Development of a new social system

Doc. 9178

11 July 2001

Development of a new social system

Recommendation 1487 (2000)

Reply from the Committee of Ministers

adopted at the 759^th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (4 July 2001)

The Committee of Ministers has examined Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1487 (2000) on the development of a new social system. The Committee of Ministers attaches the utmost importance to the defence of democratic institutions and reminds the Assembly that the strengthening of participatory democracy is not a new theme in the Organisation.

In this respect, the Committee of Ministers wishes to mention the work carried out on citizens’ participation in local authority life, which has resulted in several Recommendations being adopted. One of the first of these, Recommendation No. R (81) 18 concerning participation at municipal level, was a major policy and standard-setting instrument in the field. The guidelines appended to the Recommendation greatly influenced more detailed study undertaken on this subject at a later date. Other Recommendations followed, aimed at adapting forms of direct participation and the functioning of representative democracy to developments in society. A new Recommendation on citizens’ participation in local public life is being drawn up by the Steering Committee on Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR).

Already in 1996, the Committee of Ministers, having observed that the changes of the previous twenty years had been shadowed by a strengthening of the role of European cities in the process of transforming approaches to social issues, began preparations for a study on innovating approaches in this field. The highpoint of this activity, implemented by the European Committee for Social Cohesion (CDCS), was a Final Conference held in Oslo, in June 2000, which confirmed the importance of cities’ social capital. The final report on innovatory social policies in the city, of which the Committee of Ministers took note in January 2001, particularly emphasises the importance of local projects based on the participation and empowerment of persons living in disadvantaged urban areas.

The Committee of Ministers welcomes the fact that the Liaison Committee for NGOs having consultative status with the Council of Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly are organising in Strasbourg, on 6 and 7 November 2001, a joint Conference on the theme: “Citizenship, solidarity. What sort of Europe do we want?”. It noted that the Conference will focus on the role of Parliaments and NGOs in the fulfilment of civil, economic, social and cultural rights in a Europe without exclusion, open to the world.

However, with regard to the recommendation to organise a “round table” on the establishment of a civic, economic and social forum for European democracy, the Committee of Ministers wishes to inform the Assembly that such an activity would not fit in with the Organisation’s present priorities. It would nevertheless like to assure the Assembly that it will bear its proposal in mind, in particular in the light of the conclusions of the joint conference.

Finally, the Committee of Ministers decided to transmit Recommendation 1487 (2000) to the European Committee for Social Cohesion for this committee to take it into account when implementing the strategy for social cohesion.