In herfstsessie RvE stonden Turkije, Rusland en Kroatië centraal (en)

Territorial democracy in Turkey, Russia, Croatia and regionalisation in Europe among the highlights of the Congress' Autumn Session

Strasbourg, 12.11.2007 - The Council of Europe Congress of Local and Regional Authorities will hold its Autumn Session from 19 to 21 November 2007 in Strasbourg, France. Meeting on Monday 19 November, the Congress Bureau will discuss, among other things, the revision of the Congress' Rules of Procedure in the light of the revised Congress Charter, adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 2 May 2007. The new Charter stipulates, in particular, that, as from 2008, there must be at least 30 per cent of women in each national delegation to the Congress.

On Tuesday 20 November, the two Congress Chambers will have parallel meetings. The Chamber of Local Authorities will examine in particular the situation of local democracy in Turkey, in the light of a report by Anders Knape (Sweden, EPP/CD) and Hans-Ulrich Stöckling (Switzerland, ILDG) and their fact-finding mission to South-East Anatolia in August this year. Representatives of the Turkish government, former Mayor of Sur Abdullah Demirbas (the DTP party), Mayor of Diyarbakir Osman Baydemir and Süleyman Aktürk (the AK party) will make statements on this occasion (Room 5, Palais de l'Europe).

The Chamber will also discuss the draft Additional Protocol to the European Charter of Local Self-Government and the proposal for a European Urban Charter II, and debate a report on integration through sport by Wolfgang Schuster (Germany, EPP/CD).

The Chamber of Regions will organise a round table on regional democracy in Europe, focusing in particular on the proposal for a European Charter of Regional Democracy, which should be finalised during the Congress' 2008 plenary session. Representatives of the European Committee on Local and Regional Democracy, the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, the EU Committee of the Regions, and of different European regional organisations will take part in the round table, including in particular Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, President of the Conference of European Regional Legislative Assemblies and Speaker of the Basque Parliament (Room 1).

On 20 November in the afternoon, the Congress' Institutional and Standing Committees will have a joint meeting in Room 1. They will hear the priorities of the Slovak Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, debate a report on local and regional democracy in Croatia, and examine the follow-up given to Congress' recommendations by Spain and by Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the participation of Maria Tena Garcia, Director General of Local Cooperation in the Spanish Ministry of Public Administration, and a representative of the Bosnian government. The highlight of the session will be an exchange of views on the implementation of the Congress' 2004 recommendation on local and regional democracy in Russia, with the participation of Dmitry Kozak, new Russian Minister of Regional Development, and Victor Tolokonsky, Governor of the Novosibirsk Region.

On Wednesday 21 November, the Standing Committee will formally adopt the texts approved the day before.

On the occasion of the session, Congress President Halvdan Skard will award the Dosta! Congress Prize for Municipalities, launched by the Congress and the Dosta! Campaign of the Council of Europe as part of their ongoing work to strengthen the role of local authorities in the field of Roma and minority rights protection. The ceremony, which will take place on Tuesday 20 November at 12 noon in the Lobby of the Committee of Ministers, will also be the occasion for officially presenting the CD "Music beyond prejudice, Romani variations of the European Anthem".

All meetings on Tuesday 20 November are open to the press. All proceedings in Room 1 will be broadcast live on the Internet. A press conference with President Skard and Minister Kozak will be held on Tuesday 20 November at 4 pm in Room 2.

For more information: www.coe.int/congress-session

Contact:

Dmitri Marchenkov, Head of the Congress' Communication Unit

Tel. +33 3 88 41 38 44, mobile +33 6 75 65 03 49

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