, Secretary of the Chamber of the Regions

Mr J. P. CHAUVET, Head of Division, Secretariat of the Congress

Mrs M-A L’HYVER-YESOU, Head of Division, Secretariat of the Congress

Mr Oscar ALARCON, Secretary to the Culture and Education Committee of the Congress

SECRETARIAT/SECRETARIAT

Mr Philip BLAIR, Director of Co-operation for Local and Regional Democracy

Mr Alfonso  ZARDI, Head of the Department of Local Government and Transfrontier Co-operation

Mr Daniel POPESCU, Administrator

Mr Frank STEKETEE, Administrator

Mrs Isabelle ETTER, Secretarial assistant

Mrs Susan MOIX, Secretarial assistant

Mr Muammer TOPALOGLU, Director of Protocol

Ms Isabelle FLECKSTEINER, Assistant of the Director of Protocol

Mr Philippe QUAINE, Head of the Interpreters

Ms A. MILES, Interpreter

Ms J. POTOCZNA, Interpreter

Mr A. BERNHARD, Interpreter

Ms R. HORAK, Interpreter

Mr Ch. KODERHOLD Interpreter

Mr P. SCHMIDT, Interpreter

Ms M. N. PLASTINO, Interpreter

Ms M. MOLINARI, Interpreter

Mr J. BENDIK, Interpreter

Mr V. NIKITIN Interpreter

Ms N. SADABA Interpreter

Ms A. BARTHEZ Interpreter

Mr I. KARAKAI Interpreter

Mr G. KERENYI Interpreter

Ms A. JANTSITS Interpreter

Ms M. SVETE Interpreter

Ms I. DULCIC Interpreter

Ms Henriette GIRARD, Press Officer

Appendix 2

Agenda

1.                     Opening of the Conference

2.                     Election of the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Conference

3.                     Adoption of the Agenda

4.                     Theme 1: Challenges and priorities for European States and for the Council of Europe in the field of local and regional self-government

           

                   Documents:

                   - Introductory document................................................................................... MCL-14(2005)2

                   - Memorandum by the Secretariat General........................... MCL-14 (2005) 3 and Addenda (1-6)

                   - Input of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the

                     Council of Europe.......................................................................................... MCL-14(2005)8

                   - Draft Declaration on delivering good local and regional governance................. MCL-14(2005)4

5.                Theme 2: Results of the work carried out since the last Ministerial Conference with particular reference to the legal instruments on regional self-government

                  

                   Documents:

                   - Introductory document................................................................................... MCL-14(2005)5

                   - Final activity report of the CDLR to the Committee of Ministers on the

                     elaboration of legal instruments of different types on regional self-government. MCL-14(2005)6

- Draft Statement on regional self-government................................................... MCL-14(2005)7

- Input of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of

  the Council of Europe.................................................................................... MCL-14(2005)8

           

6.                Adoption of the final documents

       Documents:

- Draft Declaration on delivering good local and regional governance................. MCL-14(2005)4

- Draft Statement on regional self-government................................................... MCL-14(2005)7

- Draft Resolution on the 15th Session................................................................. CDLR(2005)2

7.                Any other business

       Document:

       - Follow-up to the previous sessions of the Conference..................................... MCL-14(2005)9

8.                Closing of the Conference

Appendix 3

DECLARATION OF THE BUDAPEST MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE

ON DELIVERING GOOD LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNANCE

We, the European Ministers responsible for Local and Regional Government, meeting in Budapest on 24-25 February 2005 for the 14th Session of our Conference

i)          Note with satisfaction that an unprecedented number of states across the continent have committed themselves to the principles of democracy, human rights and the rule of law;

ii)          Acknowledge that the challenges facing Europe today are not exclusively European – they are global and have to be dealt with coherently at both international and local level;

iii)         Are aware that the peoples of Europe more than ever expect, and are entitled to expect, genuine democracy and good governance at all levels, which serve to prevent conflict, create stability and encourage participation in society ;

iv)         Believe in the need to ensure that local and regional governance is democratic, efficient, responsive, transparent, participative and accountable;

v)          Recognise the value of the intergovernmental co-operation established in the Council of Europe and of the acquis (conventions and recommendations) and the information base developed within this framework;

vi)         Acknowledge in particular the role of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in laying down the principles of democratic self-government at subnational level and of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe in promoting the implementation of these principles through its monitoring exercises;

vii)        Note that our countries are confronted at national and European levels with a number of challenges and demands that concern in particular the capacity of local and regional authorities to deliver high-quality services and respond adequately to the legitimate expectations of citizens, the congruity between local and regional authorities’ competences and resources, the interest and involvement of citizens in public affairs at local and regional level, the development of co-operation between local and regional authorities, including across national borders;

viii)       Resolve, in accordance with our respective countries’ commitment to the aims, working methods and principles of the Council of Europe, to strengthen and steer our intergovernmental co-operation towards a number of essential goals to be pursued jointly and in good faith;

