Conference « Paths to follow », in the framework of the European Local Democracy Week, Valongo, Portugal, 22 October 2019

Bryony RUDKIN (UK/SOC), Congress Thematic Spokesperson on the European Local Democracy Week

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Mr Mayor,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

·       It is a great pleasure for me to open this conference alongside Mr. Ribeiro, Mayor of Valongo.

·       In the framework of the European Local Democracy Week, Valongo is one of the most committed and, I would say, most inspiring partners! Your municipality has been participating since 2015 in the ELDW, this initiative led by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. You constantly work to implement mechanisms of participation in the local life of your municipality, with the main objective of creating a real cohesion between your citizens and their local elected representatives.

·       Mr Ribeiro, we had the occasion to meet at the beginning of the year for the ELDW annual coordination meeting, and I remember a thought you shared with us that day. You said « We believe in democracy; but that’s not enough. We must take care of our common garden of democracy every single day with actions, not only words, because the weeds of every kind are always around”.

·       The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities shares this position. The Council of Europe member States created the Congress to strengthen the local and regional dimension of European democracy. It is the monitoring body for the European Charter of Local Self-Government, and is an assembly of local and regional elected representatives of 47 European countries, as the voice of more than 150 000 territorial communities. Their Mayors, Councillors, local and regional elected representatives, are working every day in the field. They are a cement holding our societies together.

·        As we celebrate 70 years of the Council of Europe this year, it is essential to recognise territorial democracy as a crucial pillar of our democratic system.

·       In the current context of democratic and institutional crisis affecting all European countries, it is essential to implement effective mechanisms to engage citizens and to empower local authorities, in order to restore confidence in public administration.

·       The Congress strongly believes that enhancing citizen participation and practising open and accountable government at the local level contributes to resolving the crisis. Our assembly makes transparency and open government a real priority.

·       The application of this principle of open government is crucial. Indeed, the participation of citizens in the formulation of political decisions, which is one of the foundations of open government, is totally legitimate because the decisions that are made directly affect their lives and the future of their communities.

·       May I remind you that the European Charter of Local Self-Government, the main reference treaty for local democracy, defines in its preamble the right of citizens to participate in local affairs as an absolute and indisputable principle. For us, members of the Congress, the local level is the one where the public authorities are closest to the citizens, where governance processes take place closer to the residents they concern.

·       I should add that the importance of citizen participation at local level is recognised by the Council of Europe national governments, as reflected in a number of Committee of Ministers recommendations.

·       The Congress is convinced, and I am a sure that you share this position, that citizen participation at local level can only bring positive things to our territories. It allows local elected representatives to design better policies and services on which citizens gave their input.

·       However, integrating the citizen’s input into local policies is not enough. Not only decision-making but also the implementation of decisions must be both transparent and accountable. The dialogue between local authorities and citizens means a constant feedback on how the decisions are implemented and what results have been achieved. And the governing processes must be transparent to citizens, much as it is said about justice: “Not only must Justice be done; it must also be seen to be done.”

·       This is why transparency, accountability and citizen participation are the three pillars of open government.

ELDW

·       The importance of participatory local democracy for the Congress is, among others, embodied by the European Local Democracy Week, a successful pan-European initiative since its launch in 2007. Its aim is to foster dialogue between community residents and public authorities, by bringing them together in joint activities to hear each other’s concerns. The purpose to achieve is to mutually decide on priorities for the community, to find equitable, sustainable and efficient solutions for local problems.

·       On average, throughout the years, we have more than 100 participating authorities in some 22 countries.

·        Every year, local authorities organise activities during a week in the framework of the EDLW. It serves to connect citizens with local authorities, to improve the knowledge of citizens about local democracy and self-government – but it also makes local elected representative become more aware of citizens’ needs and concerns.

·       Joining the ELDW is also a great opportunity to join a European network promoting citizenship democracy and to share good practices with other European local authorities.

·       Valongo is a great example of what can be done to boost citizen participation. For instance, you have set up a youth budget, with dual objectives: to involve young people in local public life, and to listen more attentively to their needs. Not only are you carrying out actions aimed at involving citizens and particularly the younger generation, but you have also decided to improve local transparency.

·       I welcome the fact that you organise Weeks of public responsibility where you present the facts and figures of the local government in order to exchange with the citizens. These examples compiled with the many other activities you set up constitute a good illustration of your support for local democracy, and may inspire cities in Europe.

ELDW theme of the year

·       The Congress attaches particular attention to the processes of participation and transparency. Thus, as you know, the theme of the 2019 and 2020 editions of the Week is “Local democracy : Building trust”.

