COUNCIL OF EUROPEAN MUNICIPALITIES AND REGIONS...Ms Wolesa considered that it was also the members’ own responsibility to communicate on CEMR’s work to their own members. Mr Andreasen

COUNCIL OF EUROPEAN MUNICIPALITIES AND REGIONS EUROPEAN SECTION OF UNITED CITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

SECRETARIES GENERAL AND DIRECTORS MEETING OF THE NATIONAL SECTIONS AND ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

BELGRADE, 7-8 APRIL 2011

Belgrade City Hall Dragoslava Jovanovića 2

11 000 Belgrade _______

PROGRAMME

Thursday, 7 April 14.00 Opening of the meeting 14.-15.30 Session in plenary 15.30-18.30 Parallel sessions, strategic reflection on CEMR’s working processes 18.30 End of first day 20.00 Dinner at the restaurant Aero Club, at the invitation of the Standing

Conference of Towns and Municipalities of Serbia (address: Uzun Mirkova 4/2)

Friday, 8 April 9.30 Meeting continues in plenary 9.30-11.30 Reporting on parallel sessions, with debate and follow-up to the reflection 11.30-11.45 Break 11.45-14.00 Items on CEMR policy and statutory work 14.00 Meeting ends Afternoon Buffet lunch, followed by guided visit (on foot or by bus depending on

weather) Evening Programme offered by our hosts, on which further information will follow (for

those participants staying until Saturday)

1 COUNCIL OF EUROPEAN MUNICIPALITIES AND REGIONS

EUROPEAN SECTION OF UNITED CITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

31.03.2011

UPDATED



Belgrade City Hall Dragoslava Jovanovića 2

11 000 Belgrade _______

for decision for information

DRAFT AGENDA

Thursday, 7 April No of documents

14.00 Opening of the meeting Welcome and presentation of the situation of local democracy in Serbia and steps to

the future EU Integration:

Dragan Djilas, Mayor of Belgrade Saša Paunović, President of the Standing Conference of Towns and

Municipalities of Serbia (SCTM), Mayor of Paracin Municipality 15.00 1. Adoption of the draft agenda .................................................................... 1 2. Approval of the draft list of decisions of the Kyiv meeting

(23-25 September 2010) ...................................................................... 2.1

For information, draft list of decisions, Mondorf-les-Bains Policy Committee (6-7 December) ............................................................... 2.2

3. CEMR statutory affairs A:

3.1. Organisation of our meetings 3.2. Preparation of the next meetings of the Policy Committee,

Palma de Mallorca, 20-21 June ....................................................... 3.2 3.3. Preparations and promotion of the coming General Assembly, with

presentation by Bruno García de León, City Councillor of Cádiz ........ 3.3

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15.30- 4. REFLECTING ON CEMR’S WORKING PROCESSES AND 18.30 PRIORITIES FOR OUR FUTURE ............................................................. 4

Presentation of the discussion, following the 2010 Reflection Process on the future of CEMR, and the decisions from the Policy Committee meeting (Mondorf-les Bains)

The secretariat will organise 3 parallel sessions to ensure open, active, in-depth

discussion between all participants representing the member associations. The sessions will be “chaired” by one of the representatives of the national

associations, with a representative then reporting on the group’s discussions once the meeting convenes back in plenary format. Members of CEMR’s secretariat will be on hand in each parallel session to provide particular information as necessary/appropriate.

18.30 End of first day, followed by dinner, at the invitation of SCTM

Friday, 8 April 9.30 Meeting continues 5. Reporting on parallel sessions, with debate and follow-up to the reflection 6. Towards new working approaches: presentation on the event “Citizens

of Europe! the European Event on twinning and citizenship”, in Rybnik, (Poland), 29 September-1 October 2011 .................................................... 6

7. Report on CEMR’s policy work .............................................................7, 7.1 8. Information on the meeting of the European members of the UCLG

Executive Bureau, 28 March 11.30 Break 11.45 9. CEMR statutory affairs B:

9.1. CEMR’s budget ............................................................................ 9.1 9.2. Requests for CEMR membership ..................................................... 9.2 9.3. Amending CEMR’s statutes, following the Policy Committee decision

in Mondorf-les-Bains ..................................................................... 9.3 10. New approaches to CEMR communication ................................................. 10 11. Calendar of key events and conferences, including: ................................... 11

11.1. Policy Committee meeting in Brussels, December 2011, including special event concluding CEMR’s 60th anniversary year ....... 11.1

12. Other urgent business 14.00 Meeting ends

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2.1 COUNCIL OF EUROPEAN MUNICIPALITIES AND REGIONS


14.10.2010


KYIV, 23-25 SEPTEMBER 2010


DRAFT LIST OF DECISIONS The Chair opened the meeting thanking the Association of Ukrainian Cities for giving CEMR this first opportunity to hold a meeting in Ukraine. Mr Pittsyk, Executive Vice-President of the Association of Ukrainian Cities, welcomed the participants and gave the floor to two specially invited guests; the Vice-Prime-Minister on Regional Policy, and the Secretary of the Parliament, who welcomed this meeting as an excellent occasion for Ukraine, offering opportunities to exchange expertise of local governments, and presented the situation and recent developments impacting local governments in Ukraine. The Chair later welcomed those Secretaries General and Directors for whom this was the first such meeting: Kari-Pekka MÄKI-LOHILUOMA, Director General of Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities; Roma ŽAKAITIENĖ, Director of the Association of Local Authorities in Lithuania; Hayrettin GÜNGÖR, Secretary General of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey. As this would be the last CEMR meeting for Elisabeth Roussel (VNG), the Secretaries General and Directors took the opportunity to salute her longstanding dedicated work in the family of European local and regional government. The Chair introduced the opening debate during which the following representatives of CEMR’s partners exchanged views on collaboration on the ground in central/eastern Europe, building partnerships to promote local democracy: Antonella Cagnolati, Director, Congress of the Council of Europe; Myroslav Pittsyk, Association of Ukrainian Cities; Miroslav Kobasa, President of the Lev Sapieha Foundation (Belarus); Murat Daoudov, representative of NALAS. Speakers underlined the importance of pursuing joint initiatives, with the Congress and NALAS, including so as to optimise resources. Mr Pittsyk emphasised the importance of such partnerships for local self-government in his country where the situation is not easy – particularly with regard to finances. He highlighted a project which the association is working on with the Polish and Norwegian national associations, and underlined the usefulness of CEMR projects such as providing comparative studies and data, e.g. the Dexia factsheets. Mr Kobasa presented the latest developments of the situation in his country, hoping that the interests of the citizens will be better taken into account. He considered that if decentralisation could be pursued successfully, the real possibility could arise to set up an association of local authorities in Belarus. During the exchange that followed, the Chair recalled CEMR’s efforts with NALAS to see the Covenant of Mayors extended to the Balkan countries. Ms Simonsen (KS) underlined the importance of association-to-association partnerships for mutual learning opportunities. Mr Chaillou (AFCCRE) spoke on capacity-building possibilities, in particular recalling the importance of citizens’ involvement, and considered that this could be a theme explored at the next major European twinning/citizenship event. Ms Wolesa (AACT) recalled CEMR’s former action in the LOGON project, considering that such actions could be developed again, but that this would demand a shift in priorities for CEMR.

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1. Adoption of the draft agenda The draft agenda was adopted. 2. Approval of the draft list of decisions of the Nicosia meeting (4-5 March 2010) 2.1 For information, draft list of decisions, Oslo Policy Committee (3-4 June) The draft list of decisions from the Nicosia meeting was approved, and the list of decisions from the Oslo Policy Committee was noted. 3. CEMR affairs: 3.1 First report on the implementation of the 2010 work programme The Secretaries General and Directors took note of the secretariat general’s report on the implementation of the 2010 work programme to date. Mr Kitt (LGA UK) welcomed the report whilst expressing concern that it was not clear enough on the real impacts of CEMR’s work. Mr Pans (VNG) supported this, but underlined that it would be important to have a clear picture of what CEMR does both for and with the members. He considered that our work in relation to that of the Committee of the Regions and the Congress of the Council of Europe should be considered when preparing next year’s work programme. Ms Wolesa considered that it was also the members’ own responsibility to communicate on CEMR’s work to their own members. Mr Andreasen (Danish Regions) hoped to see more examples of lobbying work with concrete successful results. Mr Chaillou underlined the important work carried out during the EU Presidencies, emphasising in particular the FEMP’s work during the Spanish Presidency, which he considered as providing clear added value and a model to be reproduced as possible under future Presidencies. Mr Telakivi (AFLRA) recalled the tradition of organising Executive Bureau meetings during EU Presidencies as occasions for visibility of CEMR’s leadership. The Chair indicated that for the end of the year Policy Committee, the secretariat was working on a more results-orientated report. Moreover, the aim was to draw up the 2011 work programme in a format that would make it easier to be assessed in this way. 3.2 Preparation of the next meetings of the Executive Bureau (Bordeaux, 29 October) and Policy Committee (Mondorf-les-Bains, 6-7 December) On the agenda of the Executive Bureau in Bordeaux, the Secretaries General and Directors agreed to reduce the points for debate to the three most essential issues, given the tight timing – preparing the renewal of CEMR’s statutory bodies, reflection process, 2011 budget. The Secretaries General and Directors noted the pre-draft agenda for the next Policy Committee meeting. A broad exchange followed concerning the preparations of the renewal of CEMR’s statutory bodies taking place on that occasion. The Chair recalled that if for national reasons (i.e. elections) a delegation to the Policy Committee could not be renewed at this stage, the national association should nevertheless inform the secretariat of their intention to carry forward their current delegation – providing that the Rule on gender balance is respected. The Chair indicated that there had been two formal candidacies received for the position of President: Mr Knape and Mr Schuster. He underlined the secretariat’s aim of balance, fairness and neutrality in preparing the elections. It was agreed that to ensure this balance, the secretariat should prepare a document on the candidates for the Policy Committee meeting. For the position of First-Vice President and Executive Presidents of CEMR, the following members indicated coming candidacies and potential candidacies from their associations: Mr Pans of VNG, Mr Menna of AICCRE, Ms Leal of FEMP, Mr Porawski of APC, Mr Pinto of ANMP, Mr Kitt of LGA (UK).

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Mr Pans indicated that the matter of ensuring “balances” (eg. political, geographic) in the highest leadership of CEMR was by nature a political agreement. Mr Menna underlined the importance of political agreements. Mr Chaillou considered that the high level of interest from different parties to join CEMR’s leadership was a good sign for our organisation. Joining Mr Menna regarding Mr Pans’ view, Mr Chaillou underlined the importance of ensuring CEMR’s ability to unite different political “families” and project a clear geographic balance at the highest level. He expressed concern in particular at the idea that the major European political parties might not have balanced representation in CEMR’s leadership. There was moreover broad exchange on preparing the election processes, including on voting rights and verification. Mr Telakivi, in his capacity as Honorary Auditor of CEMR, recalled the importance of the rule regarding the settlement of membership fees in this context. Mr Leitermann underlined the importance of allowing sufficient time in Mondorf-les-Bains for presentations of candidates and the election process itself. After different specific questions were addressed – substitutes and proxies, proofs of settlement of fees in time, etc. – the Secretaries General and Directors agreed that a detailed note on the different rules and their applications should be submitted for agreement to the Executive Bureau for their Bordeaux meeting. It was further agreed that the Executive Bureau should decide on setting up an “ad hoc supervisory body” for this year’s elections. 4. Reflection process: towards the CEMR of tomorrow! The Chair recalled the background on the reflection process underway. Ms Simonsen (KS) presented the outcomes of the meeting (21 September) of the “Steering Group” of the reflection process, of which she is a member. She underlined that the first step assessing responses to the questionnaire had provided a good foundation with which to go forward. The two main lines coming out of the assessment – prepared with the help of the consultants – showed broad agreement among members on the importance of the following statements for CEMR looking ahead to 2020: a lobbying organisation at the service of local and regional governments and their representative associations in Europe, and the voice of local and regional authorities and their representative organisations in Europe. Ms Simonsen considered that now it was up to the members to work with the secretariat to bring concrete proposals based on these first main lines. A broad exchange followed during which the Secretaries General and Directors generally welcomed the worked carried out thus far, noting that there seemed to be a good consensus among members about the above two key points for CEMR. Several members underlined in particular the importance of CEMR’s lobbying work. Mr Leitermann considered that the debate should be pursued, in particular at political level, and should be accorded sufficient time for such an important matter for the organisation. Mr Verrengia (AICCRE) underlined the political nature of CEMR, and proposed that as we reflect on changes for CEMR, it would be time to change our formal Rules to foresee meetings of political groups, as appropriate to our work. Mr Pans considered that the reflection work now should be more visionary (what we are aiming for in the 2020 perspective), but also practical – how will we achieve the vision. For this, he underlined the importance of defining real changes that would be proposed for CEMR, and the concrete impacts that these would imply for our work. Ms Wolesa underlined that it would be important to ensure the implementation process of the findings from the process. Several members pointed to the importance of bearing in mind the realities of CEMR’s resources throughout the course of the reflection process. At the Chair’s proposal, it was agreed that the next meeting of the Secretaries General and Directors have a particular focus on CEMR’s working methods in this context. Regarding the next steps, it was proposed that the secretariat aim to draw up a sort of strategic paper, with further exchange by the Steering Group and the Executive Bureau, which could then be brought for debate by the Policy Committee in Mondorf-les-Bains. It was agreed that the aim at this stage should not be to rush to propose a detailed action plan for the coming 10 years, but rather to arrive at a more strategic paper to take forward the debate.

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5. Work programme for 2011 The Secretaries General and Directors had a broad exchange on the Chair’s proposal for CEMR’s 2011 work programmes. Members generally welcomed the new proposed format. Mr Andreasen welcomed the concise structure, but requested further detail to demonstrate more clearly how the programme specifically applies to the 2011 European agenda. Ms Poth-Mögele underlined that the secretariat’s aim was to offer a good framework and to finalise the draft programme in real cooperation with the members, based on their priorities and concrete input. Mr Kitt underlined the importance of flexibility, and together with different members proposed including stronger direct reference to CEMR’s work on lobbying, influencing EU policy. He considered that the objective to strengthen local democracy and local and regional authorities in Europe was important, but more the mission of the Congress/Council of Europe; Ms Simonsen agreed on the importance of clarifying our added value vis-à-vis the Congress. Mr Leitermann considered that the points on promoting a Europe of dialogue and exchange, and on strengthening local democracy and local and regional authorities in Europe constituted the main pillars of CEMR’s work, and should be presented as such. He recalled the importance of adapting the programme to the European Commission’s work programme, when possible. Ms Ehinger Berling (SALAR) considered the chapter on promoting an innovative, sustainable and cohesive Europe from the ground up to be the main priority for CEMR. In the context of adapting our working methods, she underlined the importance of carefully assessing the added-value of pursuing new tools before engaging in time and resource-consuming projects. It was broadly agreed that as the secretariat amends the draft work programme, it should be made clearer what CEMR proposes to do for the members – the associations, not only the authorities and their citizens. Moreover, the programme should specify a couple thematic areas on which lobbying work would be focused. 6. Adapting our communications to our evolution The Secretaries General and Directors took note of the evolutions regarding communication and visibility, in particular regarding the newsletter. Mr Vander Auwera explained that the communication team would be preparing this with a more thematic structure, rather than chronological, and underlined that members’ comments for improvement to the newsletter were invited. It was further noted that the publication on the status of local elected representatives was due to be published by the end of the year. 7. Financial issues The Secretaries General and Directors discussed at length the documents presented regarding CEMR’s finances. Several members strongly objected to the presentation on membership fees along geographic lines, and it was agreed that this should be removed categorically. Considering the context for discussion on the future budgetary possibilities for CEMR, members disagreed over the usefulness of considering other European networks’ budgets in comparison to that of CEMR – some considered it a useful benchmarking exercise, whilst others argued that such a comparison was not useful. CEMR’s Director of Finance presented the two options for the 2011 budget: option 1 foreseeing a total freeze on membership fees, so that the sums called in 2011 would be identical to those called in 2009 and 2010; option 2 foreseeing an overall reduction of membership fees by 5%. The Secretaries General and Directors expressed their views on how their association’s Policy Committee delegations would be likely to vote in Mondorf-les-Bains. Ms Žakaitienė (Lithuanian ALAL), Mr Kitt, Ms Priede (Latvian ALRG), Mr Chaillou, Mr Verrengia indicated the very difficult situations in their countries, which would lead most likely to recommendations to vote for option 2. Ms Ehinger Berling, Mr Pans, Mr Antoniades, Ms De Wachter (VVSG), Ms Simonsen, Mr Gupta (CoSLA UK), Mr Leitermann, Mr Telakivi, Ms Jacobsen, Mr Riimaa, Ms Leal, Ms Wolesa indicated that their associations would likely recommend the Policy Committee delegations to vote for option 1 in order not to avoid excessively weakening CEMR’s capacity.