And therefore

I.          Agree:

1.         to make “delivering good local and regional governance” an essential objective to be pursued by our member States in order to respond to the challenges facing our societies and meet the legitimate expectations of our citizens;

2.         to pursue this objective also through our co-operation within the Council of Europe, including with the Parliamentary Assembly and Congress of Local and Regional Authorities;

3.         to adopt the Agenda appended to this Declaration in which we identify the major challenges facing our member states in delivering good local and regional governance and commit ourselves to action by member States individually and through the Council of Europe over the next five years;

4.         to keep the implementation and development of the Agenda under review at future sessions of our Conference;

II.         Adopt the following recommendations and messages:

1.         to the Third Summit of Heads of State and Government:

We recommend to the Heads of State and Government of the member states of the Council of Europe, meeting in Warsaw on 16-17 May 2005 for their Third Summit:

-           to reflect in their future agenda for the Organisation that effective democracy and good governance at the local and regional level are important for:

·                preventing conflict and promoting stability;

·                creating sustainable economic growth;

·                promoting citizen participation in public life;

·                securing the delivery of high quality public services; and hence

·                creating sustainable communities[3];

-                      to recognise that such democracy and governance can only be achieved through the active involvement of citizens and civil society;

-                      and to provide specifically, in the Plan of action which they will adopt, for the Council of Europe:

·                to take the necessary steps to implement the Agenda for delivering good local and regional governance adopted at the 14th Session of the Conference of European Ministers responsible for local and regional government;

·                to develop further, as necessary, standards of democracy and good governance;

·                to have the capacity to work with member states to promote the adoption of these standards and good practices, including through the establishment within the Secretariat of the Council of Europe of a centre of expertise on local government reform to assist member states with capacity-building at the local and regional level, in co-operation with the Congress, member states and national associations of local and regional authorities;

·                to contribute to transfrontier co-operation, in particular by adopting if appropriate a third protocol to the Madrid Outline Convention to regulate the legal status of cross-border co-operation groupings;

2.         to the Parliamentary Assembly: 

We thank the Parliamentary Assembly for its participation in, and contribution to this Conference and invite it to promote by all means the dissemination of, easy access to and awareness of the acquis and information base in the field of local and regional democracy as well as to continue its co-operation with the relevant intergovernmental structures;

3.         to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities:

We thank the Congress for its participation in, and contribution to this Conference and the colloquy, as well as for its ongoing work in monitoring the implementation of the European Charter of Local Self-Government;

We invite the Congress to promote by all means the dissemination of, easy access to and awareness of the acquis and information base in the field of local and regional democracy as well as to make use of it in the context of its monitoring of the European Charter of Local Self-Government;

We further invite the Congress to continue and where possible to enhance its co-operation with the relevant intergovernmental structures with a view to delivering good local and regional governance and facing the challenges identified in the appended Agenda in the best possible way;

4.         to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe:

We thank the Committee of Ministers for its participation in and contribution to this Conference;

We invite the Committee of Ministers:

-           to adopt annual intergovernmental programmes of activities in the field of local and regional democracy that promote the goal of “delivering good governance at local and regional level” and implement the Agenda that we have adopted;

-           to provide adequate resources in the annual budgets of the Organisation for the  activities related to the implementation of the above-mentioned Agenda;

-           to provide individual governments so requesting with all necessary assistance and support enabling them to attain the European standards of local democracy;

-           to ensure that the implementation of the Declaration is kept under review by the intergovernmental structures and reported on at future sessions of the Ministerial Conference.

