Strasbourg, 19 January 2016                                                    CDDG(2015)30 rev.

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE ON DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE

(CDDG)

ABRIDGED REPORT OF THE 4th MEETING

7-8 December 2015

1.            Opening of the meeting and adoption of the agenda

The meeting was opened by the Chairman who welcomed the participants.

The Chairman welcomed Ms. Grete Ellingsen, State Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation, Norway, who would present recent developments on “Modernisation and Local Government Reform in Norway”, and Ms. Snežana Samardžić-Marković, Director General of Democracy DGII. He further thanked the Norwegian delegation for their ongoing support for the work of the Committee and their on-going contributions in favour of building democratic societies.

The list of participants is set out in Appendix I.

The agenda for the meeting (Appendix II) was adopted

2.            Promoting democratic governance through shared experience

2.1                 Administrative and local government reforms

The Committee heard a presentation by Ms Grete Ellingsen, State Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation of Norway on the recent local government reforms aimed at promoting amalgamation while keeping a high level of services to all citizens, irrespective of the size of their municipality.

In the ensuing discussion, questions were raised in relation to a possible differentiation in the distribution of competencies in function of the municipalities’ size, the nature of additional responsibilities being transferred to municipalities, incentives to encourage amalgamation and possible constraints (geographical, territorial or other), the response of citizens and elected officials to reform initiatives, the need for efficiency and the role for e-government and the support at national level required to bring reform processes to fruition. The exchange further addressed the role of measures to strengthen integration, inclusion and to foster understanding between different communities in the wake of extremist acts of violence.

In response to the Director General for Democracy, Ms Ellingsen underlined the importance of involving all relevant actors, and national minorities in particular, in the reform process as well as civil society and NGOs who were active at the level of municipalities, including, among other things, the provision of welfare services. The leading role in the consultation process however remained with the local municipalities responsible for organising consultation and information meetings and hearings.

The Committee thanked Ms Ellingsen for her presentation (see Appendix III) and underlined the significance and usefulness of these ongoing exchanges of experiences between the member States.

2.2     Democratic governance of metropolitan areas

Professor Paul Hildreth, Chair of the Policy Committee at the Regional Studies Association (United Kingdom), gave a presentation on various issues and factors influencing democratic governance in Metropolitan Areas. He addressed underlying challenges (economic, geographical and historical), different governance structures (both formal and informal) and approaches, as well as issues relating to local/regional identity that influence possible approaches and models that could contribute to good governance.

In the discussion that followed, issues were raised in relation to: the significant differences and inequalities that can be observed within a metropolitan area; the time-frame required to build an effective metropolitan governance structure; policies and measures to be adopted at national level in order to assist local authorities in addressing issues in relation to disadvantaged areas; current trends and evolution towards specific governance structures; and the role of culture and historical identity in ‘unifying’ constituent municipalities.

The Committee noted that successful models of good governance in Metropolitan areas would require context based solutions that reflected the specific reality of the area; effective leadership; careful planning; multi-governance approach and appropriate incentives/efforts at national and local level. An exchange with member states on these issues could be held in 2016.

2.3         Strengthening democracy and inclusiveness

The Committee held a debate on initiatives aimed at strengthening inclusiveness and participation, in particular at the level of the cities, as a follow up to the discussion it had had on this subject at its previous meetings.

Presentations were made by Ms Irena Guidikova, Head of Division – World Forum for Democracy, who highlighted the main features and results of the Intercultural Cities (ICC) programme and Ms. Ingrid Haug Rasmussen, Special Adviser with the City of Stavanger (Norway), who presented the experience of Stavanger with the programme.

Their statements were supported by a further presentation (by Ms Rica Terbeck, Directorate of Internal Oversight) of the evaluation conducted by DIO which concluded on the effectiveness and sustainability of the ICC programme.

Ambassador Astrid Helle (Permanent Representative of Norway), Chair of the Rapporteur Group on Democracy of the Committee of Ministers, underlined the complementarity of the Intercultural cities programme in the context of the new three-year Action Plan on “Building Inclusive Societies” and the three principal areas on which this would focus: Education, Anti-Discrimination and Integration. She further emphasised the need for an integrated approach and transversal coordination and interaction between all Council of Europe bodies in order to build and achieve inclusiveness and democratic security.

Representatives of the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress as well as the Conference of International Non-Governmental Organisations of the Council of Europe also presented the related activities of both bodies in the area of inclusiveness and integration, including the No Hate Parliamentary Alliance.

Members and participants were invited to encourage participation in this programme through their national associations of municipalities and national authorities while partnerships with other bodies such as the Council of European Municipalities and Regions could also be established.

The Russian delegation said that his country was giving priority attention to effective counter-reaction to extremist, radical and terrorist ideology and informed the Committee of the adoption, by the President of the Russian Federation, of a “Strategy of counter-reaction to extremism in the Russian Federation” to be implemented until 2025.

3.         Developing tools on good democratic governance and supporting reforms

The Head of the Centre of Expertise presented the main outlines of the Centre’s work in 2015 and the prospects for 2016. CDDG members expressed appreciation for the level and quality of its work.

The Director of Internal Oversight (DIO), Mr Ansgar Eussner, presented the concept of an evaluation of the Centre of Expertise proposed by the Centre itself and to be implemented by the DIO in the second part of 2016. The CDDG members welcomed such evaluation which should offer guidelines to the Centre to further improve its work.

The Committee also took note that the Centre will prepare, in the course of 2016, two toolkits. The first one will cover municipal amalgamation and use primarily peer review presentations and reports produced by CDDG members in Armenia and Ukraine and various policy papers produced by the Centre of Expertise in Albania, Armenia and Ukraine. Member States will shortly be invited to contribute national policy papers produced in this area. A first draft will be presented to the CDDG at the next meeting, possibly with a short questionnaire aiming at harnessing national experiences.

The second toolkit will cover Leadership issues in an entirely reengineered way in order to address institutional leadership in central government. Countries will be invited to volunteer for piloting this toolkit.

4.         Overview of the CDDG activities

4.1     State of implementation of the CDDG work programme 2014-2015

The Committee took note of the state of implementation of its work programme. It noted the consolidated demand of member States for Peer reviews and Rapid Response Services. It recalled that Structure and Operation Reports on local democracy needed constant updating in order to remain a valuable source of information.