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Mr Telakivi recalled that under a prolonged freeze of membership fees, the system will become increasingly distorted regarding those members who are currently paying transitional rates. After several members pointed to the proposal from the secretariat to increase membership fees after 2011 – expressing their surprise and disagreement with this – it was agreed to remove this from the presentation which would be voted on at the end of the year. Regarding option 2, several members disagreed with the secretariat’s indication that the reductions would imply a cut in the policy team, particularly in the light of the findings of the reflection process. Different proposals were made to the Secretary General on other areas in which reductions could be studied. The Chair explained the reasoning behind the proposed cut (as in terms of positions paid by CEMR’s own budget, there were no other options), and indicated that members’ constructive ideas on facing increasing budgetary restrictions would be very much welcomed. The Secretaries General and Directors exchanged on the Secretary General’s proposal to create a new voluntary contribution system, and largely agreed not to pursue this idea any further. Ms Ehinger Berling encouraged applying participation fees to more CEMR events. Mr Pans requested the preparation of an analysis of the different ways budgetary cuts could be made. Responding to the proposal that CEMR could seek additional EU funded projects, Mr Pans warned against CEMR entering into competition with the members in this way. Responding to the Secretary General’s proposal to reduce costs by limiting the number of statutory meetings each year and organising some in Brussels, members including Mr Antoniades, Ms Ehinger Berling, Mr Telakivi underlined the importance of maintaining the Policy Committees as opportunities for elected representatives to actively participate, and considered that any such debate should be had by the Policy Committee itself. Mr Telakivi further underlined the importance for an organisation such as CEMR to meet also outside of Brussels. The question was raised of the next meeting of the Secretaries General and Directors – the Chair presented the Serbian association’s invitation to host this in Belgrade in spring 2011. Ms Tchavdarova (NAMRB) underlined the importance for CEMR to meet in Belgrade as an important sign of support and good collaboration to the colleagues in the region. Mr Chaillou raised the question of how costs would be covered if such a meeting were organised in Brussels. It was agreed that the secretariat should study further the possible costs related, in particular with the Serbian colleagues; in principle if the possibility seemed reasonable, there was support for the idea of accepting the Serbian invitation. 8. EU affairs - local and regional contribution to the Belgian Presidency of the EU, & CEMR’s EU policy work Mr Thoulen (AVCB) presented the Belgian associations work in the context of the Belgian Presidency, including joint efforts with CEMR. The Secretaries General and Directors welcomed the information on CEMR being the first network invited to participate in the annual high level meeting of those responsible for local authorities affairs in ministries of EU members. They further noted the information on the initiative “cities and regions – partners for good governance” organised in the context of the Belgian Presidency. Ms Poth-Mögele presented CEMR’s recent EU policy work. Ms Žakaitiene expressed interest in the document on rural policy and proposed some changes from the Lithuanian perspective, which Ms Poth-Mögele requested to have in writing to study further. 9. Active citizenship and twinning The Secretaries General and Directors took note of information provided by Ms Ceciarini on the 2010 regional seminars organised thanks to a project co-financed by the European Commission. Mr Porawski presented information on the preparations of the major event on citizenship and twinning to take place in Rybnik (Poland) in 2011

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10. UCLG affairs Mr Laplaine Guimaraes (Deputy Secretary General of UCLG) presented information on the IIIrd World Congress, of 16-20 November 2010, Mexico City. The Secretaries General and Directors took note of the current list of proposals for the European nominations to UCLG’s World Council and Executive Bureau, as well as the oral report on the recent meeting of CEMR’s world affairs committee (21 September), in which this had been a main topic of discussion. The different related deadlines were recalled. A special meeting of the world affairs committee would be organised on the occasion of the Bordeaux events, in order to prepare the European nominations to the world organisation’s statutory bodies. Mr Chaillou underlined the importance of good coordination with UCLG to ensure a well-prepared debate for this next meeting. 11. Other international matters The Secretaries General and Directors took note of the recent information on PLATFORMA’s work, including Ms Lopez Pagan’s report on FEMP’s participation on behalf of the platform in the recent regional meeting organised by the European Commission. Mr Chaillou joined colleagues of the FEMP in underlining the importance of what PLATFORMA has been achieving through its successful dialogue and lobbying of the European institutions. Mr Menna proposed that PLATFORMA consider working more with civil society in the context of the coming year as the year of volunteering. The Secretaries General and Directors further noted the work and actions realised following-up with the European Charter on Development Cooperation in Support of Local Governance. 12. Other matters The Chair drew the Secretaries General and Directors’ attention to the letter from the Romanian Municipalities Association regarding the recent developments of the situation of Roma communities in Europe. Members presented positive examples from their countries of successful integration in this context, and it was agreed that it would be important for CEMR to work with the Congress/CoE on this human rights issue. 13. Calendar of events, meetings and conferences The Secretaries General and Directors’ noted the information on important coming events, and in particular: the Open Days/Open House Reception, with Eurocities and G4, Brussels (6 October 2010); Conference on trust in government organised with VNG, The Hague (13 October 2010), marking the 60th anniversary of CEMR, in particular in Geneva on 28 January 2011, and the next Euro-Arab Cities Forum (February 2011, Malaga).

*****

The Secretary General closed the meeting, thanking the Ukrainian association for their excellent collaboration and organisation of the meeting.

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15.12.2010/nh

POLICY COMMITTEE

MONDORF-LES-BAINS, 6-7 December 2010


DRAFT LIST OF DECISIONS

6 December President Häupl opened the meeting, thanking the hosts, Association of Luxembourg Cities and Municipalities (SYVICOL) for hosting CEMR’s Policy Committee. Mr Dan Kersch, President of SYVICOL, took the floor to welcome the Policy Committee, recalling his association’s longstanding committed involvement in the work of CEMR. The President excused the specially invited guest speakers who, due to the extremely difficult weather conditions, had not been able to travel to the meeting. 1. Setting up the Policy Committee On the basis of nominations received from the member associations for the 2011-2013 mandate, the new Policy Committee was set up. Ms Bougeard, Chair of CEMR’s women’s elected committee, recalled that this was the first year in which the new Rule on gender balance in Policy Committee delegations was applied, and underlined this important step forward for our organisation ensuring such a fundamental balance. 2. Adoption of the draft agenda The Policy Committee adopted the draft agenda. 3. Approval of draft list of decisions of the Oslo Policy Committee (3-4 June) The Policy Committee approved the draft list of decisions of the meeting in Oslo, which took place 3-4 June 2010.

3.1. For information, draft list of decisions of the meeting of the Secretaries General and Directors (Kyiv, 23-25 September) 3.2. For information, draft list of decisions of the meeting of the Executive Bureau (Bordeaux, 29 October) The members of the Policy Committee took note of the draft list of decisions of the last meeting of the Secretaries General and Directors and of the Executive Bureau.

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4.1. Approval of the accounts and discharge for 2009 Cllr Keymer, Vice-Chair of the Financial Management Committee, transmitted the regrets of the Chair Halvdan Skard who was unable to participate in this meeting, and paid tribute to the Chair’s leadership of the Committee’s important work. He presented the information from the Committee’s last meeting, in particular on the accounts of 2009. The Policy Committee took note of the document on the accounts of 2009 and:

- Decided to carry over the results of the period, that is a surplus of 309.94 € ; - Gave discharge to the President and Secretary General for the year 2009.

4.2. Nominations of CEMR’s Professional Auditors Cllr Keymer presented the different proposals which the Financial Management Committee had debated regarding the nomination of the Professional Auditors. Dr Haas (Deutscher Landkreistag) considered that for the sake of better neutrality CEMR should not continue with the same Professional Auditors in the new mandate. Following a brief exchange during which Cllr Keymer underlined the Committee’s view in favour of continuing with the currently mandated Auditors, the matter was put to a vote. With two votes against, the Policy Committee decided in favour of the proposal presented by the firm Deloitte, and nominated for the period 2011-2016:

- Professional Auditor, Deloitte & Associates, represented by Jean-Pierre

Vercamer - Alternate Auditor, the firm BEAS, represented by William Di Cicco.

5. Report on the implementation of the 2010 work programme The Secretary General presented the report on the implementation of the 2010 work programme. Mr Le Pensec (AFCCRE) congratulated the secretariat on the work carried out over the year. For future reports, he requested that certain key areas and themes be highlighted for easier legibility, given the density of the current report. He regretted that the French section’s work on twinning in 2010 was not referred to in this context, and noted the clear need to prioritise CEMR’s activities in the future. The latter point was further underlined by Mr Pellegrini (AICCRE). The members of the Policy Committee approved the secretariat general’s annual report. 5.1. Key issues in EU policy work, including the EU budget review CEMR’s rapporteur on cohesion/territorial policy and economic development, Ms Gunnarsson (SALAR), presented CEMR’s work relating to the EU budget review. The members of the Policy Committee unanimously approved CEMR’s response to the Consultation on the EU Budget Review. The Policy Committee further approved:

- CEMR’s Policy Position on “The future of EU Rural Development Policy” - CEMR’s key political messages on “Cohesion Policy and the Europe 2020

Strategy” - CEMR’s response to the consultation on the future energy strategy for Europe - CEMR’s address to the 7th High-level Meeting on Local Governance in the EU

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Mr Le Pensec particularly welcomed CEMR’s work on the future energy strategy. He considered that the paper on the EU rural development policy should be further improved, underlining the resources offered by rural communities. He warned CEMR against focalising in general too much on bigger cities and neglecting the interests of the smaller communities. CEMR’s Director of EU Policy welcomed this as encouragement for CEMR to pursue our work in this important field. The members of the Policy Committee noted the “Multi-sectoral guidelines to tackle third-party violence and harassment related to work”, and the information on the organisation of the EU policy work and lobbying. 5.2. European citizenship and outcomes of the 2010 regional seminars The Policy Committee noted the information on CEMR activities in the field of citizenship in 2010: in particular town twinning and equality of women and men. Mr Porawski (Association of Polish Cities) presented the citizenship and twinning congress taking place in September 2011 in Rybnik, Poland, in the context of the Polish EU Presidency. 5.3. CEMR in the world: PLATFORMA, UCLG, EU Charter on local governance The President recalled that UCLG’s 3rd World Congress took place in November in Mexico City and gave the floor to Mr Kadir TOPBAŞ, the newly elected President of UCLG, Mayor of Istanbul. The President of UCLG congratulated CEMR on its coming 60th anniversary, and underlined how he was looking forward to working with the European section in the coming years. The Policy Committee was invited to take note of the information on the nominations within the new statutory bodies of UCLG and the European representation in the world organisation. Mr León de la Riva (FEMP) took the floor to speak on recent work of the PLATFORMA network, underlining in particular the positive response from the European Commission to the application to pursue the PLATFORMA project for two more years. Dr Schuster (RGRE) underlined the importance of such platforms as facilitating concrete and practical exchanges. He hoped that additional CEMR members would become directly involved in this work. 6. Elections of CEMR’s Statutory Organs The President recalled the elections process, reviewing its preparation over the year. He presented his proposal, which had been circulated prior to the Policy Committee meeting, for a modification of the configuration of the position of “first Vice-President of CEMR”, into two seats of “Co-President of CEMR” in order to best be able to ensure the political and geographic balances within CEMR’s structures. The Policy Committee agreed this proposal, and further agreed to launch the relevant limited amendment of CEMR’s statutes in this context.

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President The outgoing President presented the two candidates for President of CEMR: Mr Anders KNAPE, President of SALAR, member of the City Council of Karlstad, and Mr Wolfgang SCHUSTER, President of CEMR’s German Section, Mayor of Stuttgart. Both candidates made a presentation and answered a number of questions. The election of the President then proceeded by secret ballot.1 Dr Schuster was elected as next President of CEMR, with 107 votes cast (55 for Mr Schuster, 52 for Mr Knape). Mr Schuster expressed his thanks to the Policy Committee, and paid tribute to the outgoing President, Dr Michael Häupl, for whom it was decided to confer the honorific title of Honorary President of CEMR. Dr Häupl took the floor to wish the new President and CEMR well for the future. As newly elected President, Mr Schuster assumed the chair of the meeting. Co-Presidents Later in the meeting, the Policy Committee unanimously elected as Co-Presidents of CEMR:

- Ms Aina CALVO SASTRE, Mayor of Palma de Mallorca, member of the Executive Committee of the FEMP, and;

- Ms Annemarie JORRITSMA, Mayor of Almere, President of VNG

Executive Presidents At the President’s proposal, the Policy Committee unanimously approved as Executive Presidents:

• Mr Albert BORE, Councillor and former Leader of Birmingham City Council, President of the Committee of the Regions from 2002-2004

• Mr António COSTA, Mayor of Lisbon, Co-President of UCLG • Mr Anders KNAPE, President of SALAR, member of the City Council of Karlstad • Mr Oldřich VLASÁK, Member of the European Parliament, Member of Hradec

Králové City Council, President of SMO-CR

1 As agreed by the Executive Bureau, this election was supervised by an “ad hoc supervisory body”: Christophe Chaillou, Director General of the AFCCRE, Andrzej Porawski, Executive Director of the Association of Polish Cities, Heikki Telakivi, Director of International Affairs, Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities, Mireille Colbach of SYVICOL, together with the representatives of each candidate.

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Vice-Presidents members of the Executive Bureau: The Policy Committee elected as Vice-Presidents, members of the Executive Bureau:

• Mr Knud ANDERSEN, Member of the Regional Council of the Capital Region of Denmark, member of the board of the Association of Danish Regions

• Mr Pedro CASTRO VÁZQUEZ, President of the FEMP, Mayor of Getafe (substitute nominated: Mr Francisco LEÓN DE LA RIVA, Mayor of Valladolid)

• Cllr Gordon KEYMER, Leader of Tandridge District Council (LGA-UK) • Ms Ligia KRAJEWSKA, Deputy Chair of Warsaw City Council, Member of the

Board of the Association of Polish Counties • M. Louis LE PENSEC, President of the AFCCRE, former Minister, Deputy Mayor

of Mellac • Mr Erwin MOHR, Member of the Municipal Council of Wolfurt, member of the

Board of the Austrian Association of Municipalities • Ms Dagmar MÜHLENFELD, Mayor of Mühlheim an der Ruhr • Mr Romeo STAVARACHE, Mayor of Bacau, member of the Romanian

Municipalities Association Steering Committee The President recalled that a further proposal is expected from AICCRE, following the Italian section’s coming general assembly. Later in the meeting, it was proposed that a seat as Vice President member of the Executive Bureau be accorded to Mr Bülent Tanik, Mayor of Çankaya, Ankara, of the most recent CEMR member, the Union of Municipalities of Turkey. The Policy Committee debated and agreed the proposal. Vice-Presidents non members of the Executive Bureau The Policy Committee elected as Vice-Presidents, non members of the Executive Bureau:

• Mr Mário de ALMEIDA, Mayor of Vila do Conde • Mr Markku ANDERSSON, Vice-President of the Association of Finnish Local and

Regional Authorities, Mayor of Jyväskylä European Vice-Presidency of UCLG The President recalled that following the UCLG Congress recently held in Mexico City, the members of the Policy Committee should designate the European Vice-President of UCLG. The President expressed his interest in pursuing his mandate in this role – which he had held since the previous congress. The Policy Committee agreed and designated Dr Schuster as the European Vice-President of UCLG. Leadership of the Financial Management Committee The Policy Committee elected as the leadership of the Financial Management Committee:

• Chair: Mr Halvdan SKARD, President of the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities, member of the Baerum Municipal Council

• Vice-Chair: Mr Gordon KEYMER, Leader of Tandridge District Council

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Membership of the Financial Management Committee The Policy Committee elected as members of the Financial Management Committee:

• Mr Stephan ARTICUS, Secretary General of CEMR’s German Section / German Association of Cities

• Mr Vincenzo MENNA, Secretary General of AICCRE • Mr François ZARAGOZA, Special advisor to the President of the AFCCRE

Honorary Auditors The Policy Committee elected as the Honorary Auditors of CEMR:

• Mr Carlos PRIETO MARTÍN, Director of Finance of the FEMP • Mr Heikki TELAKIVI, Director of International Affairs, Association of Finnish

Local and Regional Authorities

The President recalled that other candidacies for various positions remained due to be confirmed, following associations’ general assemblies, and would be brought as appropriate to the next Policy Committee meeting. The first day of the meeting was closed.