Appendix

AGENDA

FOR DELIVERING GOOD LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNANCE

We, the European Ministers responsible for Local and Regional government, meeting in Budapest on 24-25 February 2005 for the 14th Session of our Conference:

Further to the agreement to adopt “delivering good local and regional governance” as an overall objective and drawing on the views expressed and the information made available to the Conference[4], identify the following major challenges and commit ourselves to the following actions by member States individually and through the Council of Europe  over the next five years:

As concerns democratic citizenship and participation at local and regional level,

Challenges:

-           Addressing the low level of electoral turnout in elections at local and regional level in many countries;

-           Responding to the changing ways in which citizens engage in public life at local level and, in some cases, the decreasing willingness to do so;

-           Broadening the scope for participation by foreign residents in public life at local level.

Actions:

-           To pursue the implementation of Recommendation (2001) 19 on the Participation of Citizens in Local Public Life;

-           To continue work on the ways in which information and communication technologies can facilitate democratic reform at local and regional level;

-           To examine the desirability and feasibility of forms of remote voting in local and regional elections;

-           To develop and make use of tools to assess the effectiveness of measures taken to enhance participation in public life at local level;

-           To examine the desirability and feasibility of introducing convention-based legal standards on the participation of citizens in public life at local and regional level;

-           To seek to overcome any obstacles to acceding to the Convention on the Participation of Foreigners in Public Life at Local Level and to seek to ratify it as soon as possible.

As concerns the legal framework and institutional structure of local and regional government:

Challenges:

-           Giving full effect to the principle of subsidiarity by defining and legislating on the competences, structures and boundaries of local and regional authorities;

-           Encouraging and creating the necessary conditions for inter-municipal co-operation;

-           Fostering effective relations between different levels of territorial administration, particularly between central and local authorities.

Actions:

-           To monitor developments in regional self-government with a view to identifying in particular innovations and any issues common to a number of states;

-           To share our knowledge, experience and views concerning inter-municipal co-operation with a view to identifying and promoting good practices and drawing up guidelines on this topic;

-           To share our knowledge, experience and views concerning the  relationship between central and local authorities with a view to identifying good practice and drawing up guidelines on this topic;

-           When engaging in processes of reform of local and regional self-government, to respect the European Charter of Local Self-Government and be guided by Recommendation (2004) 12 on the processes of reform of boundaries and/or structure of local and regional authorities.

As concerns local and regional finance:

Challenges:

-           Reaching a level of resources for local and regional authorities which is commensurate with their responsibilities;

-           Finding an optimum structure of income sources in order to allow local and regional authorities to offer their citizens services which are adapted to their requirements;

-           Striking the right balance between a high degree of freedom for local and regional authorities in managing their finance and a high degree of accountability.

Actions:

-           To make use of, implement and promote, as appropriate, the existing Council of Europe acquis in the field of local and regional finance, in particular  Recommendations Rec (2004) 1 on the financial and budgetary management at local and regional levels and Rec (2005) 1 on financial resources for local and regional authorities;

-           To promote and assess the impact of the Council of Europe’s acquis in the field of local finance;

-           To consider updating some of the previous reports in the field of local and regional finance and notably the report on “Local finance in Europe” examined by us the 11th Session of the Conference (Lisbon, 1996).

As concerns the leadership and management capacity of local and regional authorities:

Challenges:

-         Fostering the leadership and capacity of local and regional authorities to deliver good local and regional governance and providing citizens with services of the highest possible quality while respecting budgetary constraints.

Actions:

-         To share experiences on leadership, benchmarking and capacity-building for local and regional authorities with a view to identifying good practice and possibly preparing a recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member States in these fields;

-         To make use of and implement, as appropriate, the Committee of Ministers recommendations in the field of local and regional public services;

-         To examine the possible ways in which local and regional authorities can co-operate with other authorities (inter-municipal co-operation, co-operation with authorities of a different level) and with the private sector (partnerships, concession of public services, contracting out certain elements) for improving public services offered to their citizens.

As concerns public ethics at local and regional level:

Challenge:

-         Ensuring ethical behaviour by local and regional authorities, elected representatives and officials, whilst respecting local and regional self-government as well as individual rights and legitimate interests.

Actions:

-         To continue to promote the Handbook of Good Practice on Public Ethics at Local Level and prepare, where possible, handbooks suited to the particular situation in member States and thematic documents targeted at specific audiences;

-         To gather and share good practices concerning the evaluation of compliance with standards of public ethics at local and regional level;

-         To exchange experiences and provide the information necessary for the review of the Handbook, with a view to preparing a revised version in 3 to 4 years time.