4.2     Impact of the CDDG’s work in member States

The Committee wished to inform thoroughly the Committee of Ministers about the relevance of its work for member states and adopted the activity report that appears in Appendix IV.

4.3     Compendium of the most relevant Council of Europe texts in the area of         democracy

The Committee took note of the draft compendium of texts as presented in document CDDG(2015)19. It expressed its appreciation for the work done by the Secretariat and noted the fact that additional texts could be further added once the internal consultations are finalised.

The Committee suggested that the order of chapters be slightly modified in order to mention first the separation of powers and the functioning of institutions and then fundamental freedoms and human rights. It also advised on the identification of specific articles when referring to conventions and on the appropriateness of having only a factual introduction to the whole document, not to individual chapters. Finally, the CDDG was in favour of an on-line publication, with possible updates, if the Committee of Ministers would agree.

The Secretariat will finalise the draft Compendium taking those remarks into account as much as possible and present it to the Bureau before submitting it to the GR-DEM.

4.4     Strategy for Innovation and Good Governance at Local Level

The Committee approved the new Rules of procedure for the Enlarged Bureau acting in its capacity as steering body of the Strategy (see Appendix V). It took note of the information provided by Portugal on the progress made towards the setting up of a national stakeholders’ platform, possibly in Spring 2016, and by the Russian Federation as regards the development of new e-learning tool based on the Twelve principles for dissemination among municipalities.

It stressed the need for a greater synergy between the European Local Democracy Week and the promotion of the principles of good governance at local level.

4.5     Democratic governance of cross-border areas

The Committee took note of the results of the Saint-Louis seminar and agreed that the documents and practice collected on that occasion be compiled and published as a source of information, and possibly as a toolkit, for member states and local authorities.

The Benelux Union representative informed the Committee about recent developments in the Union about crossborder cooperation and in particular the entry into force of the convention on the Benelux Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (BGTC) which draws extensively on the Council of Europe’s Protocol No 3 to the Madrid Outline Convention.

4.6     Conventions and Protocols under the responsibility of the CDDG

The CDDG examined the Conventions placed under its responsibility in accordance with its terms of reference and wished to inform the Committee of Ministers that:

-      this examination had not revealed the need for action by the Committee of Ministers as regards the implementation or interpretation of any of these conventions;

-      as regards the reservations or interpretative declarations made by certain member States, it leaves a possible invitation for those States to update or withdraw said reservations or declarations to the Committee of Ministers’ discretion;

-      it should be mentioned, and welcomed, that in several member States the supreme courts (Constitutional Courts, Court of Cassation/Appeal) apply or refer to Council of Europe conventions;

-      it intends to honour the request for member States to share their experiences in relation to certain conventions to facilitate their ratification where applicable.

4.7     Workshops on e-democracy and e-governance

The CDDG took note of the outcomes of the CDDG workshops on 1 April 2015 in Brussels and on 7-8 May 2015 in Budapest and also of the information presented in document CDDG(2015)23.

The Committee requested the Secretariat and the Centre of Expertise, in cooperation with the rapporteurs and the Bureau, to compile elements on the basis of the presentations and written contributions by members, as well as the Council of Europe acquis, to draft guidelines and develop a toolkit in the field of e-democracy and e-governance.

5.         Decisions by the Committee of Ministers concerning the work of the CDDG

The CDDG took note of recent decisions by the Committee of Ministers having an impact on its work. It noted that the revised Appendix to Protocol No 3 to the Madrid Convention had been approved by the Committee of Ministers and published on the Council of Europe website (Treaty Office) and recalled that member States could refer to it when considering drafting legislation to ensure implementation of Protocol No 3.

In response to ad hoc terms of reference concerning Congress’ Recommendation 383 (2015), the Committee adopted the comments appearing at Appendix VI.

The Committee further took note of the new Terms of reference of the CDDG for the biennium 2016-2017. As regards the updating of CM Recommendation (2001)19 (specific task v) it agreed that this should be examined by a working group. This party should have at its disposal all relevant documentation such as the Additional protocol to the European Charter of Local Self-Government and the CLEAR tool. It considered that this issue was closely related to the drawing up of guidelines on the participation of civil society (specific task vii) which could therefore be examined by the same working group.

Given the priority nature of the guidelines on civil society participation as per specific task vii, the Committee set up a working party composed as follows: Austria, Belgium, Finland, Norway, “the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” and the United Kingdom. Other interested member States should express their intention to join the Group before the end of the year.  The Conference of NGOs would appoint an equal number of experts. Relevant materials and a working document for consideration by the working party would be prepared by a consultant. The CDDG tasked the party with submitting its proposals for guidelines in time for consideration by the Committee at its second meeting in 2016.

6.         Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers

The Committee took note of the events organised during the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers by Bosnia and Herzegovina and of the programme of the Bulgarian chairmanship. It noted the conference on Good governance at local level to be held in Sofia on 31 March 2016 and agreed to contribute to its preparation and content.

7.         Election of the Chair, Vice-Chair and members of the Bureau

The Committee elected its bureau as follows: Mr Paul Rowsell (United Kingdom), Chair, for 1 year; Mr Paul-Henri Philips (Belgium), Vice-Chair, for 1 year; Bureau members: Ms Inga Nyholm (Finland), Ms Greta Billing (Norway), Mr Alexander Balthasar (Austria), Mr Francesco Giustino (Italy) for 2 years and Mr Georgios Chrysafis (Greece) as member for a first term of one year.

8.         Other business

Information about other Council of Europe bodies

The Committee heard an oral report by the Secretariat (Mr François Friederich, Head of Division of Electoral Assistance and Census) on the first meeting of the Ad hoc Committee of Experts on Legal, Operational and Technical Standards for e-voting (CAHVE). The meeting report (CAHVE(2015)2add) was made available to its members.