7 December The President thanked the hosts for the lovely evening programme they offered. 7. Presentation on instruments for local and regional authorities by the

European Investment Bank Mr Stéphane VIALLON from the EIB’s section responsible for financing possibilities for local and regional authorities/public sector, made a presentation of EIB instruments addressed to Europe’s local and regional authorities. Among different points, he underlined that currently at the creation of new instruments, consultation of the local and regional level was not necessarily effectively undertaken; the Bank’s services would welcome closer collaboration with CEMR members to optimise this work and the effectiveness of future tools. During the exchange that followed, members of the Policy Committee shared their experiences of projects undertaken with EIB support. 8. Reflection process 2010 - TOWARDS THE CEMR OF TOMORROW! Cllr Keymer, in his capacity as member of the ‘steering group’ which was set up to follow the 2010 reflection process, presented the background and first outcomes of this work. He underlined the complexity of the project, which in his view started making serious progress thanks to the success of the special event and meetings in Bordeaux - “Bordeaux 2010: A time to reflect!” - organised to take forward the exchanges and provide space for all members to contribute to the reflection. He underlined that the document recently circulated followed the last meeting of the Steering Group and constituted a first paper toward a strategy for CEMR’s future. CEMR needed to focus on key areas of what we do well, with a cost-effective approach. He considered that it would be useful if the Steering Group could pursue its work in link with the Financial Management Committee, so that the real limitations on the organisation’s resources would be well taken into account from an early stage. The President underlined the importance of now drawing up concrete proposals, considering the financial impacts, and effectively communicating our visions and mission.

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http://admin5.geniebuilder.com/udata/ccre/docs/PRESENTATION_CEMR_-_EIB.ppt

Several members regretted that the reflection document had been circulated at such a late stage before the meeting. Mr Le Pensec expressed disappointment that the document was not stronger, as he had hoped to have a more pivotal output already in the process. Mr Lamers (VNG) agreed with Mr Le Pensec’s negative analysis of the process at this stage, expressing concern that the next steps for CEMR in this context were not clear. Mr Articus (RGRE) considered the approach to the process a praiseworthy one, and that in seeking to define a strategy to reach a future aim, a document laying out fundamental values and goals at this point was indeed useful. Mr Vlasák agreed that the work should continue in this direction, and that the key now was to lay out a plan. Mr Pellegrini underlined that as CEMR celebrates its 60th anniversary, this process should allow us to take into account lessons learned. Cllr Wilcox (UK-LGA) underlined that members who might not be satisfied with the work carried out thus far should consider how to more effectively bring their own contribution to the process to ensure that it takes a direction they can be pleased with; if necessary, the composition of the steering group could be reworked. It was broadly agreed that the Steering Group should pursue its work in the coming year at least, with the aim of bringing forward a more complete document in the year. The President underlined that the aim was not to rewrite the principles presented in CEMR’s statutes, but rather to translate these more abstract points into a concrete vision adapted to the changing context CEMR works in. The debate was closed, with the general agreement to continue to work from the current document, towards a more developed strategic proposal. 9. Vote of the 2011 budget Cllr Keymer, as Vice-Chair of the Financial Management Committee, presented the options for CEMR’s budget in 2011: a new freeze on all membership fees at the levels called in 2009 (Option 1), or a reduction by 5% of all membership fees (Option 2). He recalled that at their meeting in Kyiv, the Secretaries General and Directors broadly supported Option 1, in the context of preserving the secretariat’s capacity. Broad debate followed: Mr Articus recalled all that the members expected from the secretariat and hoped that the option selected would be to protect its ability to deliver. Mr Rehwinkel (VNG) agreed, promoting option 1 in the interest of protecting CEMR’s lobbying capacity. Mr Wies (SYVICOL) further supported option 1. Explaining why LGA preferred option 2, Cllr Wilcox described the extremely difficult situation facing his association in England. He indicated that the LGA would be unable to meet the level of commitment implied under option 1, and that a negotiated settlement would be needed. The Austrian Association of Municipalities and AICCRE also supported option 2, arguing for the importance of showing their own members an important sign of solidarity in these difficult times. Mr Menna, Secretary General of AICCRE proposed that CEMR’s fee calculation system be reviewed in future, and it was considered that this could be studied by the Financial Management Committee in the coming year. Mr Menna further underlined the particularly difficult current situation in Italy, involving budget constraints from the national government, including new obstacles for local and regional elected representatives to participate in international activities (travel being severely restricted under new rules). Mr Laurent (AFCCRE) indicated that the French section preferred option 1. He requested that CEMR denounce more strongly in our lobbying positions any measures taken to reduce fiscal autonomy and financial opportunities of the local level in Europe. The Policy Committee voted by a clear majority to adopt the Option 1 of the CEMR 2011 budget, implying a new freeze on all membership fees at the levels called in 2009.

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The President recalled that a freeze in fees over three years would be a difficult situation for CEMR. Cllr Keymer indicated that the Financial Management Committee would aim to meet early in the new year to study the application of the voted option.

10. Adoption of the 2011 work programme The Secretary General presented the draft 2011 work programme, indicating the aim of innovating and taking into account first elements coming out of the reflection process. Mr Lamers and Cllr Wilcox underlined the importance of section A in the work programme. Mr Lamers requested that the continuation of the reflection process be indicated explicitly somewhere in the programme. Ms Jacobs (IPO) requested that CEMR respond to the Commission's White Paper on Transport. Dr Haas requested reference to the pressure on local and regional government from the European Union, and in particular the Single Market concept challenging the way they organise, finance and provide services. It was requested in this context that the programme include that CEMR will refer to the new provisions of the Lisbon Treaty and promote local and regional services of general interest as an expression of self-government. Subject to these amendments, the Policy Committee adopted the 2011 work programme. The Secretary General recalled some key dates in 2011, highlighting the celebration of CEMR’s 60th anniversary on 28 January in Geneva. Mr Wehrli of the Swiss section presented his association’s warm invitation to all the members to take part. Regarding the proposed calendar of statutory meetings in 2011, Mr Knape expressed his view against reducing Policy Committee meetings to only one per year. His position was broadly supported. The President proposed that one of the two yearly meetings could be organised in Brussels, if possible in link with events of the Committee of the Regions. Ms Calvo Sastre invited the Policy Committee to hold its next meeting in June in her city of Palma de Mallorca, which was unanimously welcomed by the meeting.

11. 25th CEMR General Assembly, Cádiz, 2012 The President recalled that the secretariat in close collaboration with the FEMP and the partners at the city of Cádiz, has gotten underway with the preparations of the 2012 General Assembly of CEMR. The Policy Committee decided upon the dates of the General Assembly as the 19, 20 and 21 September 2012. [Following the meeting in Mondorf-les-Bains, the host city proposed that due to internal matters for the city of Cádiz, the General Assembly take place the following week, at the preferred period: 26, 27 and 28 September 2012. The contract for the organisation of the General Assembly was since signed and the preparations pursued in this way.] Mr Knape recalled the strongly supported view that the meeting of the Policy Committee organised prior to the opening of the General Assembly should be scheduled with sufficient time set aside. Mr Lamers underlined the importance of preparing more dynamic sessions with fewer speakers, and called on the member associations to cooperate with the secretariat for a better balance.

12. Calendar of meetings The Policy Committee took note of the general calendar of meetings. The President thanked SYVICOL and its President Dan Kersch for hosting the meeting, and for ensuring such a well run programme.

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25.03.2011

POLICY COMMITTEE

PALMA DE MALLORCA, 20-21 JUNE 2011

PRE-DRAFT AGENDA

Monday 20 June 9.00 Opening of the meeting

Special seminar on Crisis & Recovery - Bringing the Grassroots Solutions! Organised by the CEMR together with the Council of Europe and its Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, and the other Economic Recovery Observatory partners (separate programme to follow)

15.30 Meeting continues – Opening of the CEMR Policy Committee 1. Adoption of the draft agenda 2. Approval of the draft list of decisions of the Mondorf-les-Bains meeting (6-7

December) • For information, draft list of decisions of the Secretaries General & Directors

meeting in Belgrade (7-8 April) 3. Lobbying, citizenship, governance… report and debate on key developments

and priorities for CEMR’s policy work • Preparation of the local and regional message to the Council of Europe

Conference of Ministers responsible for Local and Regional government (Kyiv autumn 2011)

17.00-19.30

4. REFLECTING… FORWARD!

Debate: Innovating ahead on priorities and processes for CEMR 2020 following-up with the 2010 reflection process

Report from the President with proposals of new initiatives

Towards new working approaches: presentation on the event “Citizens of Europe! the European Congress of twinning and citizenship”, in Rybnik, (Poland), 29 September-1 October 2011

The financial aspect – adapting CEMR’s budget, a short and longer term perspective, report from the Chair of the Financial Management Committee

CEMR’s 25th General Assembly, Cádiz 2012 – the next generation in CEMR congresses, with a presentation by the Mayor of Cádiz (tbc)

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19.30 End of the first day Evening Programme offered by the hosts (details to follow presently) Tuesday 21 June 9.30 Meeting continues 5. Debate: New aspirations for democracy - what partnerships, what messages to

bring local democracy up the agenda as transitions sweep across Europe’s Mediterranean neighbours?

• Including outcomes of the 2nd Euro-Arab Cities Forum (Malaga, 24-26

February) 6. United Cities and Local Governments 7. Debate: Regional and local authorities governing in partnership - perspectives

on the future of cohesion and regional policy 11.00 Coffee break 8. Requests for CEMR membership 9. Amending CEMR’s statutes, following the Policy Committee decision in

Mondorf-les-Bains 10. Calendar of key events and conferences, including:

• Policy Committee meeting in Brussels, December 2011, including special event concluding CEMR’s 60th anniversary year

11. Other urgent business 13.30 Closing of the Policy Committee

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3.2 A SPECIAL SEMINAR ON

CRISIS & RECOVERY - BRINGING THE GRASSROOTS SOLUTIONS!

Palma de Mallorca, 20-21 June 2011

• Within the framework of the financial and economic crisis, CEMR undertook several

activities and issued publications throughout the years 2009-2010. One of the main efforts to monitor the financial and budgetary situation in Europe's local and regional authorities was to support the continuous monitoring exercise carried out by the Council of Europe in cooperation with the Local Government Reform Initiative of the Open Society Institute (LGI-OSI). In 2011, another round of monitoring was launched with the support of CEMR with the aim to evaluate the financial and budgetary developments as well as policy responses at both national and sub-national levels by means of a widely-distributed questionnaire.

• Additionally, other stakeholders were expressing their interest in working with CEMR on this issue and to involve local and regional government associations and their experts in research and monitoring. In order to facilitate this process for its member associations and their experts, CEMR suggested to:

o co-ordinate the efforts of various stakeholders and institutions in the monitoring and analysis of the financial and economic crisis, and – more importantly – on the emerging recovery process; and

o pool together the available data and results in order to provide added value and achieve synergic outputs for further policy- and decision making.

• That's why CEMR proposed to establish a Local and Regional Economic Recovery

Observatory — a co-ordination network of institutions and stakeholders interested in these issues. The initial interest to participate in the co-ordination was expressed by the following partners, who met at the first meeting on 18 February 2011:

o Council of Europe, its Committee on Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR) and Congress of Local and Regional Authorities (CLRA);

o Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative (LGI-OSI) o GALLUP Europe; o Dexia Crédit Local; o European Social Network (ESN); o European Observation Network for Territorial Development and Cohesion (ESPON); o Local Government Denmark.

• The main outcomes of the meeting were as follows:

o A seminar will be organised to present the work of the institutions and stakeholders

in the monitoring of the crisis and the recovery process at local and regional levels in terms of budgetary developments and policy responses. If possible, this will be tied to a meeting of CEMR's Policy Committee, to allow for a wider participation of elected representatives in the discussions and in the sharing of best practices and policies. It is proposed that the seminar be possibly organised along the next CEMR Policy Committee meeting on Monday 20 June 2011 in Palma.

o A message will be drafted in the name of Europe's local and regional authorities, endorsed by CEMR and by the Congress, to the international conference of European ministers responsible for local and regional affairs which will be held on 3-4 November 2011 in Kyiv. This message should contain recommendations and proposals to national governments on further initiatives in this area. A discussion on this message should also be held in Palma.

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20



10.03.2011

SECRETARIES GENERAL AND DIRECTORS MEETING OF THE NATIONAL SECTIONS AND ASSOCIATE

MEMBERS



25TH CEMR GENERAL ASSEMBLY CÁDIZ, 26-28 SEPTEMBER 2012

Draft decision The Secretaries General and Directors are invited to:

Hear the presentation by the representative of the city of Cádiz and take note of the preparations for the 25th General Assembly of CEMR, Cádiz in 2012;

Take note of and share views on the first proposals for the structure and themes for a dynamic, attractive congress programme

Share views on the proposed title: (Re)evolution 3D – Local and Regional Authorities Innovating for Decentralisation, Development, Democracy!

Take note of the information on promotion, indicating key events for promotion by the organisers

1. The 25th General Assembly of CEMR will take place in Cádiz on 26, 27 and 28 September

2012. Preparations for the congress are well underway. The contract has been signed by the different partners concerned, and the organisers, including representatives of the city of Cádiz, the FEMP and CEMR, exchange regularly to ensure the different preparations.

Programme 2. As agreed with the Secretaries General and Directors, CEMR convened a first meeting of

the ad hoc working group this past February, to brainstorm on the programme. It was agreed that there should be one attractive title with an overarching theme, around which to focus the congress programme. It was further agreed that innovation and a creative, forward-looking approach to the title, and programme as a whole, would be key.

Based on the different exchanges, the secretariat puts forward now for discussion the

following ideas and proposals for the programme, taking up different themes discussed by the ad hoc group. The Secretaries General and Directors are invited to share views, including in particular on the proposal for a title which has come out of the different discussions:

(Re)evolution 3D – Local and Regional Authorities Innovating for

Decentralisation, Development, Democracy!

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3. CEMR with the organizers are aiming to make this General Assembly one that will be characterized in all aspects by its innovative approaches – including new structures for some sessions for more dynamic exchanges, so as to better bring in the audience and use of technologies inspired by new means of communication etc.

Themes will be taken in plenary sessions with high-level representatives from CEMR and

its partners, Institutions etc. whilst opportunities will be created for new forms of direct exchanges between elected representatives, experts and partners in small thematic round tables, best practice corners and other such fora to be created with an innovative model.

4. The ad hoc working group set out a list of concrete proposals regarding the programme’s

structure: a) speeches (and power-point presentations) should be strongly discouraged – sessions

should be dynamic exchanges;

b) skilled moderators should be sought to this end, for example qualified journalists;

c) at least one special presentation / key note address, breaking away from the more usual format, should be sought.

It was particularly underlined that the number of speakers per session should be very

limited, to ensure a good dynamic and participatory exchange. The Secretaries General and Directors are asked to take this very much into account when considering proposing a possible speakers.

5. The following themes were put forward as interesting possibilities to explore: On New Democracy, Europe’s local & regional authorities as key components to

European governance and democracy (including in the context of 2012 as the bicentenary of the 1st Spanish democratic Constitution, signed in Cádiz, 1812, and possibly in the larger international context (with Cádiz as Ibero-American culture capital & host of the Summit of Latin American Heads of State in 2012).

Innovating to build a better local society: a) during cut-backs & economic downturn,

how Europe’s local & regional authorities are finding solutions to serve all citizens, ensuring cohesion in the community, including vulnerable groups… b) focus on approaches for successful integration in particular of new migrants, bringing forward the local/regional contribution for a successful, coherent European position

Local democracy as sine qua non for any democracy: the role & challenges for local

and regional authorities, related associations/networks, in times of political transition; capacity building, partnerships for citizenship / innovating for rebuilding participation of all the community, taking into account gender – in Europe, its “neighbourhood”, and beyond…

Innovating for quality, development and sustainability: reshaping public services

(looking at adapting/modernising public services, improving their performance, making them more citizen / service-oriented), innovative solutions to meet the challenges related to the environment, climate, energy, transport, planning, financing, etc.

