Resolution No. 2 on The organisation of the 13th session of CEMAT
The ministers taking part in the 12th session of the European Conference of Ministers responsible for Regional Planning
express their heartfelt thanks to the German Government for having organised the 12th session and for its kind hospitality;
consider that it is desirable, from an operational and rational point of view, for the same plenary committee to be responsible both for preparing the ministerial sessions and for implementing any intergovernmental programme of activities relating to sustainable regional development across Europe;
consider that no spatial development regional planning and countryside cohesion can be promoted and implemented without the active involvement of national, regional and local representations;
are pleased to accept the offer from the Slovenian Government to host the thirteenth session of their conference in Ljubljana in 2003;
decide that the theme of their thirteenth session will be:
Implementation of strategies and visions for sustainable spatial development of the European continent
instruct the Committee of Senior Officials:
i. to make the necessary arrangements to prepare the 13th session and to ensure implementation of the resolutions adopted at the 12th session;
ii. to organise before the next ministerial conference a forum with the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe in order to have the views of elected national, regional and local representatives on the implementation of the decisions taken at the 12th session of the European Conference of Ministers responsible for Regional Planning and on the main topics of the theme to be discussed at the next session;
iii. to continue to formulate on the basis of the Guiding Principles concrete and sustainable solutions and policies aimed at better-balanced development and territorial cohesion of the European continent;
iv. to foster transnational and inter-regional co-operation by carrying out development projects supported by EU instruments and international financial institutions and to pay special attention to rural regions, mountain areas, river catchment areas and Mediterranean regions. We ask the Committee of Senior Officials to present concrete results or evaluations at the next CEMAT conference.
ask the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to continue providing the conference secretariat with the resources needed to organise the next session and do the work required between sessions.