The Committee further heard an oral report on the World Forum for Democracy which took place from 18 to 20 November 2015 at the Council of Europe, organised in cooperation with the French authorities and the City of Strasbourg. Taking place just after the 13 November Paris attacks, it underlined the pertinence of the theme chosen and the urge to provide answers to the three sets of questions raised. A high turnout, discussions in multiple fora and the testing of initiatives in the labs, not only provided for rich reflection material, but also for a number of recommendations that can be addressed to national authorities, media, and local communities as well as to international organisations such as the Council of Europe.

Appointment of rapporteurs for Gender Equality, Childrens’ Rights, Transfrontier Cooperation, Modernisation of public administration and services

The Committee appointed Mr Edwin Lefebre (Belgium) and Ms Aisling Lyon (United Kingdom) as Gender equality rapporteurs and Ms Laurence Gindt (Belgium) as Children’s Rights rapporteur. It further appointed Mr Mihai Adrian Grosan (Romania) as Rapporteur for Modernisation of public administration and services, Mr Edwin Lefebre (Belgium) as Rapporteur for Transfrontier cooperation and Mr Paul-Henri Philips (Belgium) and Mr Alexander Balthasar (Austria) as observers on behalf of the CDDG in the CAHVE.

The CDDG renewed its request that member States would keep the Rapporteurs informed about initiatives in their respective areas, in particular on Gender Equality and Children’s Rights in view of the Committee’s statutory responsibility.

Recent developments in member States

The delegations of Estonia, Romania and the United Kingdom provided information on recent developments in their respective countries (see Appendix VII). The Russian delegation informed the members that in 2016 the Russian National Congress of Municipalities will organise an international Conference “The role of international cooperation in developing local self-government: Russian and foreign experience”. CDDG delegations would be invited. Further detail on the date, place and programme would be communicated as soon as possible

Date of the next meeting

The fifth meeting of the CDDG will be held on 19-20 May 2016.

Any other business

None

Adoption of the abridged meeting report

The Committee adopted this abridged meeting report.

APPENDIX I

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

MEMBERS / MEMBRES

CHAIRMAN / PRESIDENT

M. Paul-Henri PHILIPS, Coordinateur pour les Organisations Internationales, Bruxelles International, Relations multilatérales et Organisations Internationales, Boulevard du Jardin Botanique, 20, B – 1035 BRUXELLES

Tel : (32) 2 800 32 77; Cel-phone: (32) 499 58 81 05;

E-mail : [email protected]

ALBANIA / ALBANIE

Mr Enea HOTI, Senior Advisor to the Minister for Local Issues, Prime Minister’s Office, Bulevardi Dehmoret e Kombit, TIRANA

Tel: (355) 4 2277561; E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

ARMENIA / ARMENIE

Mr Vache TERTERYAN, First Vice-Minister for Territorial Administration and emergency situation, 10, Republic Square, Government House 2, YEREVAN

Tel.: (37410) 511 303; E-mail: [email protected]

AUSTRIA / AUTRICHE

Mr Alexander BALTHASAR, Head of the Institute for State Organization and Administrative Reform, Federal Chancellery of Austria, Ballhausplatz 1, A - 1014 WIEN

Tel: (43) 1 53115 202806 ; Fax: (43) 1 53109 202806;

E-mail: [email protected]

Mr Stefan GÖLLER, Vienna City Administration, Municipal Department 27, European Affairs, Schlesingerplatz 2, A – 1082 WIEN

Tel: (43) 1 4000 27045 ; Fax: (43) 1 4000 7215; E-mail: [email protected]

AZERBAIJAN / AZERBAÏDJAN

Mr Gadir KHALILOV, Senior adviser, Centre of work with municipalities, Ministry of Justice, B. Safaroglu str. 141, AZ BAKU 1009

Tel: (994) 12 596 34 08; Fax: (99412) 59 63 408; E-mail: [email protected]

BELGIUM / BELGIQUE

Mme Laurence GINDT, Service public de Wallonie, DGOs Pouvoirs Locaux, Action sociale et Santé, Direction de la Prospective et du Développement des Pouvoirs locaux, Avenue Gouverneur Bovesse, 100, 5100 NAMUR (Jambes)

Tél : +32 (0)81 32 37 57 ; E-mail : [email protected]

M. Xavier KALBUSCH, Ministerium der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft, Gospert 1, 4700 EUPEN

Tél : (32) (0)87 59 63 00 ; Fax : (32) (0)87 55 28 91 ;

E-mail : [email protected]; [email protected]

Mr Edwin LEFEBRE, Deputy of the Director, Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Flemish Region, Agency for Home Affairs, Boudewijnlaan 30, B - 1000 BRUSSELS

Tel : (32) 499 77 34 39; Fax :(32) 2 553 39 52;

E-mail : [email protected]

BULGARIA / BULGARIE

Mrs Desislava DRAGOVA, Chief expert, Ministry of Regional Development and public works, 17-19 St. Kiril I Metodii Str., 1202 SOFIA;

Tel : +(359) 2 9405 428 ; E-mail: [email protected]

CROATIA / CROATIE

Apologised for absence / excusé

CYPRUS / CHYPRE

Mr Antonis ANTONIOU, Senior Administrative Officer, Ministry of the Interior

Tel: (357) 228 678 51; Fax: (357) 228 677 16; E-mail: [email protected]

CZECH REPUBLIC / REPUBLIQUE TCHEQUE

Mr Petr FEJTEK, Department for Strategic Development and Coordination of Public Administration, Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic, nám. Hrdinů 3, 140 21 Praha 4
Tel.: + 420 974 816 267; Fax: + 420 974 916 632; E-mail: [email protected]

DENMARK / DANEMARK

Mr Henrik Villum JENSEN, Ministry of Social Affairs and the Interior, Holmens Kanal 22, 1060, COPENHAGEN K

Tel: (45) 41851411; E-mail: [email protected]

ESTONIA / ESTONIE

Mr Kaur KAASIK-AASLAV, Adviser to the Regional Administration Department, Ministry of Finance, Endla 13, TALLINN, 10122

Tel: (372) 611 3078; E-mail: [email protected]

FINLAND / FINLANDE

Ms Inga NYHOLM, Ministerial adviser, Department for Local Government and Regional administration, Ministry of Finance, PO Box 28, FIN – 00023 GOVERNMENT