Local and regional authorities for governing in partnership to build a sustainable

future for Europe; with focus on the local and regional message on priorities for the future of the EU (EU 2020 Strategy) and the allocation of the budget

New dynamic round-tables/exchanges could be proposed around:

- successful examples of integrating the use of new technologies in public administrations

- creative approaches by local and regional authorities on “Active Ageing” and Youth / youth policies - employment, intergenerational solidarity (in the context of 2012 as the European Year of Active Ageing and Intergenerational Solidarity)

Following the Secretaries General and Directors exchange in Belgrade, the secretariat will

take forward the work around a draft programme, including consideration on possible speakers, to be presented to the Policy Committee in Palma de Mallorca (20-21 June).

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Practicalities 6. The secretariat, together with the organisers, are looking at ways to make this 25th

General Assembly of CEMR, an event marked by its sustainability and innovation. Instead of multiplying printed promotional material, new electronic methods will be

explored (e.g. participants may have the possibility to choose whether they prefer receiving paper documents or electronic documents). In a first instance, a “first announcement” for the General Assembly will be prepared in an electronic format only, due to be produced for this summer.

The Secretaries General and Directors will be invited to circulate this widely throughout

their networks. They are further invited to indicate key events for promotion by the organisers.

The General Assembly website will be designed to serve as an online and daily

communication tool during the Assembly, for example with a real-time newsfeed to provide members with instant updates during the event.

7. The Congress preparatory committee has studied the practical elements concerning

participation in the Cádiz General Assembly. Given the extremely difficult situation experienced by many local and regional governments as well as the national associations across Europe, the host in Cádiz have made particular efforts when drawing up the congress budget so as to maintain registration fees at similar levels to those from the previous Assembly in Malmö. Further information on this will be provided at the meeting.

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24






FUTURE WORKING METHODS REACHING TOWARD

OUR GOALS FOR CEMR 2020


Take note of and exchange views on Annexes A and B to this report; Hear the presentation by the Secretary General; Break into parallel groups (to be explained by the secretariat at the meeting) to

exchange on these proposals, as well as the questions presented below; Agree key points to put forward in this context.

1. In accordance with the decision of the Policy Committee to pursue the work undertaken in

2010 reflecting on the future of CEMR, the Secretaries General and Directors are invited to review the documents in annex: A) Proposal on a Roadmap: “CEMR 2020 - from vision to reality” and B) Adapting our working methods to the priorities of the members and resources of the organisation.

2. These documents have been submitted for first debate by the Steering Group set up to

follow this process, which will meet in Brussels on 30 March. There will be oral information provided on the outcomes of this meeting at the meeting in Belgrade.

QUESTIONS FOR THE EXCHANGES IN PARALLEL SESSIONS 1. “CEMR is the broadest organisation of local and regional authorities and their

representative associations in Europe” agree one proposal to ensure that this statement is fully recognised by our partners, i.e. Committee of the Regions, Congress/Council of Europe, the European Institutions, other associations...

2. Considering the diverse range of expectations of CEMR expressed during the Reflection

Process: a) Agree one proposal to ensure a strengthened “ownership” of CEMR by the member

associations b) Agree one proposal on how the member associations can offer a new form of

contribution/collaboration to their European organisation’s mission c) Agree on one proposal on how CEMR can best reflect the needs of its member

associations to encourage the reciprocal ownership 3. Agree one proposal for an increased link between members’ activities and CEMR’s work 4. Agree one idea to increase the visibility of CEMR’s work for the member associations’

members

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4 A CEMR 2020 - from vision to reality

At their meeting in Mondorf-les-Bains, December 2010, CEMR’s Policy Committee agreed to pursue the strategic reflection on the future of CEMR (“CEMR 2020”) based on the reflection document. We recall that this document debated by the Policy Committee resulted from the survey conducted over the summer of 2010 and the numerous exchanges with members. It was agreed, on that basis, to pursue the work on the vision portraying CEMR and its members in 2020 – to draw up a more detailed sort of “Roadmap” on reaching our 2020 objectives, to be completed by a political statement. Below, the secretariat presents a draft roadmap to 2020 for first exchange, in preparation for the Policy Committee in Palma de Mallorca. It is proposed that work on the political statement will be taken forward in a second stage, in autumn to be adopted in Brussels by the Policy Committee. The aim of the roadmap is to provide a guide with a broad view for CEMR’s action for the ten coming years, dealing with a fast moving context impacting the world of local and regional authorities. The Policy Committee adopts a yearly work programme for CEMR; it is proposed that, once approved, the Policy Committee could be responsible for examining the coming years’ work programmes to verify their coherence with the organisation’s longer-term objectives. THE VISION (from the document agreed as a basis by the Mondorf-les-Bains Policy Committee):

Recognition and Influence

In 2020, CEMR is a widely recognised organisation and its key role lies in exerting influence to shape European policy and legislation, on behalf of local and regional elected representatives and their shared vision of Europe, and in allowing the European institutions to be closer to citizens. This recognition and influence is based on a double and synergic way of working for CEMR: a regular contact, presence and exchange with European institutions, and a closer work with the national associations of European municipalities and regions.

Knowledge and Exchange

In 2020, CEMR is the first point of contact for its member associations regarding knowledge about issues concerning European local and regional authorities, and facilitates the exchange of experiences and best practices, encouraging a shared learning among its members and the European municipalities and regions.

With Focus and Value

In 2020, CEMR focuses its actions on key issues and activities for European local and regional authorities, bringing value to its members and achieving high visibility. It not only benefits from a high level of visibility and recognition stemming from these targeted actions but it exercises an accomplished leadership role proving its added-value in these focused actions.

With Innovation and Sustainability

In 2020, CEMR is an organisation whose practices and ways of working are guided by innovation and sustainability. It makes a very good use of Information and Communication Technologies, carries on cost-effective activities based in a balanced mix of virtual and face to face activities, works in partnership seeking synergies with other associations or institutions, and succeeds in funding the priorities of the organisation.

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THE ROADMAP In order to accomplish the proposed vision, CEMR must establish a series of attainable goals that can also be verified. The table below proposes a division into short-term and long-term objectives within each strategic orientation.

Proposed short- and long-term objectives

Vision CEMR Objectives for 2020

Strategy Short‐term Long‐term

Recognition and influence

1. CEMR is a widely recognised organisation and its key role lies in exerting influence to shape European policy and legislation, on behalf of local and regional elected representatives and their shared vision of Europe, and in allowing the European institutions to be closer to citizens.

To achieve a flexible and responsive framework, firmly based on balanced political representation and technical expertise

To assert CEMR's role as an organisation with a representative mandate to be the European voice, through the national associations, of local and regional authorities

Influence/ Lobbying Strategy

‐ Adapt CEMR’s working methods to create a simplified, flexible and responsive structure focused on a number of key issues ‐ Identify key channels to participate in creation of European policies & influence future legislation

Enhance the capacity for co‐drafting and shaping European policies and legislation, bringing forward issues of interest to local and regional authorities and their associations

Recognition strategy

‐ Launch and support further initiatives to improve the visibility of the work and contributions of local and regional authorities and their associations at the European level ‐ Take pro‐active role in coordination between relevant partner networks & associations active for local/regional authorities in Europe

Establish firm identification and recognition of CEMR as a leader organisation in selected strategic areas, including branding as a knowledgeable, innovative and sustainable organisation

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Focus and value

2. CEMR focuses its actions on key issues and activities for European local and regional authorities, bringing value to its members and achieving high visibility.

To reaffirm wide consensus among the members on a number of high‐priority strategic areas

To increase CEMR’s visibility and involvement in these strategic areas, so that it is viewed as an expert and a reference

Focus strategy

Reaffirm CEMR’s basic values and principles which will guide prioritisation and strategic decision‐making, on which its lobbying strategy and working methods are based

Re‐evaluate periodically strategic priorities of CEMR taking into account those of its members, to maintain a wide consensus on the goals of the association

Value strategy

‐ Enhance real ownership of CEMR’s work and initiatives among all of CEMR members ‐ Take forward CEMR’s ‘strength’ capacities by building up networks and partnerships with experts and institutions in chosen strategic areas

Develop leadership in chosen strategic areas with strategic partners and other stakeholders as appropriate in order to provide better value to CEMR's members, in coherence with their own priorities

Knowledge and exchange

3. CEMR is the first point of contact for its member associations regarding knowledge about issues concerning European local and regional authorities, and facilitates the exchange of experiences and best practices, encouraging a shared learning.

To build a pool of expertise in strategic areas in order to create a “network of knowledge” for the benefit of CEMR’s members

To develop CEMR’s role as the specialised source of knowledge and expertise for Europe’s local and regional authorities, based on the unique capacity of exchange due to the breadth of the membership base

Knowledge strategy

Establish a database of experts in priority strategic topics inside and outside CEMR and its member associations, including key academic institutions with expertise on local and regional issues

Design and establish a knowledge base accessible by members, including best practice in local and regional governments and their associations

Exchange strategy

‐ Take forward in‐depth exchanges on timely issues, producing high‐quality technical and political tools of use to the members, whilst providing visibility for CEMR as reference point. ‐ Adapt working methods so as to undertake targeted exchange and training activities to reinforce and increase capacities and knowledge of elected representatives and civil servants from member associations and their membership

‐ Secure the full participation of all the membership in its diversity in such exchanges so as to produce the most representative, and therefore strongest possible outcomes – for reaching joint positions and shaping European policies. ‐ Develop and co‐ordinate a network of knowledge on local and regional issues

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Innovation and sustainability

4. CEMR is an organisation whose practices and ways of working are guided by innovation and sustainability.

To develop and implement internal and external policies for innovation and sustainability in working objectives and methods

To firmly assert CEMR’s commitment and recognition as an innovative and sustainable organisation

Innovation & Sustainability

strategy

Evaluate CEMR’s working methods and assets according to the criteria of innovation and sustainability; benchmark with other organisations and learn from their best practices and tools

To establish an ongoing process of evaluation of working methods and tools designed to keep CEMR at the forefront of innovation and sustainability

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4 B COUNCIL OF EUROPEAN MUNICIPALITIES AND REGIONS


17.03.2011

Adapting our Working Methods to the Priorities of the Members and Resources of the Organisation

Let us recall that there are currently some 20 working groups, committees, focus groups working, with usually two meetings per year organized by the CEMR secretariat. Given the limited number of staff and capacities of the CEMR, time taken for the logistics related to facilitating the above does not correspond to the priorities expressed by the members for effective lobbying and better potential for influence with actors in the European scene – overall, with better services to all the members. The proposal laid out below is put forward with the aim of adapting the current system in coherence with the priorities of the members.

Aim: Adapt CEMR’s working methods for increased focus and prioritisation,

enhancing horizontal approaches to key issues by grouping activities according to main themes, whilst ensuring a specific follow-up for each work area through greater member participation and “ownership”

Proposed new working structures:

As a first step, we propose the setting up of 5 “Agorae” each of which is to be constituted by different “focus groups” dedicated to specific subjects;

The Agora meet once a year (i.e. 2-day session) together with the focus groups to

share information on their respective work and debate issues of common interest;

The Agora is animated by an elected representative, the “coordinator”;

Each focus group is moderated by a “moderator ” - an elected representative or a technician from one of the member associations, with that association taking on a leading role in the work of the group in question (in close collaboration with CEMR’s secretariat);

The focus groups work via the Internet / Extranet and, if necessary, have the

possibility to meet on occasion (other than within the framework of the Agora) with associated experts as necessary, but without any CEMR financial support.

Proposed working methods: The Policy Committee decides on the creation or termination of the Agora, and nominates the coordinators (on the basis of candidacies received). The creation / termination of focus groups is determined in accordance with the political priorities of the Policy Committee, with a limit of 5 focus groups per Agora. The moderators of the focus groups report to the Agora coordinator, who reports annually to the Policy Committee. The Agora’s coordinator represents the positions of the Agora – that is of CEMR. Each focus group draws up an action plan to be integrated with the other focus groups’ plans from the same Agora into the “transversal” Agora action plan. The action plans of the Agora are to be approved by the Policy Committee, ensuring coherence with CEMR’s

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annual work programme, and the CEMR 2020 objectives. In the definition of priorities, the preparation of common positions, and in general terms, a balanced representation of CEMR’s membership, with the broadest active participation possible, is to be ensured. The position papers of the Agora and focus groups are submitted to the Policy Committee for approval and thereby constitute CEMR positions. The moderators of the focus groups exchange regularly to decide on key themes of common interest to approach jointly in the Agora forum. The annual Agora sessions constitute the opportunity to exchange on themes of common interest/competence, meet with key high-level actors of the European Institutions, whilst also reporting on achievements of individual focus groups. “Political Rapporteurs” will be invited to participate to the new working structures; they could be participants, moderators of a focus group or Coordinators of an Agora. Support and logistics - members and the CEMR secretariat: Each Agora is supported by at least one CEMR Policy or Project Officer, in charge of coordination and technical support to the Agora and associated focus groups (organisation of meetings, liaising with the agenda of the European institutions and the work programme approved by the CEMR Policy Committee, etc.) The Agora coordinators’ national associations nominate a member of staff to support him / her and liaise with CEMR and the moderators of the focus groups. Each focus group has one member association responsible for the management of the work, in close coordination and with the support of CEMR’s secretariat. The national associations of the moderators and coordinators support them in this role and cover travel and related expenses in connection with their functions. Working languages: Unless decided otherwise by the CEMR statutory bodies or secretariat, the working languages in the Agora are English and French. Focus groups may carry out their exchanges in English. Additional interpretation could be considered, as possible and appropriate, in plenary sessions of the Agora to allow the broadest possible participation. Meeting places: The House of Municipalities and Regions in Brussels will be the main meeting venue. However, each Agora will have the possibility of organising meetings at the invitation of one of the member associations at their best convenience. In that case, the organisation of the meeting will be the responsibility of the association or of the hosting authority. According to the subjects and the priorities at a given time, it will also be possible to organise the Agora meetings in parallel with other CEMR events or meetings (Policy Committees, Congresses, etc…) Some first points for discussion:

Shall the Policy Committee decide on the creation or termination of the focus groups (in addition to the Agora), or can the Agora determine internally what focus groups to set up?

Depending on responses to the above, shall the Agora be enabled to decide upon the moderators of the different focus groups?

What most appropriate inclusion of current CEMR political Rapporteurs in this new context?

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30.3.2011

MEETING OF THE SECRETARIES GENERAL AND DIRECTORS OF NATIONAL SECTIONS AND ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

Belgrade, 7-8 April 2011


CITIZENS OF EUROPE! EUROPEAN CONGRESS ON TWINNING AND CITIZENSHIP

- Rybnik, Poland, 29th September-1st October 2011 -


Take note of the advancements in the preparation of the Congress; Give their views on the programme; Inform the Secretary General of the constitution of national delegations.

1. The European Event on twinning and citizenship, organised in the context of the Polish

Presidency of the European Union by the City of Rybnik and the Association of Polish cities (APC) in cooperation with CEMR, is scheduled for 29th September until 1st October 2011 in Rybnik, Poland. This event is organised with the support of the European Commission as part of the high visibility programme “Europe for citizens” in the framework of the Polish Presidency of the Council of European Union.

2. The Event will bring together around 300 participants from all CEMR member countries.

CEMR national associations will be invited to compose large delegations in order to ensure the success of this event. This will gather local and regional elected representatives, twinning officers, experts, high level representatives from the European institutions, and representatives from civil society.

3. This Event holds great importance for the CEMR work programme as it constitutes the

main event in the framework of the program “Europe for Citizens” which contributes significantly to CEMR capacities for action in general. Moreover, it will give us the occasion to test new transversal working approaches for the work of CEMR following the reflexion process underway. . On this occasion, we propose sessions on equality of women and men in local life, democracy and governance, employment and social policy to debate on the key cross cutting themes of citizenship and inclusive democracy.

33

4. CEMR wished to publish a White book for new European citizenship at the end on 2011.

The procedure is currently being elaborated. In order to ensure that a large number of local/regional authorities, organisations and citizens’ elected representatives can contribute, a wide-scale on-line consultation will be launched. This Green book will bring together the results of the three regional seminars organised by CEMR in 20110 and the public consultations will be used as a reflection base for the Congress workshops. The conclusions from the Event will then be integrated into the White book that CEMR will forward to the European Commission at the end of 2011 in order to contribute to the new programme for 2014-2020.

5. CEMR and its partners are working together and moving forward in the preparation of the

Congress. CEMR and APC met the Citizenship Unit of the DG COMM at the end of February in order to present the proposition for the programme. The European Commission, main financial backer for this event, welcomed the propositions made by CEMR and made some contributions. The grant request is currently being finalised and should be sent by PCA and the City of Rybnik to the European Commission in the near future.

