THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE
Created in 1949, the Council of Europe, based in Strasbourg, the Council of Europe is an international organisation whose main objective is the defence, protection and promotion of human rights (particularly civil and political rights), democracy and the rule of law.
The Council of Europe has the following bodies: Committee of Ministers, Parliamentary Assembly, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities/Powers and the General Secretariat, on which, among other Directorates-General, the Directorate-General for Democracy are responsible, as is the secretariat of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities/Powers.
Areas related to Territorial Policy in the Council of Europe:
- European Committee on Democracy and Governance (CDDG).
- European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
- Congress of Local and Regional Authorities/Powers (CPLR).
European Committee on Democracy and Governance (CDDG)
El European Committee on Democracy and Governance (CDDG) is the intergovernmental forum of the Council of Europe where representatives of the Member States meet to exchange and monitor the situation of democratic governance in Europe, and to work together to strengthen democratic institutions, public administration reforms, decentralisation, citizen participation and public ethics, at all levels of government.
The European Committee for Democracy and Governance (CDDG) places a strong emphasis on local and regional democracy in its work. This is in line with its history, as the Committee is based on the legacy of the former European Committee for Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR) and on the results of the specialized Conferences of Ministers.
A representative of the General Secretariat for Territorial Coordination participates in the meetings of this intergovernmental committee of the Council of Europe on the modernisation of democratic institutions, the reform of public administration, the participation of citizens and democratic governance at all levels, including here cross-border cooperation, as well as in working groups of experts on these matters.
The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages was drawn up within the Council of Europe and signed on 5 November 1992. Subsequently, as an international treaty, it was ratified by Spain on 9 April 2001 and entered into force on 1 August 2001.
The Preamble to the Charter states that the protection of these languages “contributes to the maintenance and development of Europe’s cultural traditions and wealth”, and that the right to use one of these languages “in private and public life constitutes an imprescriptible right”, in accordance with the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and in the spirit of the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
In the case of Spain, of particular importance is the Declaration made on the occasion of the ratification of the Charter, which is included in the first paragraphs of the instrument of ratification, which specifies the scope of application in which two different levels of protection differ:
- The languages recognized as official in the Statutes of Autonomy of the Autonomous Communities of the Basque Country, Catalonia, Illes Balears, Galicia, Comunitat Valenciana and Comunidad Foral de Navarra.
- The regional or minority languages that the Statutes of Autonomy protect and protect in the territories where they are traditionally spoken:
Bable or Asturian and Galician, in Asturias.
Aragonese and Catalan, in Aragon
Galician, in Castile and Leon
In accordance with the provisions of Article 15 of the Charter, Member States that are Parties to the Charter shall submit periodic reports on the internal policy followed for the fulfilment of the obligations assumed. The reports that follow the first one must be presented “at intervals of three years”, as it is being done in our country.
The State Administration has so far prepared four reports on the follow-up to the Charter.
- First report: year 2002
- Second report: covering the period 2003-2005
- Third report: submitted in July 2010 and covering the period 2006-2008
- Fourth report: submitted in July 2014 and covering the period 2009-2012
- Fifth report: submitted in October 2018 and covering the period 2014-2016
The Council of Europe issued a series of Recommendations to the Government of Spain regarding the protection of languages in December 2019. On August 1, 2020, a new follow-up report was presented, of a partial nature, reporting on the degree of compliance with these recommendations.
The Congress of Local and Regional Powers (CPLR)
In 1994, the Council of Europe established the Congress of Local and Regional Powers of Europe as an advisory body to replace the former Permanent Conference of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe.
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities/Powers is an institution of the Council of Europe charged with strengthening local and regional democracy in its 47 member States and evaluating the implementation of the European Charter of Local Self-Government. As the voice of the municipalities and regions of Europe, it works to promote consultation and political dialogue between national governments and local and regional authorities, through cooperation with the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
Spain has 24 members: 12 represent the Autonomous Communities and 12 represent the Local Entities. The appointment of these members is made in accordance with the criteria for the appointment of the Spanish delegation, approved by the General Committee of the Autonomous Communities of the Senate at its session of 24 March 1994.