As concerns the development of the transfrontier and interterritorial co-operation of territorial communities or authorities:

Challenges:

-         Removing remaining legal and administrative obstacles to transfrontier and interterritorial co-operation;

-         Finding ways and means of providing territorial communities or authorities and their transfrontier co-operation bodies with the capacity necessary to engage in and develop co-operation;

-         Establishing a clear and effective legal framework for institutionalised co-operation between territorial communities or authorities (euroregions).

Actions:

-         To make use of the “check list” of measures to be taken prior to or after the ratification of the Madrid Outline Convention on Transfrontier Co-operation between Territorial Communities or Authorities and its Protocols with a view to giving these instruments the greatest possible effect;

-         To make use of, and implement, as appropriate, Recommendation Rec(2005)2 of the Committee of Ministers on good practice in and the removal of obstacles to transfrontier and interterritorial co-operation;

-         To identify the persons or institutions in charge of, or responsible for transfrontier and interterritorial co-operation at the level of the state (or the regions, as appropriate), with a view to creating within the Council of Europe an informal network through which to request and share information and documentation;

-         In co-operation with the associations of local authorities at national and European level, to develop and promote the use of training methods and tools aimed at enhancing the capacity of local authorities to engage in sustainable transfrontier co-operation initiatives;

-         To continue the work engaged in the Council of Europe with a view to adopting a third protocol to the Madrid Outline Convention, regulating the euroregional co-operation groupings (ECG).

Furthermore, we commit ourselves:

As concerns the acquisof the Council of Europe:

To give the fullest possible implementation to the relevant norms and recommendations, at central state and local and regional levels, and to this end, to:

-         ensure translation into the official language(s) of our respective states;

-         publish and disseminate the texts concerned and organise promotional events on them;

-         collect feed-back from relevant actors about the implementation of the acquis and report to the intergovernmental bodies of the Council of Europe in order that  experiences are shared, lessons drawn and the acquis is constantly updated and improved.

As concerns the information base of the Council of Europe

-         To promote awareness and make use of it wherever appropriate, through

·                  translation of the parts most relevant to our respective administrations, associations of local authorities and citizens;

·                  facilitated access to it by relevant actors;

·                  further input to be provided to competent bodies of the Council of Europe.

As concerns participation in the work of the Council of Europe:

           

-         To review the working methods and procedures in force in our respective national administrations so as to ensure that our participation in the intergovernmental co-operation in the Council of Europe reflects the priority we attach to it;

-         To share our experiences with a view to identifying good practices in this regard and keeping them under review.

Appendix 4

STATEMENT OF THE BUDAPEST MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE

ON REGIONAL SELF-GOVERNMENT

We, the European Ministers responsible for Local and Regional Government, meeting in Budapest on 24-25 February 2005 for our14thConference,

Having heard the report by our colleague Mr Hannes Manninen, Minister of Regional and Municipal Affairs of Finland, on the work carried out after our13th Session in Helsinki on the legal instruments on regional self-government,

Having taken note of the invitation sent to the Conference by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe,

Acknowledge the valuable work carried out by the CDLR, at the request of the Committee of Ministers, in response to our expressed wish, in preparing two draft legal instruments on regional self-government;

Recognise that neither of the two draft legal instruments currently has the degree of political support necessary for adoption;

Express the shared understanding that the existence of diverging views on the legal instrument does not in any way reflect on the value of regional self-government as such;

Having regard to the Helsinki Declaration, adopted at our 13th Session (27-28 June 2002) and to the final document of the Ministerial meeting on the role of the regions in the European Union (Rome, 16‑17 October 2003), stress the importance of regional self-government and the fact that it can represent an enrichment for democratic societies, can help address new challenges of good democratic governance and, depending on circumstances, can respond to the need to deal with public affairs as close to the citizen as possible;

Reaffirm that regional self-government, like any other level of government, must respect democratic principles of organisation and operation and, in this regard, recall the specific principles endorsed by the Helsinki Declaration[5];

Accordingly recommend that the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities monitor developments in the field of regional self-government across the continent, having regard to the above-mentioned principles;

Note the ad hoc terms of reference given to the CDLR by the Committee of Ministers to “monitor developments in regional self-government across member states during the years 2005 to 2007 and by June 2008 report on such developments to the Committee of Ministers, identifying in particular innovations and any issues common to a number of states”;

In view of our agreement to hold the 15th Session of our Conference in Spain in Autumn 2007, request the Committee of Ministers to instruct the CDLR to produce a substantial report on such developments, innovations and issues and communicate it to that session.