Tel: (358) 40 760 5524; E-mail: [email protected]

FRANCE

M. Damien FERAILLE, Bureau des structures territoriales, Direction Générale des Collectivités locales, Ministère de l'Intérieur, 1 bis, place des Saussaies, F - 75800 PARIS

Tel: (33) 01 49 27 31 78 ; E-mail: [email protected]

GEORGIA / GEORGIE

Mr Revaz KAKULIA, Head of Department of European Integration, Reforms and Innovations, Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure, 12 Kazbegi, TBILISI 0160

Tel: (995) 32 2510646; E-mail: [email protected]

GERMANY / ALLEMAGNE

Mrs Kristina SCHADE, Division O2, Better regulation, bureaucracy reduction; Act on E-Government; local matters, Federal Ministry of the Interior, Alt-Moabit 101, D-10559 BERLIN

Tel: (49) 30 18 6811 2137; E-mail: [email protected]

Mrs Gabriele STELLMACHER, Representative of the „Laender“ (States), Ministry of the Interior and Sports of Lower Saxony, Department for Local Government Affairs, Lavesallee 6, 30169 HANNOVER

Tel: (49) (0) 511 120 4640; E-mail: [email protected]

GREECE / GRECE

Mr Georgios CHRYSAFIS, Directorate of Organisation and Functioning of Local Government, Ministry of the Interior, 27, Stadiou Str., 10183 Athens

E-mail: [email protected]

HUNGARY / HONGRIE

Ms Nikolett GAÁL, Desk officer for International Relations, Prime Minister’s Office, Department for Territorial Public Administration Development, Kossuth tér 2-4, 1055 – BUDAPEST

Tel: +361 795 6252; Email: [email protected]

ICELAND / ISLANDE

Mrs Stefanía TRAUSTADÓTTIR, Local Government, Department of Human Rights and Local Government, Ministry of the Interior, Sölvhólsgötu 7, 101 REYKJAVÍK

E-mail: [email protected]

IRELAND / IRLANDE

Mr Denis CONLAN, Head of Local Government Development, Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, Custom House, EI – DUBLIN

Tel: (353 1) 888 2186; E-mail: [email protected]

ITALY / ITALIE

Mr Francesco GIUSTINO, Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri, D.A.R. - Ufficio Attività Internazionali, ROMA

Tel. +39.06.6779.5130; E-mail: [email protected]

LATVIA / LETTONIE

Ms Agnese PABERZA DRAUDINA, Lawyer, Local Governments Department, Local Governments Supervision and Methodology Division, Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, Peldu street 25, LV – 1494 RIGA

Tel : (371) 66016784; E-mail: [email protected]

Mrs Fatma FRIDENBERGA, Riga City Council Legal Office, Ratslaukums 1, LV - 1539 RIGA

Tel: (371) 6 7026022; Fax: (371) 6 7026326; E-mail: [email protected]

LITHUANIA / LITUANIE

Mr Paulius SKARDŽIUS, Director of Public Governance Policy Department, Ministry of the Interior, Šventaragio Str. 2, LT - 01510 VILNIUS, LITHUANIA

Tel: (370) 5 271 7071; Fax: (370) 5 271 8915; E-mail: [email protected]

LUXEMBOURG

Apologised for absence / excusé

MALTA / MALTE

Apologised for absence / excusé

REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA / REPUBLIQUE DE MOLDOVA

Mme Victoria CUJBA, Chef, Direction des politiques de décentralisation, Chancellerie d’Etat, 1, Piaţa Marii Adunări Naţionale, MD – 2033 CHISINAU

Tel: (373) 22 250 583 / (373) 69480105; E-mail: [email protected]

MONTENEGRO

Mrs Olivera GRBOVIĆ, Head of Department, Directorate for State Administration and Local Self-Government, Ministry of Interior of Montenegro, Bulevar Sv. Petra Cetinjskog 22, 81000 PODGORICA

Tel: (382) 20 243 445; Fax: (382) 20 225 518; Mobile: (382) 67 677 407;

E-mail: [email protected]

NETHERLANDS / PAYS-BAS

Mr Tom LEEUWESTEIN, Head of Europe and Local and Regional Governance Unit, Directorate General for Governance and Kingdom Relations, Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, P.O Box 20011, NL - 2500 EA THE HAGUE

Tel: (31) 6 53578243; Fax: (31) 70 426 7655; E-mail: [email protected]

Mr Auke VAN DER GOOT, Dutch Permanent Representation to the EU, Local and Regional Authorities Section, Kortenberglaan 4-10, 1040 Brussels

Tel : +32 2 679 1729, M + 32 497 439 298, E-mail : [email protected] 

NORWAY / NORVEGE

Ms Grete ELLINGSEN, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation

Mr Stein Ove PETTERSEN, Senior Adviser, Department for Local Government, Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation, Postbox 8112 DEP, N-0032 OSLO

Tel: (47) 22 24 60 26; Mobile: (47) 922 62 211; Fax: (47) 22 24 27 35;

E-mail: [email protected]

Mrs Greta Ulland BILLING, Senior International Adviser, Department for Local Government,  Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation, Postbox 8112 DEP, N - 0032 OSLO

Tel: (47) 22 24 72 25; Mobile: (47) 92 61 37 27; Fax: (47) 22 24 27 35;

E-mail: [email protected]

Mrs Nina Britt BERGE, Senior Adviser, Department for Local Government, Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation, Postbox 8112 DEP, N - 0032 OSLO

Tel: (47) 22 24 72 55; Mobile: (47) 99 72 43 14; Fax: (47) 22 24 27 35;

E-mail: [email protected]

POLAND / POLOGNE

Mrs Monika STURLIS-GUMIENICZEK, Chief Specialist, Department of Public Administration, Ministry of Interior and Administration, WARSAW

Tel: + 48 22 556 84 85 ; E-mail: [email protected]

PORTUGAL

Mr Jorge Abreu SIMÕES, Senior Adviser in the General Directorate for Local Authorities and national representative in the CDGG, Direcçấo-Geral das Autarquias Locais, Rua Tenente Espanca, N° 20, 3.° Andar, 1050-223 LISBOAP – 1169-058 LISBOA