Annex: proposed programme for the European Congress.

34

CITIZENS OF EUROPE! European Congress on twinning and citizenship

Organised under the Polish presidency of the European Union

Rybnik, 29 September to 1 October 2011

The project had been granted the patronage of the Polish EU Presidency

31.03.11 PRE-DRAFT PROGRAMME

DAY 1 – Thursday 29 September 20111

PRELIMINARY SESSIONS FOR THE CONGRESS

9h00-9h30 Arrival of the participants in Rybnik Cultural Centre

9h30-10h Debate: “European citizenship for all”

10h-11h30 Parallel meetings:

- Workshop on equality of women and men in local life

- Workshop on democracy and governance

- Workshop on employment and social policy

11h30-11h45 Coffee break

11h45-13h Reporting from the workshops

13h Lunch for participants of the session

From 14h Welcome of participants

16h-16h45 Opening of the Congress

• Bronisław Komorowski, President of the Republic of Poland

• Wolfgang Schuster, President of CEMR

• Adam Fudali, Mayor of the City of Rybnik

16h45-18h45 Plenary session:

• Address of Ms Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the European Commission in

charge of Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship

• Introduction to the main themes of the conference:

- "Europe at a crossroads – what concrete solutions as we build Europe’s future?”

- “For a diverse and inclusive Europe”

- “Toward new types of twinning and partnerships”

19h Reception

20h Cultural evenings proposed by the four Cultural Houses of Rybnik

From 23h Return to the hotels

1 Executive bureau in Warsaw on 28 September

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DAY 2 – Friday 30 September 2011

9h Transfer from the hotels to Oświęcim

10h-11h Remembrance ceremony in Birkenau: “From obligation of remembrance to Europe of

hope”

Reading of an extract from If this is a man by Primo Levi in Italian

11h-12h30 Visit of the museum of Auschwitz

13h30 Return to the university

13h30-14h30 Lunch (buffet)

14h30-16h 1st reflection workshops (in parallel):

• A Europe without borders: what realities for the citizens?

• Gender equality! Which equality?

• Twinning: bridges bringing Europeans together

16h-16h30 Coffee break

16h30-18h 2nd reflection workshops (in parallel):

• European citizenship education and the transmission of memory

• An intergenerational society for a cohesive development

• Europe XXL - Opening-up to the neighbours

18h-20h30 Final Declaration drafting committee

Information and training sessions on the “Citizenship Square” (see details on page 4)

20h30 Gala dinner

From 23h Transfers from the university to hotels

DAY 3 – Saturday 1 October 2011

9h00-9h30 Transfer of the participants from the hotels to Rybnik Cultural Centre

9h30-11h 3rd reflection workshops (in parallel):

• Toolbox of the active citizen

• Respecting diversity for better living together

• A Europe open to the world

11h-11h30 Coffee break

11h30-13h30 Plenary session:

Closing debate “Citizenship, twinning: what perspectives for tomorrow’s Europe?”

- Summary of the working group discussions

- Debate with the audience

Presentation of the final declaration

13h30-15h Lunch (buffet)

From 14h Departure of participants – transfers to the airports

Social programme: visit to Krakow (optional)

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DAY 4 – Sunday 2 October 2011

Morning Departure of participants – transfers to the airports

METHODOLOGY

The three working sessions correspond to the main themes of the Congress which will be broken

down into three debating workshops (see table below).

Tomorrow’s European citizenship

Topic 1

Europe at a crossroads What concrete solutions

as we build Europe’s future?

Topic 2

For a diverse and inclusive Europe

Topic 3

Toward new types of twinning and partnerships

14h30-16h

Sub-topic 1.1

A Europe without borders: what realities for the

citizens?

Sub-topic 2.1

Gender equality!

Which equality?

Sub-topic 3.1

Twinning: bridges bringing Europeans together

16h30-18h

Sub-topic 1.2

European citizenship education and the

transmission of memory

Sub-topic 2.2

An intergenerational society for a cohesive

development

Sub-topic 3.2

Europe XXL

Opening-up to the neighbours

9h30-11h Sub-topic 1.3

Toolbox of the active citizen

Sub-topic 2.3

Respecting diversity for better living together

Sub-topic 3.3

A Europe open to the world

Each workshop could be animated by an expert or an elected representative who will act as a dynamic

moderator in order to ensure that contributions are short and directly related to the issue. It will be

followed by a debate with the audience. There could be around 3 speakers per workshop. They will

share their experience and points of view on the issue.

Before the Congress, participants will complete an electronic registration form on which they will

indicate the workshops in which they wish to participate (in order of priority). They should equally

select the language(s) they speak. The plenary sessions will include interpretation in 6 languages (EN,

FR, PL, DE, IT, ES). The exchanges during the workshops will include interpretation in English,

French and Polish.

With a view to publishing the White Paper for a new European citizenship, a Green Paper is being

developed. A broad online consultation will be launched in to order to reach as many authorities,

37

organisations, elected representatives and citizens as possible. The Green Paper will gather the

results of the three regional seminars organised by CEMR and of the public consultation and will serve

as a basis for reflection during the Congress workshops. The conclusions of the Congress will be then

included into the White Paper that CEMR will present to the European Commission by the end of

2011.

The twinning coordinators of CEMR will be asked to contribute to the Green Paper throughout the

preparatory phase of the Congress. The coordinators will further be asked to contribute during the

Congress in order to facilitate the organisation of the working sessions.

During the whole Congress, there will be a “Citizenship Square” open to everyone. This space will

gather stands and information/training sessions (30 min max.) which will be dedicated to technical

aspects of the Europe for Citizens programme or to other European programmes (see details below).

They could be animated by representatives of the European Commission, EACEA, National agencies,

Contact points and project promoters. It is also foreseen to host:

- A stand to promote the twinning.org website

- A stand for the European Year of Volunteering 2011

- A Media Stand animated by EuradioNantes (radio studio, flash news, interviews), etc.

Training sessions

Europe for Citizens Programme

Information sessions

Other European programmes

Subject: technical aspects of the Europe for

Citizens programme

Target group: elected representatives and project

promoters

Key questions:

- How to strengthen the citizenship dimension

in the projects?

- How to define objectives?

- How to involve citizens?

- Who can help to implement a project?

- Who can help to find partners?

- How to finance a project?

Subject: European educational programmes

(other than Europe for Citizens) and international

cooperation programmes

Objectives: to know other possibilities of funding

than Europe for Citizens Programme, to identify

the possibilities of transversality between

European programmes

Themes : Youth in Action programme, Life-long

Learning programme (Comenius, Leonardo,

Erasmus, Grundtvig), Erasmus for Local

Representatives, Comenius Regio, Interreg,

NSA/LA, the European Neighbourhood Policy

(ENP) and the Eastern Partnership (EP), Pre-

accession cooperation with Candidate and

Potential Countries, external cooperation

programmes, Platforma

An exhibition to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the twinning between Rybnik and Saint-Vallier will be

set by the City of Rybnik during the whole Congress.

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MEMBERS



Report on CEMR’s policy work


Take note of the implementation of the CEMR work programme;

1. The Policy Committee adopted the work programme 2011 in December 2010, and the

secretariat general ensures its proper implementation. The work programme differs from the previous ones in particular by adopting a more holistic approach with political priorities and transversal action. This report gives an overview of CEMR’s activities in the part A of the work programme. The policy papers prepared since the Policy Committee meeting are presented in a separate document.

2. The Europe 2020 Strategy and its flagship initiatives provide, to a great extent, the political framework for a number of EU policies. Smart growth, sustainable growth and inclusive growth are the direction for the sectoral policies.

3. At a meeting with Commission President José Manuel Barroso, CEMR’s President Wolfgang Schuster emphasised that the Lisbon Treaty and the Europe 2020 Strategy open new ways of cooperation. ‘Governance in partnership’ with the involvement of all levels of government and relevant stakeholders can help to address the challenges we are facing, to contribute to the flagship initiatives and to achieve the objectives of the Strategy. President Schuster intends to propose further ideas on how to contribute to the implementation of the Strategy by local actions.

4. On smart growth, CEMR has been working mainly on the Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE) flagship initiative in the framework of its policy work: We started a promising cooperation with the European Commission, DG INFSO on how to link the Digital Local Agenda and the DAE. This work included participation in public and informal meetings with the Commission and a first highlight will be a conference on 4th & 5th April of a Dutch region and DG INFSO that CEMR is co-organising and which will start a process on localising the DAE (with input to the Commission's Digital Assembly in June) and also aims at a mentoring scheme among regions and local authorities in their work with the DLAs.

5. CEMR also responded to several initiatives and consultation under or linked to the DAE (including the eGovernment action plan, eSignature consultation) and is in talks with DG DIGIT on how to involve local and regional authorities in the implementation of the EU's interoperability work (like the European Interoperability Framework, EIF).

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6. CEMR secretariat is in contact with the European Foundation on Innovation, chaired by Baron Crespo, former President of the European Parliament, to support projects on eGovernment and the use of new technologies to provide services to the citizens with the objective of proposing a convention between the foundation, CEMR and its members.

7. The main objective of the European Commission’s initiative “Towards a European Single Market Act” is also to boost growth and to restore confidence in the benefits of the European internal market. Some of the proposals concern local and regional authorities, in particular in relation to public procurement, service concessions and services of general interest. CEMR responded to the consultation, expressing the view that the Communication does not sufficiently take into consideration the principle of local and regional self-government and the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. (further details: see document 7.1).

8. In the same context, the Commission is evaluating the application of the public procurement directives and prepares a revision of the legislation. CEMR is preparing a response to the Green Paper on Modernising public procurement policies, which will be submitted by 18th April.

9. CEMR has also contributed to the reflections on how to further promote e-procurement and what legal, technical and administrative burden still need to be overcome. It should play an important role in simplifying public procurement procedures, gain efficiency and lead to time and cost savings. (further details: see document 7.1).

10. This initiative is also related to the eGovernment action plan. CEMR drafted a policy position on this eGovernment action plan and was invited to sign, together with other stakeholders from local and regional level, a joint declaration on eGovernment and to lobby for an inclusion of local eGovernment in the agenda of the Informal Ministerial Meeting on eGovernment in Warszawa in November 2011 (further details: see document 7.1)

11. The Europe 2020 Strategy is also linked with the debate on the future of the European cohesion policy. In December 2009, CEMR adopted a policy paper on the future of cohesion policy and has since been lobbying the European Commission, the Parliament and at other relevant European meetings. Member associations are strongly encouraged to lobby their central government in the coming weeks, using the CEMR policy paper, as we are now in the crucial phase ahead of the proposals of the future EU-budget and the future of the EU-cohesion policy.

12. In the area of sustainable growth, the CEMR will contribute to the implementation of the resource-efficiency flagship of the Europe 2020 Strategy. CEMR Secretariat is regularly informing CEMR members about related issues in so-called “bi-weekly update” posted on the Extranet. Furthermore, the relevant CEMR working groups are starting to work on two significant initiatives under this flagship: the Action plan on energy efficiency and the White paper on transport.

13. In this context, CEMR is pursuing its cooperation with DG MOVE on the implementation of the Action plan on urban mobility. We are involved in the EU current work on sustainable urban mobility plans, deployment of intelligent transport systems and the future financing needs in the area of urban mobility. CEMR is also actively contributing to the debate on the EU’s role in the promotion of urban access restriction schemes, such as green zones and congestion charges. The CEMR developed a joint statement with EUROCITIES on the issue, in order to lobby the European institutions and other relevant stakeholders (further details: see document 7.1).

14. CEMR also contributed to the reflection on a future EU financial instrument for the environment (continuation of LIFE+), mainly through its participation in the stakeholders’ consultation launched by the European Commission. Besides this, the CEMR cooperated with DG Environment in the development of an information brochure on the “LIFE programme and local authorities” and committed to support its dissemination in order to make the programme and its results better known by local and regional authorities.

15. The CEMR contract for the Covenant of Mayors has been renewed in January 2011 and CEMR Secretariat is actively involved in the daily activities of the Covenant of Mayors’ Office. In the last months, we have been particularly active in the coordination and organisation of events related to the Covenant, and in increasing the relations with local

40

and regional government associations wishing to engage as Supporting structure of the Covenant.

16. The adaptation of the workplaces, the employees and the employers to changing demographics and labour markets is addressed in a number of initiatives under the heading of inclusive growth. In relation to this, the Employers’ Platform had a first discussion on the current reform debate on pensions an will follow up this theme in line with the Commission’s anticipated White Paper on Pensions, due out later this year.

17. In the context of the ongoing economic recovery, and under the European Social Dialogue, CEMR released a joint statement along side ESPU, European Public Services Union, calling for the new system of governance to take a balanced view of public finance in terms of both income and expenditure.

18. As European Social Partner, the CEMR has responded to the 2nd stage consultation on the Working Time Directive, where the European Commission aims at finding a way to balance the changes in work and society in a European legal framework. (further details: see document 7.1)

* * * * *

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42




MEMBERS



CEMR POLICY WORK

POLICY PAPERS AND RESPONSES TO CONSULTATIONS

Draft decision The Secretaries General and Directors are invited to approve:

CEMR response to the consultation on a EU initiative on concessions;

CEMR’s response to the consultation on e-procurement;

CEMR’s Opinion on the eGovernment Action Plan 2011-2015;

CEMR’s response to the 2nd consultation on the working time directive;

CEMR’s response to the consultation “Towards a Single Market Act”;

The joint statement with EUROCITIES on “Access Restriction Schemes in Cities”.

CEMR’s response on the preliminary draft recommendation of the Committee of Ministers [Council of Europe] to member states on the funding by higher level authorities of new competencies for local authorities

The Secretaries General and Directors are invited to take note of:

CEMR and EPSU Joint Statement to the European Council on the Economic Crisis

1. Since the last meeting of the Secretaries General, a number of new initiatives have been launched by the European Commission, which are relevant for local and regional government.

2. The CEMR secretariat in cooperation with the working groups concerned prepared policy positions and responses to consultations, and are results of broad discussions and negotiations.

3. In the past months, CEMR prepared eight relevant policy papers, which are presented in this document, accompanied by some information about the European context and the key messages of the documents. An updated position paper on the Future of the European cohesion policy was adopted in written procedure in January.

4. The papers are presented on a one page document setting out the background of the initiative and the key points of each of our papers and information about the further use of the paper. The full versions of the papers are available in the separate ‘information package’.

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CEMR response to the consultation on an initiative on concession (September 2010)

Background / context:

In its work programme 2011, the European Commission proposes an initiative on service concessions. The issue has been on the Commission’s agenda for the last decade, and the Commission believes that it is still not satisfactory solved. In the framework of its assessment, the Commission has launched a consultation aiming to collect further views and expertise on how the current EU rules on concessions work in practice and how they might need to be improved to further enhance transparency, but without making the framework too complex or burdensome. CEMR key points / messages

• CEMR is not in favour of a legislative framework for service concessions, but if the Commission would propose legislation, we express the view that it should be a ‘light’ procedure.

• The legal framework should not consist of the public procurement provisions, which we consider not to be appropriate for service concessions, since they don’t provide sufficient flexibility.

• CEMR would in particular be opposed to the application of the remedies directive on service concessions, since that may have a reverse effect and local authorities, which may decide to provide the service “in-house” instead.

• We advocate for thresholds which take into account the specific features of service concessions; EU-wide call for tender should only be required on service concession with an impact beyond national boundaries.

• The European Court of Justice identified a number of exemptions from public procurement law, which have to be respected in the initiative; these exemptions include in-house arrangements and other cases of public-public or inter-municipal cooperation. An exemption should be considered for services of general interest.

Next steps / further actions The European Commission will propose a legislative framework in the upcoming months. How to use the policy paper CEMR has used this paper in the discussion with the European institutions and will base its further work on the views expressed in the paper.

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CEMR Response to the Consultation on the Green Paper on e-Procurement

(January 2011)

Background / context

On 18th October 2010, the European Commission published a Green paper on e-procurement and launched a consultation, which closed on 31st January 2011. The initiative is based on the fact that the uptake of e-procurement – which is a part of the e-government agenda - is still very low. However, e-procurement has the potential to improve the efficiency, the administration and the functioning of the markets for government contracts.

This is also an element addressed in the Digital Agenda for Europe, which proposes to define by 2011 concrete steps in a White Paper on how to inter-connect e-procurement capacity across the single market. CEMR key points / messages

• E-procurement plays a vital role in simplifying the whole procurement process; it introduces efficiencies and leads to significant time and cost savings. Any legislative proposals to simplify the use of e-procurement should be integrated into the upcoming review of the public procurement Directives.

