The Council of Europe is funded on the principles of democracy, human rights and rule of law. The Congress of local and regional authorities (the Congress) was established in 1957 and is one of the Council of Europe’s most important fora for the promotion of local and regional self-government. Its main aim is to promote and ensure political, administrative and economic independence for local authorities.
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An important instrument for local and regional democracy for the Congress is the European Charter of Local Self-Government, which was established in 1985. The Convention lays down common European standards in order to protect and develop the rights and freedoms of local and regional authorities. The Congress is in charge of monitoring local and regional elections and of setting the standards for the Council of Europe’s member states in electoral matters, and produces ’monitoring reports’ on the situation in different member states. A report on local democracy in Norway was made in October 2003.
The Congress consists of the Chamber of Local Authorities and the Chamber of Regions. The Congress of local and regional authorities has 315 members and 315 substitutes, and represents over 200.000 communes and regions within the Council of Europe’s 46 member states. It is thus a political assembly composed of representatives holding an electoral mandate. The Congress is grouped by national delegation and by political group.
Each state has its own procedure for appointing members, who elect the Congress President for two ordinary sessions. Norway has five representatives and five substitue representatives, and is lead by Mr. Halvdan Skar, who has been president of the Chamber of Local Authorities since 2002.
The Norwegian members to the Chamber of Local Authorities are:
- Bjørg Tysdal Moe (representative)
- Halvdan Skard (representative)
- Vigdis Hjulstad Belbo (substitute)
- Ivar Johansen (substitute)
- Bjørg Wallevik (substitute)
The Norwegian members to the Chamber of Regional Authorities are:
- Odd Arild Kvaløy (representative)
- Oddleif Olavsen (representative)
- Line Vennesland (representative)
- Ketil Rønning (substitute)
- Mai C. Stenersen Lund
In addition to monitoring local and regional democracy, the Congress continues its activities of support local and regional authorities in South-East Europe and South Caucasus and supporting interregional co-operation.