“The key challenges for the regions in the future will be their democratic structure, their competences and own resources, their place within the state, their relations with other authorities, and above all their relations with the citizens,” stated Gudrun Mosler-Törnström (Austria, SOC), President of the Congress Chamber of Regions addressing the European Congress of Local Governments on 5 May 2015 in Kraków (Poland). “No matter how the geographical and institutional architecture of a state is conceived, three objectives should be clear: strengthening democracy; bringing political and administrative structures closer to the citizens; respecting cultural and ethnical diversity and heritage”, she added. Organised by the Institute for Eastern Studies, the Conference is a platform for local governments’ leaders and regional elites to exchange views, knowledge and experience with the representatives of state administration, NGOs and business.
Regionalisation
Regionalisation is the process of transferring power from the central government to the regions, for a better application of the subsidiarity principle, within the framework of national or federal solidarity. It includes the establishment, enlargement or empowerment of authorities and the transfer of competences and responsibilities to the regions.
The Governance Committee and the Chamber of regions of the Congress are responsible for legal and political issues regarding to regionalisation in the Council of Europe member States. They examine in particular the developments regarding the institutional and administrative organisation of regions, their competences and financial autonomy.
Adopted texts
Conventions and preparatory texts
- Reference framework for regional democracy (16-17 November 2009)
- European Charter for regional or minority languages (1998 - ETS. N°148)
- Convention on transfrontier cooperation (1980 – ETS. N°106)
- Additional Protocol (ETS N°159)
- Protocol n°2 (ETS N°169)
- Protocol n°3 (ETS N°206)
- Model interstates Agreements
- Outline Agreements, Statutes and Contracts
Congress texts
- Autonomy and borders in an evolving Europe
- Trends in regionalisation in Council of Europe member States
- Inter-regional cooperation in Europe: trends and prospects
- Regions and territories with special status in Europe
- The governance of macro-regions in Europe
- Regions with legislative powers: towards multi-level governance
Other texts
- Reference framework for regional democracy (2009)
- Regionalisation trends in European countries (2016)
- Debates in the Chamber of Regions
- Achievement of the Chamber of Regions – a need for regionalization (23 March 2016)
- Reinforcing Regionalism and Regionalisation in Europe