29 May 2024
European Label of Governance Excellence (ELoGE)
The European Label of Governance Excellence (ELoGE) is awarded to local authorities that have demonstrated their adherence to good democratic governance practice measured against the Twelve Principles of Good Democratic Governance.
At its 58th meeting, on 25 March 2024, the Bureau of the Congress held an exchange of views on the European Label of Governance Excellence (ELoGE), expressing an interest in taking over the role of overseeing implementation of ELoGE. The Bureau took note of the information as set out in document CG-BUR(2024)58-25.
At its meeting on 23 April 2024, the Rapporteur Group on Democracy of the Ministers' Deputies took note of the interest expressed by the Congress.
The Bureau is invited to examine, revise and approve the draft Rules of Procedure of the ELoGE Accreditation Platform, as set out in Appendix 1, which include the proposed composition of the Platform.
The Bureau is also invited to take note of the draft ELoGE regulations, as set out in Appendix 2, to be adopted by the ELoGE Accreditation Platform at its first meeting.
Action required: for decision
Draft Rules of Procedure of the ELoGE Accreditation Platform
The ELoGE Accreditation Platform is the Council of Europe body responsible for the following:
- granting the accreditation to implement and award the European Label of Governance Excellence (ELoGE) to a national (or regional) body known as the national (or regional) “stakeholders’ platform”;
- drafting and adopting the Regulations for the implementation of ELoGE;
- supervising the preparation of the ELoGE criteria (“benchmark”);
- responding to complaints and challenges in respect of the decisions to grant or refuse accreditation.
The ELoGE Accreditation Platform operates under the aegis of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and reports to its Bureau.
ELoGE is awarded to reflect the governance practice of the local authority in the year of the award and is valid for a defined period of time not exceeding three years.
Composition
The ELoGE Accreditation Platform shall be composed of the following members:
- The President of the Chamber of the Local Authorities;
- The President of the Chamber of the Regions;
- The Thematic Spokesperson for European Local Democracy Week;
- One youth delegate to the Congress
- One member of the European Committee on Democracy (CD DEM), and
- One member of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR).
The Accreditation Platform can invite observers when deemed necessary, without the right to vote.
Chair and Vice-Chair
The Chair of the Accreditation Platform shall be held by the First Vice-President of the Congress. The Second Vice-President of the Congress shall be the vice-chair of the Accreditation Platform.
Meetings
The Secretariat of the Congress (Centre of Expertise for Multilevel Governance) shall be responsible for the organisation of the meetings (invitations, agendas, working documents).
Whenever feasible, meetings shall be held in conjunction with ordinary meetings of the Bureau of the Congress. Ad hoc and informal meetings may also be held online, as necessary. No meeting shall be held in the absence of both the chair and the vice-chair.
When examining applications for the accreditation of national or regional stakeholders’ platforms or of national (regional) institutions, the Accreditation Platform may invite the applicants to present their application 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 Accreditation Platform shall not be valid unless a majority of its members entitled to vote are present. A member unable to attend a meeting may designate another member attending the meeting as a proxy to represent them, including for voting, by informing the Chair in advance of the meeting. A vote cast by proxy can be considered as contributing to the quorum. No member present at a meeting of the Accreditation Platform shall hold more than one proxy for the meeting.
Decisions may also be taken in writing between meetings, including by electronic/digital means, and shall be subject to the quorum set out above.
Voting
Each member of the Accreditation Platform shall have one vote. Decisions shall be taken by consensus every time this is possible or, in the event that a vote is necessary, by a majority of the votes cast. Only affirmative or negative votes count in calculating the number of votes cast.
In the event of a tie, the decision shall be postponed to the next meeting. Additional information may be provided to the Platform should it so request.
Procedural matters 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 Accreditation Platform members decide to that effect by a majority of two-thirds of the votes cast.
Decisions of the Accreditation Platform are final and cannot be appealed.
Publicity
Meetings of the Accreditation Platform shall be announced on the Council of Europe and the Congress websites. The reports of its meetings shall be made public after adoption. The other documents can be made public upon request, unless otherwise requested by their authors or the Chair.
Defrayal of expenses
The costs for the participation of the members of the Congress and youth delegates shall be borne by the Congress. The costs for the participation of other participants shall be borne, respectively, by the bodies they represent.
Other provisions
These Rules of Procedure may be amended by the Bureau of the Congress at the request of the ELoGE Accreditation Platform.
The provisions of the Congress Rules and Procedures on Duties and obligations of the members of the Congress, breaches thereof, disciplinary procedure and sanctions, as well as the Code of Conduct of Congress members appended to the Rules and Procedures, shall apply to Congress members and youth delegates serving as members of the Accreditation Platform. Members of the Accreditation Platform who are not Congress members shall also undertake to comply with these standards in carrying out their functions.