Tel: (351) 21313061; E-mail: [email protected]

ROMANIA / ROUMANIE

Mr Mihai Adrian GROŞAN, Director Public Administration Decentralization, Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration, Directorate General of Public Administration, Romanian Government, BUCAREST, Romania

Tel: + 40 725558955; Email: [email protected]

RUSSIAN FEDERATION / FEDERATION DE RUSSIE

Mr Igor KOCHETKOV, Head of the Division of the Department for Liaisons with the Subjects of the Federation, the Parliament, and the Public Associations of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Arbat Str, 57, MOSCOW

E-mail: [email protected]

SAN MARINO / SAINT-MARIN

Apologised for absence / excusé

SERBIA / SERBIE

Mr Saša MOGIĆ, Assistant Minister, Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-government, 11000 BELGRADE, Republic of Serbia

Tel. +381 11 112685389; E-mail: [email protected]

SLOVAK REPUBLIC / REPUBLIQUE SLOVAQUE

Mrs Veronika ĎURKECHOVÁ, Local Self-Government Unit, Department on Local State Administration, Local Self-Government and Foreign Affairs, Public Administration Section, Ministry of the Interior, Drieňová 22, 826 86 BRATISLAVA

Tél : + (421) 2 4859 2215; E-mail: [email protected]

SLOVENIA / SLOVENIE

Apologised for absence / excusé

SPAIN / ESPAGNE

Mrs María PUIG PÉREZ, Technical Advisor, Deputy Directorate for Institutional Relations, Directorate General of Regional and Local Coordination, Ministry of Finance and Public Administration, MADRID
Tel: +34 912735752; E-mail: [email protected]

SWEDEN / SUEDE

Ms Mihaela HELLMAN, Trainee at the Permanent Representation of Sweden to the Council of Europe

E-mail: [email protected]

SWITZERLAND / SUISSE

Mr Robert BAUMANN, Senior Advisor, Federal Office of Justice, Bundesrain 20, CH – 3003 BERNE

Tél : (41) 58 462 41 61 ; Fax : (41) 58 462 84 01 ;

E-mail : [email protected]

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

Ms Gordana GAPIKJ-DIMITROVSKA, Head of Unit in the Ministry of Information Society and Administration, Skopje

Tel. +389 2 3200944, +389 80 328575; E-mail : [email protected]

UKRAINE

Ms Olena KUCHERENKO, Director of the Department of the Regional Development, Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services

Tel: + 38 (044) 590 47 70; E-mail: [email protected]

TURKEY / TURQUIE

Mr Davut GUL, Head of Department of the Foreign Affairs, General Directorate of Local Government, Ministry of the Interior, ANKARA

Mr Saban ERDOGAN, Head of Department of the Foreign Affairs, General Directorate of Local Government, Ministry of the Interior, ANKARA

Tel: + 90 312 4181072; E-mail: [email protected]

UNITED KINGDOM / ROYAUME-UNI

Mrs Aisling LYON, Senior Policy Advisor, Democracy, Department for Communities and Local Government, 2^nd Floor NE Corner, Fry Building, 2 Marsham St

Tel: +44 (0)303 444 1548; Email: [email protected]

Mr Kenneth WAY, Democracy, Department for Communities and Local Government, 2^nd Floor NE Corner, Fry Building, 2 Marsham St

Email: [email protected]

PARTICIPANTS

COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS / COMITE DES MINISTRES

Ambassador Astrid HELLE, Chair of the Rapporteur Group on democracy (GR-DEM)

M. Denis BRIBOSIA, Chef de Division

Tél: 33 3 88 41 22 22; E-mail : [email protected]

PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY / ASSEMBLEE PARLEMENTAIRE

Mrs Maren LAMBRECHT-FEIGL, Secretary to the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development

Tel: (33) 3 90 21 47 78; Fax: (33) 3 90 21 56 49; E-mail: [email protected]

CONGRESS OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL AUTHORITIES OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE / CONGRES DES POUVOIRS LOCAUX ET REGIONAUX DU CONSEIL DE L’EUROPE

Mr Andreas KIEFER, Secretary General / Secrétaire Général

Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 22 48; Fax: +33 (0)3 88 41 27 51;

E-mail: [email protected]

M. Jean-Philippe BOZOULS, Head of Department I – Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Local Authorities / Chef du Service I – Secrétaire exécutif de la Chambre des pouvoirs locaux

Tel: (33) 3.88.41.20.07; Fax: (33) 3.88.41.27.51;  E-mail: [email protected]

Mr Tim LISNEY, Deputy Secretary of the Chamber of Local Authorities / Secrétaire adjoint de la Chambre des pouvoirs locaux – Secretary of the Governance Committee / Secrétaire de la Commission de la gouvernance

Tel: (33) 3.88.41.35.73; Fax: (33) 3.88.41.27.51; E-mail: [email protected]

Mrs Viktoria MESHAYKINA, Project Officer, Governance and Current Affairs Committee

Tel : (33) 3 88 41 42 23; E-mail: [email protected]

CONFERENCE OF INGOS OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE / CONFERENCE DES OING DU CONSEIL DE L’EUROPE

Mme Anne-Marie CHAVANON, Présidente de la Commission démocratie, cohésion sociale et enjeux mondiaux, COFHUAT, 21 boulevard de Grenelle, 75015 PARIS

Tél. (33) 1 77 10 17 45, (33) 6 60 76 86 14; E-mail: [email protected]

OTHER PARTICIPANTS / AUTRES PARTICIPANTS

HOLY-SEE / SAINT-SIEGE

Professeur Thierry RAMBAUD, Professeur des Universités, 2 rue Le Nôtre, 67000 STRASBOURG

Tel: (33) (0)3 88 35 02 44; E-mail: [email protected]

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

Apologised for absence / excusé

BENELUX UNION/UNION BENELUX

Mr Hans MOOREN, Administrateur, Union Benelux, Rue de la Régence 39, 1000 Bruxelles

Tel: 32-2-519 38 43; E-mail: [email protected]

OBSERVERS / OBSERVATEURS

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

M. Maxime RAMON, Conseiller aux Affaires statutaires, Square de Meeûs 1, 1000 BRUXELLES, Belgique

E-mail : [email protected]

