In 2007, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, the representative and the voice of local and regional authorities throughout the continent, celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its creation. Originally conceived to make the voice of local authorities count in the incipient European unification, with the passing years it was able to transcend this strict role in order to help to reshape the continent in its own way, particularly by promoting regional policies.This study follows the growth of the Congress and presents the many initiatives it has taken to help the towns and regions of Europe to develop harmoniously, whether at the political, economic, social, cultural, or environmental level. It has been behind numerous European conventions, today recognised all over the continent, and tirelessly contributes to the consolidation of local and regional democracy in Europe.Besides its work, it is the podium and the meeting place for all European local and regional elected representatives, giving it specificity and a wealth unique among the European institutions. While retracing the path travelled over the past fifty years, this study highlights the importance of the towns and regions for tomorrow's Europe and presents the major challenges facing them for the future, together with the solutions that will enable them to meet those challenges.
Foreword
Introduction
1957-1962: The early years of the Conference of Local Authorities
First session of the Conference: Europe from the ECSC to Budapest
Towards a real "standing" conference
Some dominant themes of the 1960s: the ECSC, housing and town twinning
The 1970s: Towards a European definition of the regions
The Congress, a mover or a spectator of regionalisation?
Culture is also the business of local and regional authorities
Gérard Baloup: The CLRAE has shown that there is no Europe without local democracy
From the 1980s to 1994: The advent of the European Charter of Local Self-Government
The 1980 convention gives a promising boost to transfrontier co-operation
The European Charter of Local Self-Government, cornerstone of local democracy in Europe
The principal articles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government
The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, excerpt from Article 7 of Part II
The European Urban Charter
The city of the future as defined by the Urban Charter, Article 3, paragraph 5
Devolution in Central and Eastern Europe: Poland's example
1994 to 2007: The Congress takes off
Two landmark actions: observing elections and monitoring local democracy
Country specific reports
Monitoring local and regional democracy
Rinaldo Locatelli: "The destruction of the Berlin Wall and the Charter of Local Self-Government have shaped the present-day Congress"
The Charter of Regional Self-Government and the development of regional policies
The European policy of the German Lander
A major project: foreigners' participation in local affairs
Young people's participation in local and regional life
Excerpt from the preamble to the (revised) European Charter on the participation of young people in local and regional life
The European Landscape Convention
An essential partner: the European Committee for Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR)
The Local Democracy Agencies and the NALAS and ENTO networks
Relations with the European Union: Committee of the Regions, and "RegLeg"
Testimonies of elected representatives belonging to the Congress.
Future prospects
Advancement of humanist values in Europe
Excerpt from the Congress declaration against human trafficking
Adriatic, Baltic and Black Seas: a new generation of Euroregions
The future of the Congress
