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Local Democracy - 15.10.2010

Local Democracy Week: Charter of Local Self-Government celebrates 25th anniversary

This year, the European Charter of Local Self-Government, adopted by the Council of Europe and opened for signature on 15 October 1985, celebrates its 25th anniversary, the European Local Democracy Week (ELDW) having notably been created in commemoration of the Charter.

The Charter is derived from the European Charter of Local Liberties, adopted by the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) in Versailles in 1953, and guarantees the political, administrative and financial independence of local authorities.

The principle of self-government must be recognised in national legislation, as stipulated in the Charter, which constitutes the first legal instrument to set out the principle of subsidiarity.

All but three (Monaco, Andorra and San Marino) of the Council of Europe's 47 member states have signed the Charter. Andorra is set to sign the Charter by end of October 2010.

European Local Democracy Week

The ELDW is an annual event meant to increase the knowledge of local democratic institutions and processes amongst citizens and to strengthen the ties between populations and their local representatives.

CEMR's contribution to this edition of the ELDW was the organisation of a conference on 'Trust in Government", in collaboration with its Dutch member, VNG, and which took place on 13 October 2010 in The Hague.

See previous CEMR news items on Trust in Government and on the European Local Democracy Week.