The Congress Monitoring Committee approved a draft report on the application of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in Armenia at its meeting in Metz on 11 February 2020. This report follows a visit to the country in May 2019 by the co-rapporteurs Bryony Rudkin (United Kingdom, SOC/V/DP) and Gunn Marit Helgesen (Norway, EPP/CCE).
"Armenia is now bound by all the provisions of the Charter and the Armenian authorities are committed to territorial administrative reform," welcomed Mrs Rudkin, while recalling that Armenia was one of the first countries to sign, as early as 2016, a road map for the implementation of the Congress' recommendations in the framework of a close political dialogue.
However, the co-rapporteurs underlined the persistence of several issues of concern, in particular the lack of a legally guaranteed consultation procedure between the central government and the municipalities or their national associations. Furthermore, the co-rapporteurs called for greater decentralisation of competences in order to increase the share of public affairs that are carried out by local authorities, while ensuring sufficient financial resources for municipalities.
The report will be debated for adoption during the 38th Session of the Congress in Strasbourg, France (17-19 March 2020).
Agenda and documents:
COE CLOUD | ZIP format
Contact:
Stéphanie Poirel, tel. +33 3 90 21 51 84
See also:
