Chamber of Local Authorities

Chamber of Local Authorities
Session of the Chamber of Local Authorities

The Chamber of Local Authorities is one of the two Chambers of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. The Chamber is the voice of local authorities (cities and municipalities) in the Council of Europe. It consists of 318 representatives from the Council’s 47 member states, who either hold a general local authority mandate from direct elections or are politically accountable to a directly elected assembly. The Chamber provides an opportunity for local officials to discuss common concerns, share their experiences and develop relevant policies.

According to the new Charter of the Congress adopted on 2 May 2007 by the Committee of Ministers, the Chamber’s membership is based on the principles of balanced geographical distribution, equitable representation of the various types of local authorities and their political groups, as well as of equitable representation of women and men. The Chamber drafts reports, recommendations, resolutions and opinions on the issues of its concern and presents them to the Standing Committee of the Congress for adoption.

Contents

History

Prior to the creation of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe in 1994, the Conference of Local and Regional Authorities was in place. The first existence and idea of a body addressing with the issue local government was proposed in 1957 but the standing conference was not created until 1961. This standing conference had existed since 1961. This institutionalisation in 1994 demonstrated the progress and importance of local governance and regional control in the development of Europe. The behavior and actions of the chamber (along with the Chamber of Regions) are based in the European Charter of Local Self-Government which was opened for signature and ratification in 1985.

Committees

In October 2010, the Congress laid out its priorities for 2011-2012 as part of the reform process which included a modification of its committee structure from four statutory committees to three. The four prior existing committees were the Institutional Committee, the Culture and Education Committee, the Committee on Social Cohesion and the Committee on Sustainable Development. The three newly created committees are the Monitoring Committee, the Governance Committee and the Current Affairs Committee. This change was approved in December 2010.

According to the Congress' official website:

Monitoring Committee

"The Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by member states of the European Charter of Local Self-Government - Monitoring Committee - is responsible, in particular, for monitoring the application of the Charter as well as institutional developments in Europe’s regions, for preparing reports on the situation of local and regional democracy in Europe and for monitoring specific questions related to local and regional democracy in the member states."

Governance Committee

"The Governance Committee is responsible for affairs falling within the scope of the Congress' statutory mandate such as governance, public finance, cross-border and interregional co-operation and e-democracy as well as co-operation with intergovernmental bodies."

Current Affairs Committee

"The Current Affairs Committee is responsible for studying the role of local and regional authorities with regard to the major challenges of our society and preparing work on thematic issues such as social cohesion, education, culture and sustainable development from the point of view of the Council of Europe's core values."

The Bureau

The Chamber elects its President among its members for two years, and appoints the Bureau composed of the President (currently Jean-Claude Frécon of France) and seven Vice-Presidents respecting as far as possible a fair geographic distribution among the member states. At the moment the Bureau is composed of (in order of protocol):

  • Jean-Claude Frécon, France (President)
  • Halvdan Skard, Norway (Vice President)
  • Gaye Doğanoğlu, Turkey (Vice President)
  • Birgit Collin-Langen, Germany (Vice President)
  • Anders Knape, Sweden (Vice President)
  • Onno van Veldhuizen, Netherlands (Vice President)
  • Dubravka Šuica, Croatia (Vice President)
  • Fabio Pellegrini, Italy (Vice President)

The Secretariat

The Chamber has a permanent Secretariat located at the Palace of Europe in Strasbourg, which is headed by its Executive Secretary, currently Jean-Philippe Bozouls, appointed by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

List of Members

The Chamber consists of 318 statutory members (representatives and substitutes) from:

References

v · d · eCouncil of Europe
Institutions
Secretary General · Committee of Ministers · Parliamentary Assembly · Congress · Court of Human Rights · Commissioner for Human Rights · Commission for the Efficiency of Justice · Commission against Racism and Intolerance
 Gold: founding member. Blue: Later (current) full members.
Members
Full
Observer
Former
1 Provisionally referred to by the Council of Europe as "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"; see Macedonia naming dispute.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe — The Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South East Europe or (NALAS) was created in 2001 to enhance the process of democratization and decentralization in south east Europe. It is currently made up of national associations of local… …   Wikipedia

  • Chamber of Regions — The Chamber of Regions is one of the two Chambers of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, the other being the Chamber of Local Authorities. The Chamber is the voice of regional authorities in the Council of… …   Wikipedia

  • Local government — refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.[citation needed] The term is used to contrast with offices at nation state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or …   Wikipedia

  • Local government in Peterborough — The City of Peterborough in the East of England [The nine Government Office regions formed in 1994, were adopted in place of the eight standard statistical regions in 1999. East Anglia is now defined as Level 2 Nomenclature of Territorial Units… …   Wikipedia

  • European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea — The European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea (EUCCK), formed in 1986, is a trade organization representing the interests of the European Union (EU) business community in Korea. With initial financial support from the European Commission, the… …   Wikipedia

  • NSW Business Chamber — Industry Not for Profit Founded 1885 as the Chamber of Manufactures of NSW 1995 as Australian Business Limited 2007 as NSW Business Chamber Headquarters …   Wikipedia

  • commerce, chamber of — ▪ business organization Introduction also called  Commercial Association, or Board Of Trade,         any of various voluntary organizations of business firms, public officials, professional people, and public spirited citizens. They are primarily …   Universalium

  • Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry — Dubai Chamber of Commerce Industry was established in 1965 by a decree issued by Late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who realized the important role that a chamber of commerce could play in supporting the national economy of Dubai. Thereby,… …   Wikipedia

  • Supreme Chamber of Control of the Republic of Poland — Poland This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Poland …   Wikipedia

  • State and Local Affairs — ▪ 1997 Introduction       States continued to be at the centre of national debates on public policy during 1996. The U.S. Congress, reacting in part to successful experimentation by a number of states, enacted a historic welfare reform measure… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”