Governance and citizenship

To celebrate the anniversary of the European Charter of local self-government is to celebrate democracy, said Portuguese Prime minister, José Socrates, at the conference on the 20th anniversary of the Charter, in Lisbon, on 8 July 2005.

 

Jose Socrates added that the Charter has played and still plays a constitutional role; it is a lever for democracy. The Charter has contributed to the emergence of a truly democratic Europe.

 

The president of the national association of Portuguese municipalities (ANMP), Fernando Ruas, set the tone from his opening speechs: Local governments need financial instruments and tools to fulfill their missions! The Charter must be put in practice in every country lest it remains a mere document. But we must give it a fresh impetus because it is European local authorities' sole defense at a time when their prerogatives are ignored on a daily basis!

Indeed a number of speakers spoke about the threat under which European municipalities feel.

 

The president of the Congress of local and regional authorities of Europe, Giovanni Di Stasi, reminded participants that local authorities are the first to face human and social problems in the community (...). This is why they deserve our support and should able to operate in a well-defined legal and institutional framework... Our belief is that there can be no stable democratic society without a well-functioning local democracy. Speaking about the achievements of the Charter since its creation in 1985, Giovanni Di Stasi stated that in recent years, signing and ratification of the Charter has become one of the major conditions for countries that wish to join the Council of Europe. We are convinced that the Charter will soon become a common acquis of all member states. The secretariat general has put forward a proposal that all member states should ratify the Charter by the end of 2006.

 

The first vice-president of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) and mayor of The Hague, Wim Deetman said that Europe's local governments have to overcome four major problems: The biggest one being to regain our citizens' confidence. This is something the European Charter does not address. Our citizens have a problem with Europe, but also with their national, regional and local representatives. Or should I say "we" have a problem with our citizens. The second challenge is how to deliver good local governance. This is not dealt with by the European Charter either; we must provide citizens with services of the highest quality. The third challenge is how to cooperate with other government levels, national and regional. The fourth challenge is to enhance cohesion in the community; people have to feel they belong to a coherent and solidary group at home... All these challenges relate to local self-government but not all of them are directly included in the European Charter of local self-government.

 

Wim Deetman also stressed that the Charter does not directly address the issue of the relationship between local governments and their citizens: Our 20 years experience of the Charter (...) highlights a few gaps and problems that some protocols could usefully deal with.

 

CEMR secretary general, Jeremy Smith, reminded the audience that the Council of Europe's charter of local self-government was largely inspired by CEMR's European Charter of municipal liberties, signed in 1953. He too stressed that the European Charter of local self-government sets out the rights of local governments vis-à-vis central governments, but it does not purport to lay down any rights of the citizen vis-à-vis the local authority, nor any commitments from the local authority towards its citizens. I make this point to suggest again that we need a deeper debate on the best way of expressing the undoubted commitment of Europe's 100,000 local governments to look after the needs and interest of their citizens. He also suggested new concepts or ideas be added to the existing Charter, such as the right for local government to choose the means by which public services are delivered, the obligation for central governments to consult local governments and their associations, in a timely and appropriate manner, on all proposals which may substantially affect the financial resources to them... In conclusion, I want to say that the issue of how we express our commitment to citizens is not academic. There are increasing financial and political pressures from our national governments on local governments. If local governments do not take the initiative, in the coming years, our national governments will lay new and heavy legal obligations on us.

 

Emil Calota, representing the Congress of local and regional authorities, also raised the question of the possibility of identifying new trends or needs (to include in the Charter). The process of Charter interpretation is an ongoing one. We believe further clarification is needed in some areas, and we must focus on the following priorities: local authorities' responsibilities and autonomy in terms of standard-setting, local finance, legal protection of local self-government and the incorporation of the Charter into member states' domestic law.

 

Over 120 delegates attended the one day conference co-organised by the Portuguese association of municipalities, the Council of Europe and CEMR. Speakers included Vladimir Yakovlev, Russian minister for regional development; Philippe Courard, Walloon minister of the Interior and of Public Office and political representatives of local governments from most European countries.

 

The charter was adopted by the Council of Europe on 15 October 1985, it derives from the European charter of local liberties adopted by CEMR in 1954. The European charter of local self-government has been signed by over 40 European states.

 

The programme of the conference on the 20th anniversary of the European Charter of local self-government