Appendix 2
Draft Regulations for implementing the European Label of Governance Excellence
1. The European Label of Governance Excellence (ELoGE)[2] is awarded to local authorities which can demonstrate their compliance with the Twelve Principles of the Recommendation CM/Rec(2023)5[3] of the Committee of Ministers to member States on the principles of good democratic governance, and further detailed in its explanatory memorandum.
2. ELoGE celebrates and helps local and regional authorities to improve their governance, through a self-assessment tool in the form of a comprehensive European Good Democratic Governance Benchmark and a series of questionnaires aimed at citizens, elected representatives, and local officials, as well as of a methodology to ensure an objective evaluation of the results.
3. The presentRegulations govern the procedure for implementing ELoGE.They were adopted at the first meeting of the ELoGE Accreditation Platform, established under the aegis of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, on xx September 2024.
4. The ELoGE can be awardedto local authorities[4] and other relevant public authorities of the Council of Europe member States,which demonstrate compliance with the Twelve Principles of Good Democratic Governance, as measuredagainst the European Good Democratic Governance Benchmark, an inquiry with the population and a questionnaire addressed to local council members.
5. Measurement of governance practice against the European Good Governance Benchmark is performed by means of self-assessment, followed by verification of said self-assessment by independent local experts engaged by the accreditation entity.
6. In deciding whether or not an applicant local authority merits the label, the accredited entity will also consider whether the authority is involved in international co-operation aimed at improving governance such as, but not limited to, the European Local Democracy Week organised by the Congress or through capacity-building activities organised by the Centre or Expertise for Multilevel Governance.
7. ELoGE[5] can be awarded for a period of up to three years, subject to an implementation procedure adopted by the accredited entity.
8. The ELoGE Accreditation Platform is established under the aegis of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe as the body responsible for granting accreditation to implement and award ELoGE.
Who can requestaccreditation to implement ELoGE?
9. The ELoGE Accreditation Platform grants accreditation to deliver ELoGE to a reputable national, regional, or transnational entity which has demonstrable capacity and competence to oversee implementation of ELoGE within the designated territory.
10. The following entities can apply to the Platform for accreditation to award ELoGE:
i. an existing national or regional body or institution which is reputable and has substantial know-how, expertise and/or experience in the field of good democratic governance, in particular at local or regional level and is to involve properly local authorities and/or their associations.
ii. an ad hoc national or regional stakeholders’ platform comprising representatives of local government and/or their associations, central or regional authorities, civil society, and social and economic actors in a balanced way.
11. Accreditation may be delivered to regional entities in regional member States.
12. Accreditation requests may be submitted by reputable transnational platforms, bodies or institutions with substantial know-how, expertise and/or experience in the field of good democratic governance, in particular at local or regional level, with a view to awarding ELoGE in one or more Councilof Europe member States or regions where no nationalor regional stakeholders’ platform, or any existing national or regional body or institution has been granted accreditation. The competence of such transnational entity to award the label in a country or region shall cease upon accreditation of a national (regional) body for the same purpose.
What must be included in ELoGE Accreditation request?
13. The requesting entity must demonstrate the following:
i. It has the necessary competence and capacity to mobilise participation of sufficient numbers of local / regional authorities to apply for and participate in the ELoGE assessment process.
ii. The composition of the proposed ELoGE evaluation committee offers balanced participation, including representatives of local authorities and/or their associations, as well as, when appropriate of the civil society and academia.
iii. Any proposed amendments to the ELoGE Benchmark and/or questionnaires are necessary to reflect the good democratic governance framework applicable in the given territory.
iv. An implementation plan, including budgetary provisions, indicating a clear timeline for awareness-raising, application, assessment, and award procedures.
What support can be offered by the ELoGE Accreditation Platform?
14. The Centre of Expertise for Multilevel Governance at the Congress can deliver capacity-building activities for local experts and accredited entities upon request and subject to availability.
Is there a duty to report to the ELoGE Accreditation Platform?
15. Accredited entities shall keep the Accreditation Platform informed about their actions regarding ELoGE and respondto requests from the Platform in a spirit of cooperation. On a regular basis, or at the latest before the end of their accreditation period, they should provide a narrative report describing its activities in relation to ELoGE, including completing the information sheets for each municipality awarded ELoGE.