• Operability of different systems needs to be ensured and vendor lock-in avoided, open standards and technological neutrality must be strictly observed.

• The Commission has potentially a unique role to play in promoting standardisation and infrastructure issues; therefore it should adopt a gradual approach to develop common standards in question.

• There is a strong need to further build the capacity and understanding of staff dealing with e-procurement in public bodies, in order to optimize the use of these innovative tools.

Next steps / further actions

The European Commission envisages publishing a roadmap of next steps and operational projects in September 2011. How to use the policy paper

CEMR will use the paper for the lobbying the European institutions on the upcoming initiatives.

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http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/consultations/2010/e-procurement_en.htm

CEMR opinion on the European eGovernment Action Plan 2011-2015 (February 2011)


Together with the Member States, the European Commission drafted an eGovernment Action Plan 2011-2015 (entitled “Harnessing ICT to promote smart, sustainable and innovative Government”) which was published on 15 December 2010. The Action Plan supports and complements the Digital Agenda for Europe, one of the seven flagship initiatives of the Europe 2020 Strategy, promoting ICT for governments and public services. The concrete actions proposed concern local and regional government to a great extent, but they were not involved in the drafting of this plan and are hardly mentioned in it.

CEMR key points / messages

Apart from more technical details, our key message is that in order to make eGovernment effective at all levels, there is a need for real partnership with the local and regional authorities, not only involving them in the implementation of actions decided at central level.


The eGovernment Action Plan will now be implemented at national and European level. It will certainly be on the agenda of the informal ministerial meeting on eGovernment in autumn under the Polish presidency.

How to use the policy paper

The secretariat has sent the draft opinion to relevant persons in the European Commission and to the Committee of the Regions to provide input to its report on the action plan (rapporteur: Jan Oravec).

Lobby central governments to systematically involve local and regional authorities in all European and national eGovernment planning and action.

Lobby central government to involve local authorities in the national delegation to the Polish presidency’s informal ministerial meeting on eGovernment.

Use the position in discussions at European level, e.g. during the upcoming conference on the Digital Agenda Europe (DAE) and the Digital Local Agenda (4-5 April in Brussels) which is co-organised by CEMR, and in the DAE forum in June and the following processes and events.

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http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/egovernment/action_plan_2011_2015/index_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/egovernment/action_plan_2011_2015/index_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/digital-agenda/index_en.htm

CEMR Response to the European Commission’s 2nd Phase Consultation on the review of the Working Time Directive

(February 2011)


In April 2009, the Council and the European Parliament failed to reach agreement on the proposed Review of the Working Time Directive. The key issues of disagreement were the opt-out of the EU’s maximum 48 hours week, whether on-call time at the workplace should be classed as working time, and the issue of when compensatory rest should be granted. In preparation of a review of the Directive, the Commission has held a second phase consultation with the social partners at European level. CEMR as recognised European social partner responded to the consultation.


The CEMR welcomes the European Commission’s increased readiness to address the special requirements of continuous care in the public services, as well as recent changes in work and society requiring a high level of flexibility and adaptability of the work force and work places. The issue of upmost importance to local and regional authorities is the need to provide quality public services 24 hours. Therefore, the CEMR advocates for:

• Flexible working arrangements, work-life-balance, health and safety issues, which all go hand in hand and are beneficial for employees and employers, as well as all European citizens as service users;

• Minimum legislation at EU-level composed of clear definitions, which will provide a framework of general qualitative conditions and clearly defined minimum requirements;

• A Social Partner negotiated solution; Encompassing a comprehensive review that would solve all outstanding issues which emerge via CJEU case law; and need to be addressed in a consistent way in order to avoid the EU working time regime to be amended or legally questioned further in the medium term;

• Changes which would tackle specific issues such as sector specific derogations for on-call arrangements, compensatory rest, multi-contract arrangements, autonomous workers, flexible working hours, paid leave and, particularly, the continuation of the opt-out from the 48 hour week;

• A new legal framework, which should be precise and clear about the relation between the EU framework and national arrangements. This would leave room for social partners at the appropriate level (national, regional or local) to find the right solutions for their area or sector;

• Definitions subject to national law and/or social partner negotiations, in other words, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity; which would ensure that implementation is fit for purpose and tailor-made.


• The European Commission will publish the results of this Social Partner consultation in the second half of 2011;

• Throughout the 2nd Quarter, the European Commission will complete an impact assessment on any future changes proposed;

• By the 3rd Quarter of 2011, the European Commission intends to have a new Legislative Proposal ready for adoption.


This paper is CEMR’s response to the European Commission’s consultation, and will serve as a basis for any further work done by the Employers’ Platform in this field.

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CEMR Response to the Communication “Towards a Single Market Act”

(February 2011) Background / context

On 27 October 2010, the European Commission published its Communication ‘Towards a Single Market Act’, aiming at relaunching the European Single Market. The document sets out 50 proposals to be enforced by 2012. The main objective of the initiative is to boost growth and to restore confidence in the benefits of the market integration in Europe; also the Europe 2020 Strategy and its flagship initiatives find their expression in the Communication. The Communication launched a public consultation, which ended on 28th February 2011.

Some of the 50 proposals concern local and regional authorities, in particular in relation to public procurement, service concessions and services of general interest. Further initiatives concern the Services Directive, the White Paper on Transport, energy efficiency, energy infrastructure priorities and renewable energies, electronic interaction and the extension of the Internal Market Information System to other areas of European administration.


CEMR’s response expresses some general comments on the Communication and the Single Market:

• Recalling the objective of the Lisbon Treaty to contribute to a competitive social market economy:

• Need to take into consideration the different cultures, traditions and values in the Member States;

• Local and regional self-government are not sufficiently taken into consideration;

• Importance of high quality and accessible services of general interest in the territories;

Some specific messages on services of general interest and public procurement follow, which are consistent with our views expressed in previous positions in 2009 and 2010.


The Commission is already working on a number of the proposals, like the revision of the procurement directives, where it published a Green Paper (end of January); other proposals are announced in the coming months. CEMR will follow the relevant initiatives and prepare policy actions with the working groups concerned.

How to use the policy paper CEMR has responded to the Commission’s online consultation by using the messages of

the policy paper

Disseminate the paper to actors in the European institutions and other relevant organisations.

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http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/smact/

http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/smact/

CEMR-EUROCITIES joint statement on access restriction schemes (February 2011)


Access restriction schemes, such as green zones or congestion charges, aim at limiting traffic in selected urban areas. They are a tool to achieve the air quality objectives and bring about a range of economic, social and health benefits, increasing the quality of life in cities. In 2007, the European Commission published a Green Paper on a “new culture for urban mobility”, followed by an Action plan on urban mobility in 2009. The issue of green zones was addressed in both documents. In January 2011, a study on access restriction schemes was released, which identified ten recommendations for EU actions to promote the use of access restriction schemes in European cities.

There is strong pressure from the industry (e.g. freight transport operators, coach and buses associations) to achieve greater harmonisation of access restriction schemes at EU level, and the European Commission seems also to be quite receptive to this idea. Therefore, the CEMR transport working group felt the necessity to formulate a policy paper. Since CEMR and EUROCITIES’ secretariats are closely cooperating on urban mobility, and our positions on access restriction schemes are quite similar, we decided to join forces in order to strengthen our message.


The statement aims at defining what are our expectations from the EU and where do we see the limits in which the European Commission could act, in the respect of the subsidiarity principle. Our main recommendations are the following:

• The EU has a relevant role in promoting best practices and supporting the exchange of information between cities and towns in Europe.

• The EU would also be useful in supporting the development and deployment of innovative information and communication technologies to ease the implementation of access restriction schemes, as well as their enforcement.

• In order to enable effective journey planning and good flow of information, the EU could set up one central point of information, available in multiple languages, on all schemes across Europe. However, we are opposed to the creation of a centralised website for vehicles’ registration and the payment of access charges, as cities do not have the necessary resources.

• We insist on the need to better co-ordinate the EU legislation on air quality and legislation on vehicles emissions, and make emission standards for vehicles rapidly more stringent.

• We oppose any harmonisation at EU level, which bears the risk to impose criteria which are not adapted to the local situation. In particular, the decision to include certain type of vehicles or not, should remain in the hands of the municipalities.

• Unified standards for green zones across the EU would undermine local efforts to raise air quality standards to meet EU legislation. Introducing an access restriction scheme is a local competence that is best addressed when local authorities are given the flexibility to respond with solutions adapted to local environmental conditions and traffic patterns.


The European Commission will publish its White Paper on Transport by end of March. It is expected that the White Paper will also include proposals for further measures in relation to access restriction schemes, probably even legislation.


The statement is used to lobby the European Commission during the preparation of the White Paper. The view expressed in the policy paper will be used in CEMR’s further actions in relation to the Commission’s proposal, expected to be presented in the White Paper on Transport.

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http://ec.europa.eu/transport/urban/urban_mobility/green_paper/green_paper_en.htm

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2009:0490:FIN:EN:PDF

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/urban/studies/urban_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/urban/studies/doc/2010_12_ars_recommendations_to_the-eu.pdf

CEMR response on the preliminary draft recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the funding by higher level authorities of new

competencies for local authorities (February 2011)

Background / context The text of the preliminary draft Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to member States on the funding by higher level authorities of new competences for local authorities was drafted by the European Committee on Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR) and its Committee of Experts on local and regional finance and public services (LR-FS). CEMR, who is a member of CDLR in the capacity of observer, was invited to give comments to this document in order that they may be taken into account in preparing the final version to be presented to the CDLR for adoption at its meeting in March 2011. Next steps / further actions CEMR will continue to monitor the discussion on this preliminary draft document in CDLR and/or other bodies of the Council of Europe.

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CEMR and EPSU Joint Statement to the European Council on the Economic Crisis

(December 2010) Background / context Following the discussions during the plenary meeting of the Local and Regional Government Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee, on 10th December, CEMR-EP and EPSU jointly prepared a statement targeted at the European Council session (16th December) devoted to the economic crisis. The economic crisis is a theme which is regularly discussed within this Social Dialogue Committee, with regular updates given by member countries and documented by the secretariats. The main purpose is to provide the Committee with a platform to exchange various local measures being put in place to minimize the effects of the crisis on employment within the Local and Regional Government sector, and to monitor the unfolding situation in the represented countries Next steps / further actions The Social Dialogue Committee will continue to monitor the situation at local level; facilitating exchange of knowledge where possible.

* * * * *

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52



28/03/2011

MEETING OF THE SECRETATIES GENERAL AND DIRECTORS OF THE NATIONAL SECTIONS AND ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

Belgrade, 7-8 April 2011


CEMR BUDGET


Take note of and exchange their views on this document concerning the CEMR budget.

Conforming to the decision taken at Policy Committee meeting in Mondorf-les-Bains (6-7 December 2010), the 2011 membership fees were called based on the same sums called in 2009 and 2010. Nevertheless, certain member associations – in particular two of the biggest contributors to the CEMR budget – have requested a substantial reduction in their fees. The total sum of this reduction is approximately 100,000€. The Financial Management Committee set up a Small Working Group which met in Brussels on 1st March 2011. The Honorary Auditors were also represented at this meeting. The Working Group and the Honorary Auditors: - Underlined that the 2011 budget was decided and voted by the Policy Committee, and that

members should feel bound by this decision; invited the Secretary General to undertake negotiations with the member associations requesting a reduction in their membership fees, in order to find a way to adhere to the voted membership fee scheme for 2011.

- Invited the Secretariat to work on a review of the membership fee calculation system for future years, including the following scenarios: (a) an upper and lower limit should apply to every membership fee amount; (b) different gradations should be determined, according to member countries’ population and/or GDP and (c) membership fees should include a fixed component and a variable part.

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Follow-up on these two points is currently underway, and the results will be presented to the Financial Management Committee at the meeting scheduled on 23rd May 2011 in Paris. Following the advice of the Financial Management Committee, the requests to reduce the membership fees will be included in the agenda for the Policy Committee meeting in Palma de Mallorca (20-21 June 2011), and the proposals to revise the membership fee calculation system will be presented to the Secretaries General and Directors during the meeting in Cádiz (27-28 October 2011). In the interim, the Secretariat has studied a revision of the 2011 budget – cutting, in particular, the “activity” items of the budget, which are already very tight. At the same time, the Secretariat is researching additional possible resources which could allow for the “activity” items of the budget to be re-established at their initial level, or possibly to be increased with a view to better responding to the expectations expressed in the framework of the debate on the future of CEMR.

N° des documents

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REQUEST FOR CEMR MEMBERSHIP OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES OF GEORGIA


Exchange on the report below, and if agreed, recommend that the Policy Committee approve the request for CEMR membership, as a full member, of the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia (NALAG).

1. In February 2011, the CEMR secretariat received an application for membership from the

National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia (NALAG). 2. The following report presents the information submitted by the President of NALAG. 3. NALAG was founded in 2004. Members 4. Membership of the Association is open to all local self-government units of Georgia, which

have democratically elected local representative bodies. The association represents 65 municipalities, corresponding to 90% of the total number of local authorities in Georgia, and about 95% of the population of the country.

5. The association has provided CEMR with information confirming their respect for

democratic principles: • All members of the organisation are democratically elected local authorities; • The association is open to all local authorities concerned; • The association’s governing bodies are set up with respect for pluralism (political,

ethnic, gender, religious...).

Goals and Activities 6. NALAG implements three types of activities:

a) Lobbying and advocacy for members; b) Capacity building activities and consultation to member municipalities; c) International cooperation programmes.

NALAG works with the parliament and line ministries to introduce new legislation and

normative acts to support the interests and functioning of local authorities. NALAG played an active role during the local government reform in Georgia, and currently is one of the major stakeholders in Georgia recognized by all national and international actors.

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NALAG has implemented 15 large-scale capacity development and democracy assistance projects in member municipalities; currently it operates 5 major projects in various regions of Georgia.

NALAG is active in international cooperation and has undertaken particular cooperation

with sister organisations from Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Ukraine. Since 2009 NALAG plays an active role in regional cooperation, including with Armenian

colleagues, establishing the first Euro-Region in the Caucasus, “Euro-Caucasus”; this cross-border cooperation entity unites 5 municipalities from Georgia and 17 municipalities from Armenia.

The association’s current annual budget is of 460 887 € (in 2010). The Georgian national government fully recognizes NALAG as a partner. The role of NALAG

is regulated in Article 7 of the organic law on Local Self Government, which obliges the central government to consult with local government associations that represent over 50% of local authorities. In 2010 a bilateral Memorandum was signed between NALAG and the Regional Policy, Self Government and Mountainous Region Committee of Parliament of Georgia.

NALAG has a Memorandum with the Parliament of Georgia and with the Ministry on

regional development and infrastructure. According to this memorandum, all decisions having direct effect on local government units must be subject to preliminary consultation with NALAG. NALAG closely cooperates with the Ministry of foreign affairs of Georgia and with the State Ministry on Euro-Atlantic integration to provide recommendations for the formulation of national policy toward European integration.

NALAG serves as a national secretariat for the Georgian delegation to the Congress of

Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.

Statutory Bodies 7. The National Assembly elects the President of the association every 4 years. Elections are

held by secret vote ballot. Every 4 years the National Assembly appoints the Executive Board of the association. The Executive Board is the main decision-making body and has 23 members.

The current President of the association is Mr Mamuka ABULADZE, member of Rustavi City Council. The current Executive Director is Mr David MELUA. The person responsible for communication with CEMR is Ms Tatiana BOKUCHAVA.

CEMR membership in Georgia 8. To date, CEMR has not had membership within Georgia, and has had only limited contacts

with the Georgian local representative associations. In recent years, CEMR’s work programme has foreseen enhancing activities with partners in the neighbouring areas to the east, as well as our goal working to strengthen local democracy and local and regional authorities in Europe.

We could further note for this discussion that the Association particularly drew attention

that on 30 May 2010, the municipal elections in Georgia were observed by the Council of Europe, OSCE/ODIHR and by other international organisations and was recognised as democratic and a step forward for a greater development of the democratic processes in Georgia.

9. CEMR’s secretariat considers this application from the association to represent a positive

opportunity to open our membership in Georgia, and on the basis of the information provided, the secretariat general recommends full CEMR membership for the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia.

