9th Session of the European Conference of local Authorities (Strasbourg, 25-29 September 1972)

Recommendation 694 (1973)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

Assembly debate on 24 January 1973 (23rd Sitting) (see Doc. 3237, report of the Committee on Regional Planning and Local Authorities). Text adopted by the Assembly on 24 January 1973 (23rd Sitting).

The Assembly,

1. Having examined the texts adopted by the European Conference of Local Authorities at its 9th Session (Doc. 3194) ;

2. Emphasising the important part that the European Conference of Local Authorities is continuing to play in the building of Europe, and taking note of the increasingly keen encouragement given to it by the governments of member States ;

3. Recalling that the aim of the conference, within the general terms of reference of the Council of Europe, is to contribute to the civic and general education of citizens, and to promote their participation in national and European affairs ;

4. Stressing the political importance of the principles of regionalisation and of participation by citizens and local authorities in guiding the future building of Europe in the direction of greater respect for the individual and of the mobilisation of all the forces of the European genius, opposed as it is to the trend towards centralisation and uniformity ;

5. Believing that it would be in keeping with the spirit of the Statute of the Council of Europe and with the needs of an evolving Europe that, in particular following the enlargement of the European Communities and in view of the Conference on Security and Cooperation, the Council of Europe should play a greater part in promoting the Europe of the regions, and in defending local government ;

6. Considering also the role which the European Conference of Local Authorities is capable of playing in defining and implementing activities listed in the Council of Europe Work Programme, in particular in the spheres of regional planning, the conservation and management of the natural environment, and the protection and enhancement of the European architectural and historical heritage ;

7. Recalling also its Resolution 469 inviting the conference to make itself more representative from the geographical point of view as well as more democratic, in order to play its full part as the consultative and representative organ of the regions and municipalities of Europe,

8. Recommends that the Committee of Ministers :

a associate the European Conference of Local Authorities with the preparation of the Intergovernmental Work Programme of the Council of Europe by requesting its opinion on the draft Programme, for example, as previously proposed in Assembly Recommendation 628 ;

b authorise and facilitate the contacts which the conference is seeking to make with the organs of the enlarged European Communities, in particular by giving effect to the recommendations contained in its Resolution 74 which expresses the hope that the conference may hold sessions restricted to delegations of the Nine ;

c improve the conference's means of action, in particular by authorising its committees and the working parties set up to prepare its plenary sessions to meet more frequently ;

d consider favourably any proposals for the revision of the Charter that the conference might submit in order to strengthen its action and adapt its structures to the process of European unification ;

e give full weight, during the discussions at the Conference on Security and Cooperation, to the opportunities afforded by the Council of Europe and in particular to the means of action the European Conference of Local Authorities has at its disposal in regard to East-West cooperation in municipal and regional matters.