Back 16th session of the Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Spatial/Regional Planning (CEMAT)

Napflion , 

Excellences,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is an honour to be here today, in the seat of this beautiful first capital of modern Greece and to open the Session of the Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for spatial and regional planning.

Some of you may know that CEMAT’s first session took place in 1970, so the Conference has now been active for almost 45 years!

This is no small achievement, given the magnitude of changes on the European continent in the last four decades.

To operate for that long, CEMAT has had to constantly adapt to the changing realities, responding resourcefully and with innovation to the challenges and needs of the Council of Europe member States.

Over the last four decades, CEMAT’s innovative approaches to spatial planning have spawned new ideas about space and place as well as the role of spatial strategies in effective governance, they have created new concepts and good practices and raised awareness among European policymakers about the role and benefits of spatial planning.

CEMAT, and the themes it deals with, is in a way a mirror of our European societies. It reflects the variety of concerns with which Europeans are confronted today: the sustainable use of land; the management of major infrastructure projects; the preservation of wildlife, water and rural areas; or sustainable development.

The diversity of approaches adopted by the member States towards spatial planning illustrates that one size does not fit all. However the achievement of CEMAT has been in providing new ways of thinking and new ways of addressing long-standing problems. Through your work on spatial planning you have enabled policymakers to set up new agendas and engage stakeholders outside planning. This has also motivated and encouraged people to deliver change.

Due to your work, planning has therefore become much more than just a regulatory and bureaucratic process.

This gives CEMAT an almost natural place in the Council of Europe, in an organisation which places human rights, democracy and the rule of law at the core of its action.

Certainly, our understanding of democratic instruments has been constantly evolving. Governance – effective and democratic governance - evolves in a constant effort to meet the needs and expectations of citizens. Demographic trends, international migration, the impact of the economic and social crisis, international relations and conflicts, the degree of social cohesion: these and many other factors require a constant fine-tuning of governance in our member States.

Decisions on the allocation of resources need to be taken democratically. I do not need to recall the virtues of democracy in the country which gave democracy to the world.

However, the series of recent crises in Europe are seriously testing the functioning of democratic institutions in our member States. Our continent is rich, but the gap between the extremes in income and wealth is widening, and at an alarming pace, damaging both the social fabric and democratic governance. Our societies today all profess to be democratic and to respect human rights and the rule of law. But none can claim to do so perfectly.

A few weeks ago, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe released his first report on the State of Democracy, Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Europe. The number and magnitude of challenges identified in the report are worrying.  “Serious violations”, he wrote, “including corruption, immunity from prosecution, impunity, human trafficking, racism, hate speech and discrimination are on the rise throughout the continent. People’s rights are also threatened by the impact of the economic crisis and growing inequalities.”

It is our responsibility to act in order stop this erosion of fundamental rights. We have put in place a number of co-operation programmes with member States, to address specific issues affecting the protection of human rights and the functioning of democratic institutions.

Discussions also take place in our new “European Committee on Democracy and Governance”, a Steering Committee where our member States exchange experiences on the modernisation of public administration, on institutional and territorial reforms and on best practices to address electoral absenteeism and other signs of a crisis of democracy.

The Strasbourg “World Forum for Democracy” is another platform for dialogue and innovation. It enables civil society representatives to voice their perception of political and societal change, and to suggest policy responses.

In the field of spatial planning, CEMAT has already provided important benchmarks in the past, such as the “European Regional/Spatial Planning Charter”, and the “Guiding Principles for Sustainable Spatial Development of the European Continent”.

Society’s participation is vital to democracy. Democratic governance requires that all groups within society are able to have their voices heard.

In recent years, we have seen growing understanding of the need for citizens’ participation in public affairs. Within the Council of Europe, we have contributed notably with two international conventions: the “Additional Protocol to the European Charter of local-self-government on the right to participate in the affairs of a local authority” and the “Convention on access to official documents”.

I think it would be quite appropriate if the Session also takes a step forward and considers how to acknowledge and promote public participation in spatial planning processes. The guidelines which you will consider today should not only reflect best practice in force in most European States. These principles should also stand out as a paradigm of good governance in spatial planning issues.

I know that later today, you will also be debating the link between CEMAT and the Council of Europe in general.

We live in times of economic restraint. With zero nominal growth, the budgetary resources of the Council of Europe are getting scarcer every year.

Looking at the contributions which you have made to policies and standards, I personally have no doubt that CEMAT is a solid element of our portfolio of policies and activities. Yet it is important that you examine ways to fit into the evolving priorities of the Council of Europe. This is the specific request of the Committee of Ministers. Your proposals will be welcome, and there is no question that the Committee of Ministers will consider them with the utmost attention.

Distinguished guests,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Greek hosts for their hospitality. For centuries, Greece has been a powerful symbol of democracy and openness so, for me, Nafplion is the perfect place for today’s discussion. It is also the perfect place to remind ourselves that there is a need for all member States to recommit to our common European values.

I would invite you to give your citizens this message: Europe is aware of the demands for transparency, better living conditions and the need to be closer to the citizens; and we are aware that politics need to be more responsive to the expectations of the citizens. Let us work together to achieve this.

Thank you very much.