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11.03.2011


MEMBERS



AMENDING CEMR’S STATUTES

- Following the Policy Committee decision in Mondorf-les-Bains -


Take note of and debate the proposed amendments; Make a recommendation on the proposed amendments to the Policy Committee for the

final decision. 1. In the context of the elections of CEMR’s Statutory Organs in Mondorf-les-Bains, the Policy

Committee decided to launch the limited amendment to CEMR’s statutes. This related specifically to the proposal, which was agreed, for a modification of the

configuration of the position of “first Vice-President of CEMR”, into two seats of “Co-President of CEMR” in order to best be able to ensure the political and geographic balances within CEMR’s structures.

The slight amendments proposed to the Statutes and Rules of Procedure in this context

are shown in the Annexes, respectively A and B, highlighted in yellow. 2. The Secretaries General and Directors may recall that in order to prepare the elections

process in a most fair and balanced manner, a number of applications and clarifications regarding CEMR’s statutory electoral procedures and rules were debated and agreed by the Executive Bureau (in Bordeaux, 29 October 2010).

For good coherence in the future, the secretariat would propose that these already agreed

and applied clarifications could be integrated as an addendum to the Rules of Procedure. These can be seen here annexed to the Rules of Procedure and highlighted in green.

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9.3 A

STATUTES of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions

Adopted by the Policy Committee in Sevilla, 23 October 2006

P R E A M B L E

---------- Elected members representing the local and regional authorities of Europe reaffirm: • that the autonomy of local and regional authorities is the bulwark of personal liberties; • that local and regional authority freedoms are everywhere threatened by the encroachments of

the State; • that the federation of the European States is held back, despite the wishes of the people, by

ever recurring disputes between the States; • that the elected members representing local and regional authorities, united across national

frontiers by their responsibilities as administrators in direct contact with the people and with day-to-day realities, are the builders of a free, united Europe respectful of its diversity.

For these reasons they have formed the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, a European Association of Local and Regional Authorities. This Council must become a permanent institution in the European structure. It will strive, without delay, to extend the liberties of local and regional authorities and to lead on to a united Europe founded upon these liberties, and to ensure that the local and regional authorities may participate - by appropriate methods - in the unification of Europe. It appeals to all individuals and organisations connected with local and regional government to assist in accomplishing this task.

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S T A T U T E S

ARTICLE I: AIMS AND OBJECTIVES a. The Council of European Municipalities and Regions - abbreviated hereafter as CEMR - is an

international non-profit Association under the French law of 1901. b. The founding aims of CEMR are:

1. to secure, strengthen and protect the autonomy of local and regional authorities; 2. to facilitate the operations of local and regional authorities, safeguard their liberties and

contribute to their prosperity, in particular through the development of inter-authority arrangements and undertakings;

3. to develop the European spirit amongst local and regional authorities with a view to

promoting a federation of the European States founded on the autonomy of these communities;

4. to provide for the participation and representation of local and regional authorities in the

European and international institutions; 5. to achieve the establishment amongst the existing and future European institutions of an

assembly representing local and regional authorities. c. Furthermore, and respecting the International and European Charters and instruments of

Human Rights and on local and regional self-government, CEMR has established the following objectives:

1. to influence European legislation, in particular by ensuring the consultation of local and

regional authorities; 2. to promote the principles of good governance among its members and ensure the

participation of citizens in the decision-making process; 3. to stimulate the exchange of good practices between its members 4. to encourage international cooperation by European local and regional authorities.

ARTICLE II: MEMBERSHIP The members of CEMR are: 1. National sections and associations

1.1. A national association of local and regional authorities duly constituted in a member State of the Council of Europe, having regard to the democratic principles set out in the latter's Statute, may become a member of CEMR. membership implies adherence to this Constitution. The national associations are invited to group themselves into national sections, which may also become a member of CEMR.

1.2. The national section historically constitutes CEMR’s basic structure. A national section

shall be open to membership to:

a. national associations of local and/or regional authorities; b. local and regional authorities or groups of authorities having direct membership of

the national section.

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1.3. Subject to the specific cases refered to in Article 1.4, a national section or association may only be admitted to membership if it represents at least one third of the population served by one or more categories of local and regional authorities or at least one quarter of the population of the member State.

1.4. To take into consideration particular constitutional or political situations, the Policy

Committee may, on an exceptional basis, and where approved by a two thirds majority vote, approve membership of an association from a country that does not completely fulfil the criteria fixed in Articles 1.1 and 1.3. In such a case, an agreement shall be concluded establishing the duties related to membership, and specifying how the association shall be represented.

1.5. The representatives of the members shall take part in all votes. They shall be eligible to

hold any office in CEMR.

2. Associate members

2.1 National sections and associations in non-member States of the Council of Europe National sections and associations in States which are not in membership of the Council

of Europe but respect the democratic principles set out in the latter's Statute, may be accepted as category A associate members of CEMR by decision of the Policy Committee.

Their representatives shall have the right to sit and speak in all the official organs of

CEMR. 2.2 International groupings of local and regional authorities CEMR may accept into category B associate membership international groupings of local

and regional authorities having specific aims, provided that these groupings are composed solely of territorial authorities.

The conditions of membership and voting shall be laid down in an agreement which shall

be approved by the Policy Committee. 3. Consultative members Consultative membership of CEMR shall be open to establishments, institutes or associations

of a European character and with cultural, social, scientific, technical, professional etc. purposes, whose members are not or not only local and regional authorities but whose activities are of relevance and interest to these authorities.

4. Honorary members The Policy Committee (Article IV) may confer the status of honorary member of CEMR upon

any person who has given distinguished service to CEMR or has acted for the benefit of local and regional self-government in general.

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ARTICLE III: THE POLICY COMMITTEE

1. The Policy Committee shall be the governing organ of CEMR. It shall be appointed from

among the members and the associate members for a term of three years. The Policy Committee shall as a general rule hold two meetings per year. 2. The Policy Committee shall be composed of representatives holding an electoral mandate

within local and regional authorities, as defined in accordance with the CLRAE Charter. 3. It shall be composed of:

- two full member for the States of less than 100,000 inhabitants - three full members for the States of less than 5 million inhabitants - four full members for the States of less than 10 million inhabitants - five full members for the States of less than 25 million inhabitants - six full members for the States of less than 50 million inhabitants - seven full members for the States of less than 75 million inhabitants - eight full members for the States of more than 75 million inhabitants

4. CEMR shall aim to ensure a balanced representation, in particular between women and men, within the Policy Committee. The Rules of Procedure shall define the relevant provisions.

5. Each member of the Policy Committee may have one duly appointed standing substitute. The

latter may only attend meetings in the absence of the full member. 6. In the event of a vacancy, the Policy Committee may accept the appointment of new full or

substitute members. 7. The President, Co-Presidents and all the Vice Presidents shall form part of the representation

of the national sections and associations within the Policy Committee. 8. Representatives of the associate members shall be appointed on the scale of half the number

of seats held by the national membership in the Policy Committee. 9. Representatives of the consultative members shall be invited to the meetings of the Policy

Committee when a matter relating to their particular responsibilities is on the agenda. 10. The Policy Committee shall direct its activities in accordance with this Constitution, and having

regard to the recommendations made by the Assemblies of European Municipalities and Regions.

11. It shall elect from among its membership the President of CEMR, the First Vice President two

Co-Presidents and all other Vice Presidents. It shall also elect the Secretary General. 12. It shall give its decision on the Executive Presidents proposed by the President. 13. It shall appoint from among its membership the members of the Executive Bureau (Article IV). 14. It shall also appoint from among its membership the Chair of the Financial Management

Committee responsible for control of the financial affairs of CEMR, as well as the members of the Financial Management Committee.

15. It shall also appoint a maximum of three Honorary Auditors and, on the proposal of the

Secretary General, may appoint a Deputy Secretary General.

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16. The Policy Committee shall approve the annual budget and accounts to be submitted by the Honorary Auditors and in general terms the financial arrangements of CEMR, and shall determine the affiliation fees structure.

17. The Policy Committee shall decide on the admission of new members, associate members,

consultative members and honorary members. 18. The Policy Committee may appoint any committee or other working structure to consider

particular problems and issues concerning CEMR or local and regional authorities. It may delegate this function to the Executive Bureau. The working arrangements of such bodies shall be specified in the Rules of Procedure.

19. The Chairs of these committees and working structures shall be ex officio members of the

Policy Committee and shall report on the activities and initiatives of their committees. They shall not have a vote.

20. With the exception of the election of the President, the Co-Presidents and Vice-Presidents, the

Secretary General, the Deputy Secretary General, the members of the Financial Management Committee and the Honorary Auditors, and of the approval of the annual budget and decisions on the affiliation fees scale, the Policy Committee may delegate its powers to the Executive Bureau in respect of any specific matter.

21. The Policy Committee shall decide on the convening of Assemblies of European Municipalities

and Regions to consider and debate matters of common interest.

ARTICLE IV: THE EXECUTIVE BUREAU 1. The Executive Bureau shall be responsible for carrying out the decisions of the Policy

Committee and for any other matter delegated to it by that Committee. In addition, it shall debate current issues concerning local and regional government and may, in anticipation of a Policy Committee, and in particular due to timetable constraints, adopt policy positions. It shall prepare the meetings of the Policy Committee. It shall meet as necessary, as convened by the President or at the request of at least half of its members.

2. The Executive Bureau shall comprise the President, the First Vice President two Co-

Presidents, Executive Presidents, a maximum of 10 Vice Presidents and the Secretary General. The appointment of Vice Presidents to serve on the Executive Bureau shall be carried out in accordance with the principles and provisions stipulated in the Rules of Procedure.

The Chair of the Financial Management Committee shall be invited to participate in Executive

Bureau meetings.

ARTICLE V: CONDITIONS FOR TAKING DECISIONS AND VOTES 1. Quorum Decisions may be taken when a majority of the members whose names have been notified to

the Presidency are present or represented at a vote. Votes by proxy shall be included for the purposes of the quorum.

2. Decisions A decision shall be taken when it receives the approval of the majority of those taking part in a

vote, excluding any abstentions, except in the case of any derogation as provided for in this Constitution.

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3. Votes

a. Votes shall be cast in an individual capacity by all members or substitutes. b. Votes by proxy shall be allowed in the Policy Committee to the extent of one written proxy

for each full member. The conditions for accepting proxies shall be set out in the Rules of Procedure.

c. The representatives of a national section or associate member which is in default of payment of its affiliation fees on the day of the vote, in accordance with the arrangements specified in the Rules of Procedure, shall not be entitled to vote.

ARTICLE VI: THE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE 1. The Financial Management Committee shall be a consultative organ whose functioning shall

be specified in the Rules of Procedure. It shall consist of a maximum of seven members and shall assist the Secretary General in financial matters. The Chair of the Financial Management Committee acts as Treasurer of the association.

2. Its tasks shall be:

a. to periodically review the financial management of the Secretariat General and the financial situation of CEMR,

b. to prepare the presentation of the annual budget and accounts to the Policy Committee. It may decide to arrange, if appropriate, an external audit by chartered professional accountants,

c. to draw up any recommendation it considers appropriate to the Executive Bureau. 3. The Chair of the Financial Management Committee shall maintain regular supervision of the

financial affairs of CEMR. He/She may delegate this task temporarily to another member of the Financial Management Committee, other than the President and the Secretary General.

ARTICLE VII: RESIGNATION AND DISMISSAL 1. Members shall be liable to temporary suspension or to dismissal:

a. if they do not conform to the objectives of CEMR; b. if, without the specific agreement of the Policy Committee, they have not paid their

membership fees for two consecutive years; c. if they no longer fulfil the conditions of membership.

2. The Policy Committee shall decide on suspensions and dismissals on the recommendation of

the Executive Bureau. 3. No decision on suspension or dismissal shall be effective unless passed by a two-thirds

majority of the votes cast.

ARTICLE VIII: THE PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENTS 1. The President, Co-Presidents and Vice Presidents shall be elected for a term of three years

and may only be re-elected for one further term. The term of the Executive Presidents is also three years.

2. The President shall chair the meetings of the official organs. He/She shall be responsible at all

times and in all places for representing the Council of European Municipalities and Regions. 3. The Co-Presidents, Executive Presidents and Vice Presidents may be called upon by the

President to carry out functions on his/her behalf.

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ARTICLE IX: THE SECRETARY GENERAL

1. The Secretary General shall be elected for a term of six years and may be re-elected (Article

III). 2. The Secretary General shall be responsible for the good administration of the association and

in particular for directing the administrative services of the organisation. Furthermore, he/she shall be responsible for implementing the decisions of all kinds taken by

the official organs of CEMR, in accordance with the directives of the Executive Bureau and the President.

3. In so doing, he/she shall act under the supervision of the President in his/her capacity as

representative of these same organs. 4. In order to ensure the smooth running of CEMR, he or she shall convene as and when

necessary meetings of the Secretaries General of the national sections and associations and associate members. He/She shall chair these meetings whose conclusions shall be communicated to the President, the Executive Bureau or where appropriate the Policy Committee, who may modify or even annul them.

5. The Secretary General shall not form part of the national representation on any of the official

organs of which he/she is an ex officio member. 6. The conditions of employment of the Secretary General and, where applicable, of the Deputy

Secretary General shall be specified in accordance with the provisions of the Rules of Procedure.

ARTICLE X: AFFILIATION FEES Affiliation fees shall be paid in accordance with rules specifying a fees scale which shall be approved by the Policy Committee and incorporated in the annual budget, based upon the following principles: a. The fees scale shall be based on a weighted system of payment having regard to population

and GNP per head; b. In relation to all matters concerning the payment of fees, a national section shall always be

regarded as covering the whole of the population of the State concerned; c. In the case of temporary membership as per article II 1.3, or of membership by international

groupings of local and regional authorities as per article II 2.2, fees shall be levied in accordance with the provisions of the relevant agreements;

d. The affiliation fees payable by regional authorities in direct membership as per article II 1.4

shall, in the absence of agreement with the national section, be determined by the Policy Committee in proportion to the total contribution of the national section.

ARTICLE XI: REGISTERED OFFICE The registered office of CEMR shall be located in Paris, 15 rue de Richelieu 75001 PARIS. It may be transferred to any other location in Europe by decision of the Policy Committee.

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ARTICLE XII: AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION 1. The Constitution of CEMR may be amended by an extraordinary meeting of the Policy

Committee, which shall determine the date of implementation. 2. Any extraordinary meeting of the Policy Committee shall be convened three months in

advance at the latest and the proposed amendments to the constitution shall be sent one month before the meeting at the latest to the national sections and associations.

ARTICLE XIII: DISSOLUTION OF CEMR AND LIQUIDATION OF ITS ASSETS 1. A resolution for the dissolution of CEMR shall be passed during an extraordinary meeting of

the Policy Committee by a majority of two-thirds of its members. 2. The Policy Committee shall appoint liquidators and determine the destination of the fixed and

moveable assets of CEMR. 3. The Rules of Procedure establish the notification process to be carried out prior to the decision

of dissolution. The conditions fixed in Article XII.2 shall apply in such event.

ARTICLE XIV: RULES OF PROCEDURE 1. The Rules of Procedure shall be drawn up and may be amended by the Policy Committee by a

simple majority. 2. These Rules of Procedure shall set out detailed provisions for procedures to implement this

Constitution, such as the convening of the official organs, arrangements for presentation of nominations or various elections and appointments, voting procedures, external representation of CEMR and its co-operation with other organisations, official signatures, arrangements and deadlines for payment of affiliation fees, and any other relevant matters.

3. The provisions of the Rules of Procedure shall be binding on all the members. They shall be

adopted by the Policy Committee at the first meeting following the adoption of the Constitution by the Policy Committee.

ARTICLE XV: BRUSSELS OFFICE A CEMR office shall be located in Brussels, 1 Square de Meeûs 1000 BRUSSELS.

ARTICLE XVI: UNITED CITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS (UCLG) In accordance with the Constitution of UCLG, CEMR constitutes, on a transitional basis, the European section of United Cities and Local Governments. CEMR shall be committed to promoting UCLG’s aims and to ensuring an effective European participation in the activities of the World Organisation.

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9.3 B


RULES OF PROCEDURE

Approved by the Policy Committee of CEMR, meeting in Stuttgart on the 5th of December 2007 and coming into effect on the same day, except as set out in rule I.2.2.

These Rules of Procedure have been drafted on the basis of Article XIV of the Statutes. I. MEMBERSHIP AND ORGANS OF CEMR

I.1. CEMR MEMBERSHIP

Becoming a CEMR member I.1.1. A national association or section of local / regional authorities seeking CEMR

membership must complete an application dossier which allows for verification that the membership criteria are respected (Article II.1.1 of the Statutes). This procedure shall also be applicable with regard to associate membership.