Appendix

Core concepts and common principles on regional self-government

endorsed by the Conference of European Ministers responsible for Local and Regional Government (13th Session, Helsinki, 27-28 June 2002)

A.         Core concepts and principles

1.1.       Regional authorities are territorial authorities between the central government and local authorities. This does not necessarily imply a hierarchical relationship between regional and local authorities.

1.2.       Regional self-government denotes the legal competence and the ability of regional authorities, within the limits of the constitution and the law, to regulate and manage a share of public affairs under their own responsibility, in the interests of the regional population and in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity.

1.3.       Where regional authorities exist[6], the principle of regional self-government shall be recognised in domestic legislation and/or by the constitution, as appropriate.

B.         Common principles

1.         Regional competences

1.1.       Regional competences shall be defined by the constitution, the statutes of the region or by national law. Regional authorities shall, within the limits of the law and/or the constitution, have full discretion to exercise their initiative with regard to any matter which is not excluded from their competence nor assigned to any other authority.  Regulation or limitations of regional competences shall be based on the constitution and/or law.

1.2.       Regional authorities shall have decision-making and administrative powers in the areas covered by their own competences.  These powers shall permit the adoption and implementation of policies specific to the region.  Decision-making powers may include legislative powers.

1.3.       For specific purposes and within the limits of the law, competences may be conferred upon regional authorities by other public authorities.

1.4.       When powers are delegated to regional authorities, they shall be allowed discretion to adapt the exercise thereof to regional conditions, within the framework set out by the constitution and/or the law.

2.         Relations with other sub-national territorial authorities

2.1.       The relationship between regional authorities and other sub-national territorial authorities shall be governed by the principles of regional self-government set out in this document and local self-government set out in the European Charter of Local Self-Government and the principle of subsidiarity.

2.2.       Regional authorities and other sub-national territorial authorities may, within the limits of the law, define their mutual relationship and co-operate with each other.

3.         Involvement in the State decision-making process

3.1.       Regional authorities shall have the right as described in paragraphs 3.2 and 3.3 below to be involved in state decision-making affecting their competences and essential interests or the scope of regional self-government.

3.2.       This involvement shall be ensured through representation in decision-making bodies and/or through consultation and discussion between the state and regional authorities concerned.  Where appropriate, participation may also be ensured through consultation and discussion between state authorities and representative bodies of regional authorities.

3.3.       Insofar as it is permitted by the constitution and/or the law, regional authorities and/or their representative bodies shall be represented or consulted, through appropriate bodies and/or procedures, with regard to international negotiations of the state and the implementation of treaties in which their competences or the scope of regional self-government are at stake.

4.         Supervision of regional authorities by State authorities

4.1.       Any supervision of regional authorities by central state authorities shall normally only aim at ensuring their compliance with the law.  However, the supervision of delegated powers may also include an appraisal of expediency.

4.2.       Administrative supervision of regional authorities may be exercised only according to such procedures and in such cases as are provided for by constitutional or legislative provisions.  Such supervision shall be exercised ex post facto and any measures taken must be proportionate to the importance of the interests which it is intended to protect.

5.         Protection of regional self-government

5.1.       Regional authorities may be provided for by the constitution or established by law.  The existence of regions, once established, is guaranteed by the constitution and/or by law and may be revoked only by the same due process of amendment of the Constitution and/or law that established them.

5.2.       Regional authorities shall have the right of recourse to a judicial remedy in order to secure the free exercise of their powers and respect for the principles of regional self-government enshrined in domestic law.

5.3.       Regional boundaries shall not be altered without prior consultation of the region(s) concerned. Prior consultation may include a referendum.

6.         Right of association and other forms of co-operation

Regional authorities shall be entitled to form associations and to undertake activities of interregional co-operation in matters within their competences and within the framework of the law.  Regional authorities may also be members of international organisations of regional authorities.

