Motion for a resolution | Doc. 13365 | 11 December 2013

Europe must be based on economically viable regions - Effective local self-government for member States

Signatories: Mr Axel E. FISCHER, Germany, EPP/CD ; Mr Levan BERDZENISHVILI, Georgia, ALDE ; Mr Fernand BODEN, Luxembourg, EPP/CD ; Mr Márton BRAUN, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Ms Svetislava BULAJIĆ, Serbia, ALDE ; Ms Sylvia CANEL, Germany, ALDE ; Mr Paolo CORSINI, Italy, SOC ; Mr David DAVIES, United Kingdom, EDG ; Mr Jim DOBBIN, United Kingdom, SOC ; - Alexander [The Earl of] DUNDEE, United Kingdom, EDG ; Mr Gábor HARANGOZÓ, Hungary, SOC ; Mr Rafael HUSEYNOV, Azerbaijan, ALDE ; Mr Ögmundur JÓNASSON, Iceland, UEL ; Mr Ferenc KALMÁR, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Mr Igor KOLMAN, Croatia, ALDE ; Sir Alan MEALE, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr José MENDES BOTA, Portugal, EPP/CD ; Mr Ángel PINTADO, Spain, EPP/CD ; Mr John PRESCOTT, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Gabino PUCHE, Spain, EPP/CD ; Ms Maria de Belém ROSEIRA, Portugal, SOC ; Ms Marlene RUPPRECHT, Germany, SOC ; Mr Armen RUSTAMYAN, Armenia, SOC ; Mr Stefan SCHENNACH, Austria, SOC ; Mr Valeriy SUDARENKOV, Russian Federation, SOC ; Mr Jordi XUCLÀ, Spain, ALDE

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.

Effective local self-Government has proved to be one of the best instruments for good governance at local and regional level in a number of European countries.

When a region is constituted by aggregating existing smaller units or by reforming the existing territorial units, it should be in line with the criteria laid down by the Council of Europe and by the European Union.

In some Council of Europe member States, the existing regions are not based on a realistic economic substructure or do not comply with the European Union required criteria. Their boundaries are often artificial because their creation is resulting mainly from political considerations. Consequently, the population concerned suffers from disadvantages in their daily life and may see their cultural value affected.

The Parliamentary Assembly should look into this matter and make concrete suggestions for a reasonable design or re-design of a region.