·       As I mentioned earlier, our European societies are facing a growing loss of public confidence in democratic institutions and politicians. Many citizens do not feel that they are properly represented. This has resulted in increasingly worrying abstention rates and the rise of anti-liberal tendencies, the return of authoritarian temptations, and the resurgence of nationalism.

·       However, it is not a crisis that has no solution. With the right political will, the commitment of public institutions and the active involvement of societies and citizens, these negative changes can be reversed. A crisis is not the end, it represents a critical time in any process of transition to a new paradigm, and an opportunity for improvement which compels us to think about alternatives.

·       How can we restore the political link and the social fabric where it has been damaged? How can we safeguard democracy where it is being threatened? 

·       We are firmly convinced that trust between people and authorities is key to the correct functioning of democracy, and local authorities play a crucial role in strengthening public confidence, as they are at the frontline of addressing citizens’ concerns. The local and regional level can help significantly to reconnect with citizens and restore confidence in democratic processes and institutions.

·       The co-designing of local democracy between the representatives and the citizens guarantees the viability of  the  political  and  social  fabric  of  Europe. Public authorities need to listen and learn in order to design better policies and services. Citizen participation in decision making also gives legitimacy to those decisions taken by public authorities. Moreover, participation gives a sense of belonging and of common purpose, and makes local communities places where people want to live and work, now and in the future.

·       To this end, all population groups should be equally included, such as women, young people, migrants, foreign residents, elderly people, people with disabilities, minorities, vulnerable groups, etc.

Open government

·       Another dimension of the theme is the concept of open government. As I said, the Congress attaches importance to this simple but powerful idea: governments surely work better for the people if they are transparent, participatory and accountable. Open government ensures better decision making, greater public trust in institutions and more effective services.

·       It is an umbrella term for a wide range of practices, such as open data initiatives, access to information laws, political rights, whistle-blower protections, public consultation and engagement processes, among many others and so on.

As I said earlier, the idea of open government is based on three pillars:

·         Participation

·         Transparency

·         Accountability

The first pillar on participation implies that governments and local authorities need to bring support for a strong civil society, the involvement of citizens in decision making processes, and protection for whistle-blowers who highlight waste, negligence or corruption in government.

On transparency: governments need to open up government data and information on areas such as public spending, government contracts, the development and impact of policy, and public service performance.

Local governments have to be accountable: Embedding rules, laws and mechanisms that ensure government listens, learns, responds and changes when it needs to.

Open government truly promotes better decision making in government. It curbs the worst excesses of power and encourages more responsible and fairer decision making, thus reducing corruption in the local political spheres.

• Indeed, practising open government has a regulating effect on the behaviour of public officials if they feel that they are under scrutiny from the public, media, civil society or watchdogs.
• At its sessions in November 2018 and in April 2019, the Congress adopted a range of resolutions and recommendations on open government at local level, addressed to both national governments and local and regional authorities. These texts deal with transparency and open government, the European Code of Conduct for political integrity in local and regional governance, conflict of interests, nepotism and protection of whistle-blowers. A year earlier, the Congress has also adopted a recommendation on public procurement a t local and regional level.
• These texts have now been published as a set on Ethical Governance, and the Congress has committed to implementing them in its co-operation activities in the field, starting with our projects in Ukraine and Armenia and eventually in Georgia, Morocco, Tunisia and other countries where we have co-operation programmes.

·         These texts are aimed at raising awareness among local authorities and representatives about the concept of "open government", based on the idea that public action is most effective when it is transparent, participatory and accountable. They also propose specific measures to establish open government procedures in communities. We strongly encourage all municipalities to get to know this publication.

• Ladies and gentlemen, I am a local Councillor in my city, Ipswich, East England. I must say that England was at the forefront of setting up and leading on the European Local Democracy Week. I would like to take the opportunity to share with you some good practices implemented in Ipswich […]

Conclusion

Dear colleagues,

I want to reiterate our strong commitment to enhance an efficient and participatory democracy at local level. I am so convinced that the bond of trust that is sometimes damaged between citizens and political representatives can be repaired and even stronger.

Many sustainable, innovative and fair solutions to the current democratic and institutional crisis are available within our grasp. Local authorities are implementing many tools to improve their system of governance in order to be more inclusive and more adapted to the needs of their societies. We need not to rest on our laurels; we must strengthen our efforts, and always push our ambitions further.

I wish Valongo further success in the dialogue with its citizens.

Dear colleagues, I wish you all a very productive conference. Thank you for your attention.