7.         External relations

7.1.       Insofar as national and/or European law allows, regional authorities shall have the right to be involved in or to be represented through bodies established for this purpose in the activities of the European institutions.

7.2.       Regional authorities may co-operate with territorial authorities of other countries within the framework of their competences and in accordance with the law, the international obligations and the foreign policy of the state.

8.         Self-organisation of regional authorities

Where a constitution and/or the law provide the right for regions to decide their internal organisation, including their statutes and their institutions, it will define this right as widely as possible.

9.         Regional bodies

9.1.       Regional authorities shall have a representative assembly. Executive functions, where they are not exercised directly by the representative body, shall be entrusted to a person or a body answerable to it in accordance with the conditions and procedures laid down by the law.  Where the executive body is directly elected by the population, it needs not necessarily be answerable to the representative assembly but should give it account of its acts.

9.2.       Regional assemblies shall be directly elected through free and secret ballot based on universal suffrage, or indirectly elected by and composed of popularly elected representatives of constituent local self-government authorities.

9.3.       The conditions of office of elected regional representatives shall provide for the free exercise of their functions. They shall allow for appropriate financial allowance and/or for appropriate financial compensation for expenses incurred in the exercise of the office in question as well as, where appropriate, full or partial compensation for loss of earnings or remuneration for work done and corresponding social welfare protection. Members of the assembly shall have the right to express themselves freely during the meeting of this assembly. Any functions and activities which are deemed incompatible with the representative’s office shall be determined by law.

9.4.       Where sanctions against regional elected representatives are possible, they must be provided for by the law, be proportionate to the importance of the interest they are intended to protect and be subject to judicial review. Suspension and dismissal may only be foreseen in exceptional cases.

10.        Regional administration

10.1.     Regional authorities shall have their own assets, their own administration and their own staff.

10.2      Regional authorities shall freely determine the internal structures of their administrative system and their bodies, within the framework defined by law.

10.3.     The conditions of service of regional authorities' staff shall comply with general principles of public service and be such as to permit the recruitment of high quality staff on the basis of merit and competence; to this end adequate training opportunities, remuneration and career prospects shall be provided.

11.        Financial resources of regional authorities

11.1.     Regional authorities shall have at their disposal foreseeable resources commensurate with their competences and responsibilities allowing them to implement these competences effectively.

11.2.     Regional authorities shall be able to dispose freely of their resources, for the implementation of their competences.

11.3.     In the implementation of their own competences, regional authorities shall be able to rely in particular on resources of their own at which they shall be able to dispose freely. These resources may include regional taxes, other revenues decided by regional authorities, fixed shares of state taxes, non-earmarked funding from the state and constituent territorial authorities, in accordance with the law.

11.4.     The financial systems on which resources available to regional authorities are based shall be of a sufficiently diversified and buoyant nature to enable them to keep pace as far as practically possible with the real evolution of the cost of carrying out their tasks.

12.        Financial equalization and transfers

12.1.     The protection of financially weaker regional authorities shall be ensured through financial equalisation procedures or equivalent measures which are designed to correct the effects of the unequal distribution of potential sources of finance and of the financial burden they must support. Such procedures or measures should not have the effect of restricting the financial resources of regional authorities to the extent of hindering their freedom of administration.

12.2.     Financial transfers to regional authorities shall be governed by predetermined rules based on objective criteria related to regional competences. As far as possible, grants to regional authorities shall not be earmarked for the financing of specific projects.

12.3.     Financial transfers to regional authorities shall not limit the basic freedom of regional authorities to exercise policy discretion in the implementation of their competences.

12.4      For the purpose of borrowing for capital investment, regional authorities shall have access to the capital market within the limits of the law.

Appendix 5

RESOLUTION

The Ministers attending the 14th Session of the Conference of European Ministers responsible for Local and Regional Government, meeting in Budapest on 24 and 25 February 2005,

HONOURED by the presence of the President of the Republic of Hungary, Mr Ferenc MÁDL, at the opening session;

EXPRESS their gratitude to the Hungarian Government and in particular the Minister of the Interior, Mrs Mónika LAMPERTH, for their generous hospitality and the perfect organisation of the Conference;

ACCEPT with pleasure the invitation of their Spanish colleague to hold their 15th Session in 2007 in Valencia in order to review the progress made in respect of the actions, objectives and commitments set out in the Declaration and Agenda on delivering good local and regional governance.