OFFICE FOR DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS (ODIHR) / BUREAU DES INSTITUTIONS DEMOCRATIQUES ET DES DROITS DE L'HOMME

Apologised for absence / excusé

CITY OF STRASBOURG / VILLE DE STRASBOURG

Apologised for absence / excusé

CITES INTERCULTURELLES / INTERCULTURAL CITIES

Ms Ingrid Hauge RASMUSSEN, City of Stavanger, Special Adviser, Diversity and Integration, Norway

E-mail: [email protected]

EXPERT CONSULTANT / CONSULTANT EXPERT

Mr Paul HILDRETH, Doctoral Researcher, Bartlett School of Planning / University College London, Room 601 / Central House, 14 Upper Woburn Place/ London / WC1H OBQ

Tel: +44 (0) 7990551789; E-mail: [email protected]

SECRETARIAT

Mrs Snežana SAMARDŽIĆ-MARKOVIĆ, Director General of Democracy (DG II) / Directrice Générale de la Démocratie (DG II)

Tel : +33 (0)3 88 41 22 36 ; E-mail : [email protected]

Ms Claudia LUCIANI, Director of Democratic Governance / Directrice de la gouvernance démocratique / Directorate General of Democracy / Direction générale de la démocratie

Tel : +33 (0)3 88 41 21 49 ; Fax : +33 (0)3 88 41 27 55;

E-mail : [email protected]

Mr Alfonso ZARDI, Head of Democratic Institutions and Governance Department / Chef du Service des institutions et de la gouvernance démocratiques - Directorate of Democratic Governance / Direction de la gouvernance démocratique, Directorate General of Democracy / Direction générale de la démocratie

Tel : +33 (0)3 88 41 39 06; Fax : +33 (0)3 88 41 27 84; E-mail : [email protected]

Mr Daniel POPESCU, Head of Good Governance Division / Chef de la Division de la bonne gouvernance - Directorate of Democratic Governance / Direction de la gouvernance démocratique, Directorate General of Democracy / Direction générale de la démocratie

Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 36 08; Fax: +33 (0)3 88 41 27 84; E-mail: [email protected]

Mr Theo WELS - Directorate of Democratic Governance / Direction de la gouvernance démocratique, Directorate General of Democracy / Direction générale de la démocratie

Tel: +33 (0)3 90 21 53 04 ; Fax: +33 (0)3 88 41 27 84; E-mail: [email protected]

Mrs Alina TATARENKO, Directorate of Democratic Governance / Direction de la gouvernance démocratique, Directorate General of Democracy / Direction générale de la démocratie

Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 28 47; Fax: +33 (0)3 88 41 27 84; E-mail: [email protected]

Mr Guennadiy KOSYAK, Directorate of Democratic Governance / Direction de la gouvernance démocratique, Directorate General of Democracy / Direction générale de la démocratie

Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 36 08; Fax: +33 (0)3 88 41 27 84; E-mail: [email protected]

M. François FRIEDERICH, Head of Division of Electoral Assistance and Census / Chef de la Division de l’assistance électorale et du recensement

Tel : +33 (0)3 90 21 53 02 ; E-mail : [email protected]

Mme Isabelle ETTER - Assistant / Assistante

E-mail : [email protected]

M. Jack DAVIS – Trainee / Stagiaire

***

Mr Ansgar EUSSNER, Director, Directorate of Internal Oversight / Directeur, Direction de l’Audit interne et de l’Evaluation

Tel : +33 (0)3 88 41 24 15 ; E-mail : [email protected]

Mrs Rica TERBECK, Directorate of Internal Oversight / Direction de l’Audit interne et de l’Evaluation

Tel : +33 (0)3 90 21 45 47 ; E-mail : [email protected]

***

Mrs Irena GUIDIKOVA, Head of Division, World Forum for Democracy / Chef de Division, Forum mondial de la Démocratie

Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 32 19; E-mail: [email protected]

APPENDIX II

AGENDA

APPENDIX III

Modernisation and Local Government Reform in Norway.

Presentation to the CDDG by Ms Grete Ellingsen, State Secretary,
Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation of Norway

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to thank you for this opportunity to address the European Committee on Democracy and Governance.

Exactly one month ago I had my first day as state secretary in the Norwegian Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation. And I am grateful to be able to visit the Council of Europe this early.

I am happy to talk about the local government reform in Norway, but this is also an opportunity for me to learn. The work done here in Strasbourg is important, also for the municipalities in Norway.

The 5,2 million inhabitants in Norway live their lives in 19 counties divided into 428 different municipalities. There have been a few changes in the municipal structure over the last decades, but the main structure was set already in 1965. So we can say that the municipal structure has become outdated.

Until the local elections in Norway this autumn, I was the Mayor of Sortland – also called the Blue city – in the northern part of Norway, the land of the Midnight Sun and, in this part of the year, the magnificent Northern Lights.

Oslo, the capital of Norway has almost 650 000 inhabitants, while Utsira, the smallest municipality in Norway, has only 208. More than half of the municipalities in Norway have less than 5 000 inhabitants. Compared to this, my own Sortland with just over 10 000 inhabitants, is actually quite large.

All municipalities have the same responsibilities and tasks. And, as I have experienced firsthand as Mayor in a relatively large municipality, that's a challenge we face every day when providing good services to our inhabitants.

Local government reform

In 2013, a new coalition government went into office in Norway. This coalition, between the Conservative Party and the Progress Party, is backed by two other parties, providing a base for majority in Parliament.

These parties agreed to implement a local government reform during the current parliamentary term, which ends in 2017.

The goals for the reform are:

-      Good, equal services for inhabitants, today and in the future

-      Comprehensive and coordinated community development, in both larger and smaller municipalities

-      Sustainable and financially solid municipalities

-      Strengthen local democracy, and give the municipalities more power

A key feature of the local government reform is to reduce the number of municipalities from the present 428.

There is a set of good economic incentives in this reform, for those municipalities who want to join forces and merge with other municipalities

A broad majority in the Parliament supported the government’s description of the need for a reform, and the main elements of the reform process. Further, it was decided that also the regional level would be part of the reform process.

