Servië tekent Raad van Europa charter over lokaal bestuur (en)

Press release - 513(2007)

Serbia signs the European Local Self-Government Charter

Strasbourg, 13.07.2007 - "I welcome the signature by Serbia of the European Charter of Local Self-Government which, I am sure, once ratified by the Serbian Parliament, will transfer more competences and financial means to local communities," stated Halvdan Skard, President of the Council of Europe Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, in a declaration issued today.

"Without a doubt, this step is an important development for local democracy in Serbia, but also for Europe as a whole, as now all 27 of the European Union's member states and 43 out of the Council of Europe's 47 member states have ratified this cornerstone treaty in the field of local self-government," he added.

"It is symbolic that the ratification comes as we celebrate 50 years of local democracy on our continent, with the first session of the European Conference of Local Authorities having taken place in Strasbourg in 1957," continued Halvdan Skard.

Adopted by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers in 1985, this Charter sets out the principle that effective local self-government is essential to democracy. It serves as a model for legislative reform for local democracy. The principle that the delivery of public services should be delegated to the level closest to the citizen - the principle of subsidiarity, equally laid down in the Charter - was also recognised by the European Union in its draft Constitutional Treaty.

Contact:

Dmitri Marchenkov,

Head of the Congress Communication Unit

Tel: +33 3 88 41 38 44

Email: dmitri.marchenkov@coe.int

Communication Unit of the Congress

of Local and Regional Authorities

Tel: +33 (0)3 90 21 49 36

Fax:+33 (0)3 88 41 27 51

congress.com@coe.int

www.coe.int/congress