I.1.2. Concerning the matter of taking into account “particular constitutional or political

situations” (Article II.1.4 of the Statutes), the decision of the Policy Committee should be based on a specific report by the Secretary General.

I.1.3. Should an association submit an application for membership from a country in

which CEMR already has a member, that member shall be consulted first concerning the request, prior to any study of the application by CEMR’s organs.

I.1.4. If multiple associations in one country are members, they agree to actively

cooperate with regard to respecting membership duties, and especially concerning the common designation of representatives to the statutory organs and for the apportioning of affiliation fees.

The apportioning of affiliation fees, once jointly determined, shall be

communicated to the Secretariat General. I.1.5. In the event of a disagreement over the apportioning of affiliation fees, it shall

be the task of the Financial Management Committee to recommend a solution to the Policy Committee.

Resignation I.1.6. Resignation of a member is brought to the attention of the Secretariat General

by post. In such a case, the affiliation fee for the current and coming year shall be due.

CEMR

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Dismissal I.1.7 An association or section that has become liable to suspension or dismissal

(Article VII of the Statutes) shall receive prior notification if the process is to be undertaken, and explanation of the reasons involved. It should therefore be allowed sufficient time to provide its reaction to the Policy Committee. It should furthermore, as necessary, be informed officially of the final decision of dismissal and its justification.

I.2. CEMR STATUTORY ORGANS AND THEIR MEMBERS I.2.1. The statutory organs of CEMR are the Policy Committee, the Executive Bureau

and the Financial Management Committee. In addition, the Secretaries General and Directors of the national associations

are convened to meet upon the initiative of the Secretary General. I.2.2. In accordance with Article III.4 of the Statutes, and the commitments promoted

in CEMR’s "European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life”, CEMR shall aim to ensure a balanced representation, in particular between women and men, within the Policy Committee.

All national delegations should include representatives of both sexes. In this

context, the following distributions for national delegations must be respected:

Minimum representation of each sex: • 1 representative of each sex for 3 or 4 seats on the Policy Committee; • 2 representatives of each sex for 5 or 6 seats on the Policy Committee; • 3 representatives of each sex for 7 or 8 seats on the Policy Committee.

Any proposed delegation that does not fulfil these conditions will not be

validated by the Secretariat General. This rule will come into effect at the renewal of the Policy Committee in 2010.

I.2.3. In addition, nominations to the Policy Committee should, as far as possible,

respect a geographic and territorial balance, representing the different spheres of local / regional authorities.

I.2.4. The nomination of substitute members will be carried out in accordance with

Article III.2 of the Statutes. However, in order to take into account the diversity of national cultures, national associations/sections will have the possibility of designating among their substitute members the association’s highest officer who is politically responsible and accountable before their own statutory bodies.

I.2.5. The national associations or sections shall transmit to the Secretariat General

the proposals for appointment of the full and substitute members of the Policy Committee, at the time of the three-yearly elections.

Any changes over the course of the mandate must be notified to the Secretariat

General in writing, including appointments for vacant positions. The changes must maintain previous balances (Articles I.2.2 and I.2.3 of the Rules of Procedure).

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I.2.6. Observers may be invited to attend the meetings of the statutory bodies. The President and Secretary General of UCLG shall be permanently invited to

the meetings of CEMR’s Policy Committee.

II. THE FUNCTIONING OF THE ORGANISATION II.1. STATUTORY ORGANS

Convening meetings, quorum, procedures for voting and for presentation of nominations II.1.1. The members of the Executive Bureau and Policy Committee shall receive

invitations by circular letter from the Secretariat General, sent at a minimum of two months before meetings, except under exceptional circumstances, the reasons for which shall be justified. Such invitations may be sent electronically.

The calendar of meetings is fixed, as far as possible, during the last meeting of the Policy Committee of the previous year.

II.1.2. The quorum (Article V.1 of the Statutes) is deemed to be met, unless a member

explicitly requests its verification at the opening of the meeting or in the course of the meeting. If this verification takes place in the course of the meeting, it shall not affect the validity of decisions taken previously.

II.1.3. In accordance with Article V of the Statutes, voting by proxy shall be allowed to

the extent of one written proxy for each full member. Only full members or substitutes of the Policy Committee may vote, and substitutes may only vote with a written proxy from the full member or the national association or section, on his/her behalf. Substitutes may attend meetings, but only vote in the absence of the full member, and Article III.5 should be understood in this way.

II.1.4. In accordance with Article V.3.c of the Statutes, the representatives of a

member or associate member shall not be entitled to vote if they are in default of payment of the association’s affiliation fees for the previous year. If a meeting takes place in the last trimester of the year, a significant portion of the fees of that same year (corresponding to one instalment) is required.

II.1.5. Voting shall be, in principle, by open vote.

Vote by secret ballot may be carried out at the initiative of the Presidency or at

the request of more than one Policy Committee member on specific issues such as individual nominations or exceptional matters.

If more than one candidature is received, the candidate that receives the

absolute majority of votes in the first round will be selected. If there is no absolute majority, a second round will be organised in order to decide between the two candidates that obtained the most votes in the first round.

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II.1.6. Concerning candidatures for office within the statutory organs, the nomination procedure – including applicable deadlines – shall be launched by the Secretariat General, in writing, toward the national associations or sections at a minimum of six months before the date of the election.

Nominations should be submitted in writing before a deadline that must be

strictly respected. This deadline shall be fixed at four weeks prior to the vote on the political roles, and one week prior to the relevant meeting for the constitution of the Policy Committee.

II.2. AFFILIATION FEES Modalities and settlements of affiliation fees II.2.1. The affiliation fee scale is fixed by the Policy Committee, on the basis of

national population and GNP. Affiliation fees shall be called in three instalments (for 31st January, 1st April and

1st October), and paid in Euro. II.2.2. The Policy Committee may accept that the application of the affiliation fee scale

have the flexibility to take into account specific or exceptional national situations, on the basis of the recommendation of the Financial Management Committee.

III. FORMAL CEMR COMMITTEES AND OTHER WORKING STRUCTURES III.1. COMMITTEES AND FORMAL WORKING STRUCTURES

III.1.1. The formal committees and working structures of CEMR shall be set up by the

Policy Committee or Executive Bureau in order to deal with political issues or matters of major importance for the Organisation.

These shall be made up of local and regional elected representatives, based on

proposals of the national associations or sections, and may include officers or experts proposed by the associations or sections.

The Policy Committee retains the right to restrict a given committee to elected

representatives only.

Position papers proposed by the formal committees and working structures are submitted for approval or ratification to the Policy Committee.

III.1.2. Committees and working structures shall be chaired by a person holding

political office who shall be elected by the Policy Committee. The committees and working structures may, as appropriate, propose recommendations with a view to the election. The chairs shall be appointed according to modalities based on those implemented for nominations of the representatives within CEMR’s statutory organs.

III.1.3. The mandate of the Chairs of committees and working groups shall be limited to

three years. No committee Chair should hold the post for more than two consecutive terms

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III.1.4. Committee Chairs shall be systematically invited to attend meetings of the Policy Committee.

III.1.5. Expenses incurred for travel of committee Chairs for the purpose of

representing the organisation shall be, in principle, covered by CEMR, after agreement of the Secretariat General. Travel to meetings of the Policy Committee shall be covered by the relevant national association(s) or section(s).

III.1.6. Moreover, the Policy Committee may appoint one or more rapporteurs or

political leaders to be responsible for specific policy areas.

III.2. TECHNICAL WORKING GROUPS Ad hoc working groups and technical groups – which essentially concern associations’ or

section’s officers – are not concerned by these rules and may organise their work in a more flexible way.

Such working groups may also appoint their chairs, based on the modalities laid out

above, for a maximum mandate of three years. IV. THE SECRETARY GENERAL

IV.1. The job description of the Secretary General shall be defined by the Policy Committee,

upon the proposal of the President. The employment contract drawn up on this basis shall be negotiated with CEMR’s President and the Chair of the Financial Management Committee.

IV.2. The election procedure of the Secretary General is launched upon initiative of the

President. A recruitment announcement shall be diffused in specialised media and national associations/sections. Shortlisted candidates shall be interviewed by a panel of at least three members from the CEMR political leadership including the President, the First Vice-President two Co-Presidents, the Chair of the Financial Management Committee, and one or several member(s) of the Executive Bureau.

The President may request the support of an adviser. The recommendation of this panel (be it one candidate or the choice between several

potential candidates) shall be submitted to the Policy Committee. IV.3. The Secretary General has a general delegation to sign legal documents and contracts

with regard to the functioning of the organisation, under the supervision of the President and First Vice President, and in accordance with European and national legislation.

The Secretary General may delegate his/her signature to other colleagues within the

Secretariat General, depending on rules approved by the Financial Management Committee.

IV.4 As necessary, the Deputy Secretary General works under the supervision of the

Secretary General. The modalities of recruitment for this position and its status shall be based on the aforementioned dispositions.

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V. OTHER PROVISIONS

V.1. PRESIDENT, FIRST VICE PRESIDENT CO-PRESIDENTS, EXECUTIVE PRESIDENTS AND VICE

PRESIDENTS

V.1.1. The President, and in cases of absence the First Vice President both of the Co-Presidents, shall have a general delegation of signature, in the name of CEMR, including in cases of litigation involving the organisation.

V.1.2. The First Vice President Co-Presidents may represent the President on any

occasion. In the case of the President’s absence, he/she they shall be called upon to chair

the meetings of the Executive Bureau or Policy Committee. V.1.3. The Executive Presidents participate in the political representation of the

organisation. V.1.4. Each country in which CEMR has membership, and which is not represented on

the Executive Bureau, may propose an appointment, by the Policy Committee, of one Vice President non member of the Executive Bureau. The Vice Presidents who are not members of the Executive Bureau may be invited to attend the meetings of the Executive Bureau, without right of vote.

V.2. HONORARY AUDITORS are invited to attend the meetings of the Financial Management

Committee, at the cost of the relevant national association(s) or section(s). The same shall apply for the meetings of the Policy Committee at which financial matters are due to be debated.

V.3. DESIGNATION OF THE HOST CITY/REGION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY CEMR organises, in principle every three years, the General Assembly of European

municipalities and regions. A call for candidatures is launched in particular via the members based on terms of

reference approved by the Secretaries General and Directors. The host city/region must submit a complete application dossier responding to the essential criteria before a deadline which shall be strictly respected.

The Policy Committee shall interview and select the host city/region based on a short list

drawn up by the Secretaries General and Directors. The selection of the host shall be carried out by a vote by secret ballot. The relevant rules of Article II.1.5 of the Rules of Procedure shall apply to the selection

of the host city/region.

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V.4. Co-operation between CEMR and other Organisations CEMR co-operates with other Organisations in Europe or in other regions of the world

which work particularly for the promotion of local and regional self-government. It develops close working relations with the Congress of the Council of Europe and the

Committee of the Regions of the European Union. As European section of UCLG, CEMR undertakes to ensure the effective participation of

European local and regional authorities within the World Organisation – particularly through the CEMR world affairs committee.

V.5. In the event of a proposal for the DISSOLUTION OF CEMR (Article XIII.3 of the Statutes),

the member associations shall be notified, at latest two months before the launch of the process is to be debated.

V.6. These Rules of Procedure shall enter into force at a date to be fixed by the Policy

Committee. They may be revised at any time by the Policy Committee.

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PROPOSAL FOR ADDENDUM ON VOTING PROCESSES

AS AGREED BY THE CEMR EXECUTIVE BUREAU, 29 OCTOBER 2010, BORDEAUX:

1. A substitute participating in a Policy Committee meeting where elections are taking place shall carry a written proxy from the full member or the national association or section. This may be sent in advance to the secretariat or provided on site, prior to the vote.

2. In accordance with Rules of Procedure II.1.3, and after discussions by the Secretaries General and Directors, it is recalled that a full member of the Policy Committee participating in a meeting where elections are taking place may carry the proxy (written) for a full member not able to be present.

3. Every CEMR “national association” can designate the highest officer as a substitute member in the Policy Committee. In countries where CEMR counts multiple member associations, each association can have this possibility.

4. Vote by proxy has been understood in CEMR as allowed within one country’s delegation. That is, it has not been our organisation’s practice to accept that a Policy Committee member from one country carries a proxy to vote for a Policy Committee member from another country. It is proposed to continue to follow this interpretation.

5. Having regard to the Rule of Procedure II.1.4 on the settlement of membership fees in the electoral context, if at the time of the meeting where elections are taking place there can be any doubt as to whether these criteria have been fulfilled, the association in question must be able to produce an official proof of an order of payment from their bank demonstrating clearly that settlement of the required fees is underway. This can be provided at latest prior to the vote at the meeting, and must be in the form of a formal document from the relevant financial body.

6. To ensure that the different dispositions have been properly respected at the time of elections, and in the interest of balance and fairness, it is proposed to create an ad hoc supervisory body from amongst the membership to work with the secretariat in this context. This could be made up of 3 or 4 representatives, for example from among the high-level officers active in the Secretaries General and Directors’ work.

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10


PRESS AND COMMUNICATION ISSUES The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) is using its upcoming 60th anniversary as an opportunity to adapt its communication and press strategy to new technological developments. In this context, it will also develop a new identity, including visual identity (logo, graphic charter, signature). 1. In order to develop this new identity, the Press and Communication Department is

organising a brainstorming session on 13 May together with a communication agency and colleagues from the CEMR staff. We would also like to include CEMR’s member associations in this process and are thus looking for a few member representatives to attend the meeting mid-May. Those wishing to attend the meeting will be selected on a first-come-first-serve basis.

The aim of this meeting will not be to design a new logo but rather to help the agency know more about who we are, what we do, how we perceive CEMR, how we would like CEMR to be perceived in the future…

Associations wishing to participate in this brainstorming session should contact [email protected] (Communication officer) and [email protected] (Press officer).

2. CEMR would also like to give a press and communication officer from a member

association the opportunity to gain new learning experience in the CEMR Press and Communication Department in Brussels, on a secondment basis.

The officer would work in collaboration with the press and communication team to help implement a new approach in the organisation of the team’s work with a special focus on sustainability, new technologies and exchanges with members. This approach will include the the creation of new means of communication, the organisation of events and the support of the press and communication team’s daily work. This partnership will extend over a period of three to six months, or more depending on availability. The officer could benefit from this opportunity in that it would allow him to exchange experiences and knowledge with CEMR staff. He/she will work in a very European context as well as learn more about the inner workings of CEMR and European Union institutions. Associations with an interest in setting-up such a partnernship should contact [email protected] and [email protected].

Conseil des Communes et Régions d'Europe ● Council of European Municipalities and Regions 15 Rue de Richelieu 75 001 Paris - Square de Meeus 1, 1000 Bruxelles

[email protected] - www.ccre.org 75

mailto:[email protected]




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PROVISIONAL CALENDAR OF CEMR EVENTS

2 0 1 1 March 30 BRUSSELS Steering Group on the future of CEMR April 7-8 BELGRADE Secretaries General and Directors 15 BRUSSELS Network on energy issues May 12 BRUSSELS Plenary of the sectoral social dialogue Committee (CEMR-EPSU) 26 BRUSSELS Working group on environment June 20-21 PALMA DE MALLORCA Policy Committee 22-23 RABAT (Morocco) UCLG Executive Bureau 27-28 BRUSSELS Working group on cohesion and territorial policies September 6 PRAGUE CEMR-EPSU Workshop on Implementing the Multi-sectoral

Guidelines on Third Party Violence 14 BRUSSELS Working group of the sectoral social dialogue Committee (CEMR- [tbc] EPSU) 28 WARSAW Executive Bureau (linked to Rybnik congress) 29.9-1.10 RYBNIK (Poland) Citizenship and twinning event

In the framework of the European social dialogue (Multi-sectoral Social Dialogue Project)

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October 27 WARSAW Final Conference of Third Party Violence project 27-28 CÁDIZ Secretaries General and Directors December 14 BRUSSELS Employers’ Platform 15 BRUSSELS Plenary of the sectoral social dialogue Committee (CEMR-EPSU) [def.] BRUSSELS Policy Committee and final celebration of 60th anniversary

2 0 1 2 September 26-28 CÁDIZ 25th General Assembly

NB: [def.] = to be defined - [tbc] = to be confirmed

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Documents

COUNCIL OF EUROPEAN MUNICIPALITIES AND REGIONS...Ms Wolesa considered that it was also the members’ own responsibility to communicate on CEMR’s work to their own members. Mr Andreasen