 

The reform process

The processes are organized regionally. The decisions to merge will be taken by the municipalities during autumn 2015/spring 2016. These processes are organized by the County Governors, in cooperation with the Association of Local and Regional Authorities. The County Governors will inform the Government of the results and make recommendations on the way forward.

Last spring the Government presented a comprehensive proposal on the tasks that should be transferred to larger, more robust municipalities in a White paper to the Parliament.

Additional tasks will give municipalities the opportunity to develop a more comprehensive and unified range of services for users. It will also help to foster greater interest in local politics. The transfer of tasks will be followed by complementary funding.

The White paper also includes proposals to limit central government`s micromanagement of the local level, and a plan for reform of the regional level.

Next spring, the Ministry will present a White Paper to the Parliament, with tasks to the counties. The counties have until autumn 2016 to make recommendations on merging with other counties.

Finally, the government will propose a new structure to the Parliament in the spring of 2017 for both municipalities and counties. this timeline makes it possible to take a final decision before the end of the parliamentary term.

Let me make it clear:

A key to success is to involve the citizens in this reform processes. A reform which has a solid base in the population will definitely have a higher chance of success. This can only be achieved by thorough local processes where both proponents and opponents of the reform are listened to.

Modernisation

A more effective and efficient public sector is a top priority for the Norwegian government. There is a considerable potential for modernising. A lot of efforts are being carried out. Recently, some institutions have achieved surprisingly impressive results through an innovative redesigning of their work procedures.

Digitizing public services is a substantial tool for making the public sector more efficient and innovative. We want to utilize IT to create a public sector that is open all hours.

In order to achieve this:

–      Digital communication is to be the general rule for communicating with the public sector

–      A secure digital mailbox is now available to all citizens and businesses for receiving and storing important correspondence from the authorities

One of the priorities for this government is to remove unnecessary regulations, and minimize time-consuming and inefficient work methods in the public sector.

IT plays a large part of this effort as a driver for change. One particular measure for simplification has been to launch a campaign for identifying time consuming and inefficient work methods, "time thieves" – and deal with them. This effort will benefit both civil servants, politicians and the public we are serving!

Chair, dear audience, let me conclude:

-      The aim of the Norwegian local government reform is to strengthen the local level’s ability to continuously fill its central role;

-      At the same time we need to provide the means for the local democracy to be as vital as it is today.

Thus, combining the best abilities of both the local and national level, lays a solid foundation for a reform being strong on legitimacy and results.

We have already seen some progress in the local reform. Three municipalities outside Oslo have decided to merge into a new larger municipality and I think it's fitting to end with this quote from the Mayor in Andebu, the smallest of the three municipalities.

“This started as a forced marriage, evolved in a marriage of reason, and now, we’re simply in love.”

Chair, we hope for more love stories between municipalities in Norway.

Thank you for your attention.

APPENDIX IV

The impact of the CDDG’s work in member States

The Terms of reference of the CDDG instruct it to “exchange information, views and good practices among its members”, “respond to requests from member States”, “facilitate targeted activities of exchange and assistance between member States” and “contribute to the guidance materials and toolkits for the “Strategy” and the Centre of Expertise”.

In the light of the foregoing, the CDDG has conducted thematic exchanges with the participation of senior political representatives, including cabinet and junior ministers from: Armenia, Georgia, Ireland, Norway, the Republic of Moldova, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom on modernisation of public administration, strengthening citizens’ participation in public life and democratic governance.

Such exchanges have led to the direct involvement of member states in the cooperation activities of the Centre for Expertise for Local Government Reform (see the High-level Conference held in Kyiv on 25 September 2014) and to mobilising governments (minister level) for peer reviews, bilateral as well as multilateral initiatives.

On 16 April 2015, a Statement of cooperation was signed by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine to implement a large cooperation programme to reinforce the role of the 25 oblasts in decentralisation. The creation of regional offices was one of the main recommendations of the Peer Review report on 25 September 2014. The Centre of Expertise is currently implementing a large-scale project inspired by the results of the double Kyiv event (Conference and Peer Review, 25-26 September 2014). This deals with the municipal amalgamation and supports the Regional Offices. It can be said that this double event offered a significant boost to the municipal amalgamation process in Ukraine with the adoption of the new specific law, amalgamation plans by all 24 regional Councils and the amalgamation of 793 municipalities into 159 new ones. The process having been suspended in preparation of local elections, the first of which took place in October 2015, it should get underway again soon.

The Centre of Expertise is training the staff of the Regional Offices and has enrolled the Mayors of the newly created municipalities into its very successful Leadership Academy Programme.

Multilateral activities have taken the form of “peer reviews” through which member States’ senior officials and experts visit other countries and provide professional advice on such issues as: competencies of local municipalities (Moldova), financial decentralisation and equalisation (Armenia), modernisation of local governance (Malta) and municipal consolidation (Ukraine).

Bilateral cooperation has also taken place (Ireland and United Kingdom) on local government reform.

Building on Council of Europe standards in the field of municipal amalgamation, as well as on the specific activities of the CDDG and the practical projects implemented by the Centre of Expertise in Albania, Armenia and Ukraine, the Centre has initiated the preparation of a new Toolkit on municipal amalgamation, to which the CDDG should be closely associated. It is expected that such toolkit can inspire and be instrumental in future such reforms currently planned in other countries.

Member States have also received information through the Rapid Response Service (RRS) from other member States on national legislation and practices (as a possible source of inspiration for their own legislation). During 2014-2015, eight exchanges took place under Rapid Response Requests (Armenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Norway, Romania, Slovenia (x2), Ukraine) in areas including decentralisation, financial equalisation and municipal finance, citizen’s participation at local level, restriction of passive voting rights and municipal mergers, electronic registers for referendums, economic activities exercised by local bodies.

Interest in other States’ practices and experience has also been expressed through seminars and workshops that enable a direct dialogue between experts on technical issues. Two workshops were organised by Belgium (Brussels Capital Region) and Austria (in cooperation with Hungary) on e-Democracy and e-Governance initiatives.