16. Upon receiving an application from one of the bodies mentioned under articles 6 and 7 above, the Accreditation Platform will grant accreditation if it is satisfied that:
i. public authorities at the relevant level are (or will be) adequately informed about and free to take part in the processleading to the award of ELoGE;
ii. the national(regional) benchmark for assessing the performance of the local authorities with regardto the principles of good democratic governance set by the CM/Rec(2023)5 is broadly equivalent to the relevant Council of Europe benchmark. Any changes the requesting entity may deem necessary or desirable, at the level of the national (regional) benchmark, shall be dully explained and approved by the Accreditation Platform;
iii. the scoring of local authorities with regard to the benchmark will be verified by an independent body or expert and supplemented by responses to the questionnaires addressed to citizens, elected representatives, and local officials on the performance of the municipality;
iv. the accredited entity has the capacity to administer the process for granting the label;
v. equality and diversity, including the balanced gender participation at all stages of the process,will be taken into accountin implementing ELoGE;
vi. the rules, procedures and decisions in relation to implementing and awarding ELoGE are taken according to a transparent procedure and can be subjected to review.
17. Accreditations to the entities listed under articles 6 and 7 can be granted for a maximum period of 3 years, renewable upon the applicant’s request for a duration to be decidedby the Accreditation Platform. Renewals of accreditation are to be granted if the ELoGE Accreditation Platform is satisfied that there has been no change in the circumstances that justified initial accreditation.
18. The ELoGE Accreditation Platform may request additional information to be providedby the entity applyingfor accreditation or renewal of accreditation.
19. The ELoGE Accreditation Platform makes decisions according to its Rules of Procedure.[6] Decisions of the Accreditation Platform cannot be appealed. They will be communicated to the applicant entity without delay.
20. The ELoGE Accreditation Platform may decide to suspend an entity’s accreditation to award the Label at any time, in the event of suspicion of a breach of the applicable Regulations or other possible irregularities, pending further inquiries. If at the conclusion of the inquiries the Accreditation Platform finds serious breaches of the Regulations, it shall withdrawaccreditation and may take such other actionas may be necessary to safeguard the reputation of the Label.
21. A decision not to grant accreditation is without prejudice to the right to submit further applications.
22. Exceptionally, and only if there are multiple, duly justified, and credible complaints concerning the granting of the label by an accredited entity to a specific local authority, the Accreditation Platform may decide to launch an inquiry and, in the light of its findings, may annul one or more decisions to grant the label. In such case, it may also decide whether to apply the provisions of paragraph 20 above.
23. The accredited entity is responsible for managing the process for awarding the Label, and for any actions and consequences as a result thereof. It commits itself to promoting the Label and the principles of good democratic governancedescribed in Recommendation CM/Rec(2023)5 of the Committee of Ministers to member States. The accreditee also commits itself to implementing ELoGE in a meaningful number of local authorities within the period of its accreditation.
24. As a matter of principle, accredited entities shall bear the costs related to implementation of ELoGE.
25. In exceptional circumstances, where there is no accredited platform and with the agreement of the ELoGE Accreditation Platform, the Centre of Expertise for Multilevel Governance may award ELoGE in co-operation with a national, regional or transnational entity which is not accredited but is qualified to apply for accreditation, at the following conditions:
- no accredited entity can award ELoGE in the countryor region concerned;
- the entity in question has the capacity, reputation and resources to becomeaccredited and is interested in doing so;
- the local authorities in question have successfully run the ELoGE benchmark, have fulfilled all the conditions which are normally required for being awarded the label and are actively participating in the European Local Democracy Week;
- the results of the benchmarking have been assessed by the Centre of Expertise for Multilevel Governance in cooperation with the entity in question.
26. The above procedure can be resortedto with the same entityfor only one round of ELoGE for any given territory. A refusal to grant ELoGE according to this procedureis without appeal.
27. All correspondence with the Council of Europe and the documentation relating to ELoGE shall be in English or French.
28. On a periodic basis and without prejudice to the right of the Congress Bureau to do so, the ELoGE Accreditation Platform, in consultation with accredited entities, should assess the implementation of ELoGE, its effectiveness in promoting compliance with the principles under review (see Articles 3 and 16), and consider ways to improveit.
29. These provisions can be modified and supplemented at any time by the ELoGE Accreditation Platform in thelight of the experience.
[1] This document is classified as confidential until it has been examined by the Bureau of the Congress.
[2] The Strategy for Innovation and Good Governance at Local level (herewith ‘the Strategy) was adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 26 March 2008, at the 1022nd meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies. It aims at promoting action and policies that establish or improve good governance, in particular at local level. The Strategy includes the 12 Principles of Good Democratic Governance and the ELoGE mechanism. These measures, however, can also be implemented at regional and national levels of government.
[3] CM/Rec(2023)5 - Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member States on the principles of good democratic governance and its explanatory memorandum
[4] Inter-municipal cooperation (IMC) entities can also apply for the awarding of the ELoGE label, in those member states where they have legal personality and competencies comparable to those of local authorities.
[5] The physical distinction consists of a crystal dodecahedron the facets of which bear the above-mentioned Twelve Principles of Good Democratic Governance. Alternatively, the label can be awarded in form of a certificate.
[6] CG-BUR(2024)59-37