Member States representatives consider that CDDG constitutes a unique European forum for the dialogue including at political level and the exchange of information and practice that benefits domestic policy-making. Participation often at ministers’/junior ministers’ level testifies of the interest of the discussions that take place in the CDDG for their political leadership.

APPENDIX V

Rules of Procedure of the Enlarged Bureau

acting as Council of Europe Stakeholders’ Platform

of the Strategy for Innovation and Good Governance at Local Level

(adopted by the CDDG at its meeting on 8 December 2015)

Membership

The Enlarged Bureau comprises the members elected by the CDDG to sit in its Bureau (chair, vice-chair and five members) and two members appointed by the Council of Europe Conference of International Non-Governmental Organisations (CINGO). The Congress may appoint two representatives with consultative status.

The duration of terms of office of the members shall be as follows:

-      for CDDG Bureau members, the same as the membership of the CDDG Bureau

-      for members of the CINGO two years from the date of appointment.

The Chair of the Council of Europe Conference of Non-Governmental Organisations and the Chair of the Congress (as appropriate) shall communicate to the Secretary General (Democratic Governance Directorate) the names of the two members appointed by them and the beginning of their terms of office.

Meetings

The Secretariat (Democratic Governance Directorate) shall be responsible for the organisation of the meetings (convocations, agendas, working documents).

Meetings shall normally be held in conjunction with ordinary meetings of the CDDG Bureau.

The Chair, if need be after having consulted the vice-chair or vice-chairs, may invite other Council of Europe bodies to be represented at or attend the meetings of the Enlarged Bureau or parts thereof and take part in the discussions, without the right to vote.

When examining applications for the accreditation of national or regional stakeholders’ platforms or of national (regional) institutions, the Enlarged Bureau may invite the applicants to present their case and answer questions.

The Secretariat may invite experts to attend meetings or parts thereof and contribute to the discussion of specific items on the agenda.

Quorum

The decisions taken by the Enlarged Bureau shall not be valid unless at least six members (two-thirds) of its members are present, at least one of which shall not be a member of the CDDG Bureau.

Decisions may also be taken in writing between meetings, including by electronic/digital means and shall be subject to the quorum set out hereinabove.

Chair

The Chair and Vice-Chair of the CDDG Bureau shall also be Chair and Vice-Chair of the Enlarged Bureau. The Enlarged Bureau may elect a Second Vice-Chair from among the non CDDG Bureau members.

Voting

Each member of the Enlarged Bureau shall have one vote. Decisions shall be taken by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast.

Procedural matter shall be settled by a majority of the votes cast. Where the question arises as to whether or not a matter is procedural in nature, it may not be regarded as such unless the Enlarged Bureau decides to that effect by a majority of two-thirds of the votes cast. 

For the purposes of these Rules, “votes cast” shall mean the votes of members cast in favour or against. Members abstaining shall be regarded as not having cast a vote.

Publicity

Meetings of the EB shall be announced on the Council of Europe Democracy website. Documents shall be public unless otherwise requested by their author or the Chair.

Meeting reports shall be published on the website after adoption by the EB.

Other provisions

These regulations can be amended at any time by the European Committee on Democracy and Governance (CDDG).

For all cases not explicitly regulated by these regulations, the Rules of procedure of Council of Europe Intergovernmental Committees appended to CM Resolution (2011)24 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

APPENDIX VI

Comments by the CDDG on Congress Recommendation (2015) 383 “Conditions of Office of elected representatives”

1.       In its Recommendation the Congress asks the Committee of Ministers to invite member states to take a broad range of measures (see paragraph 11 a. to m.) in order to ensure and strengthen sound conditions of office for elected representatives at local and regional level.

2.       The CDDG takes the view that this Recommendation raises important issues in relation to good governance at local and regional level which are addressed in various ways by the member States.

3.       Giving a thorough response to the Committee of Ministers on the advisability of “[asking] member states, as far as is practical, and recognising that there are differences in the range of duties and responsibilities of representatives at the local and regional level, to ensure” such a wide range of measures requires careful consideration.

4.       The CDDG notes that its Terms of reference do not include a specific task such as examining or harmonising the “conditions of office of elected representatives” but require it to “advise the Committee of Ministers on all questions within its area of competence”.

5.       Therefore the CDDG advises the Committee of Ministers to give it ad hoc terms of reference requesting it to examine in detail the proposals contained in Recommendation (2015) 383 of the Congress and to present its findings on this same issue to the Committee of Ministers.

APPENDIX VII

Recent developments in member States

The UK delegation provided details on the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill. It will provide the legislative framework for Combined Authorities (separate statutory bodies of local authorities working jointly across a functional economic area to improve economic development, regeneration and transport) and some large unitary authorities to agree devolution deals with the Government. The Bill also enables the creation of directly elected mayors to ensure clear, robust and transparent governance arrangements for the exercise of devolved powers. Devolution deals, agreed already with eight areas in England, are a bottom-up process. The competencies devolved depend on local needs and demand and may, for example, include adult skills funding, the establishment of sub-national transport bodies, health and social care, and police and fire services.

In Estonia, a draft law on amalgamation will soon be presented for consideration to the ministries concerned. Following an assessment of local governments, common criteria for amalgamation were established on the basis of the number of inhabitants. 5000 inhabitants minimum was set with a preferred size of 11 000.  Incentives are provided through double amalgamation bonuses for voluntary mergers while for mandatory mergers only direct costs deriving from amalgamation will be covered. The law could be adopted by Parliament in spring 2016 and mergers should be completed by fall 2017 with Local government council elections. While the timeline is tight, this is expected to succeed as the process is supported by all coalition parties.

The Romanian delegation informed the Committee of the project “Strengthening the framework for improving the quality of public services and supporting local development” by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration and co-financed by the European Union. Its purpose is to develop a unified set of tools to strengthen administrative capacity to deliver effective and efficient quality public services for citizens and businesses.

It aims to develop quality- and cost-standards as well as methodologies for service delivery by public administration as well as for evaluating and monitoring the administrative capacity and related quality and cost standards of the administrative-territorial units.

In developing the above, both national and international experiences will be taken into account and to this effect international conferences are envisaged. The first of these will be organised in the second half of 2016 and the Secretariat was asked to provide for support in identifying the appropriate expertise.