Council of European Municipalities and Regions
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CCRE - CEMR) is the largest organisation of local and regional government in Europe; its members are national associations of towns, municipalities and regions from over 30 countries. Together these associations represent some 100,000 local and regional authorities.
It was founded in Geneva in 1951 by a group of European mayors; later it opened its ranks to the regions and became the Council of European Municipalities and Regions.
At the head of its political structure is its President, the mayor and governor of Vienna, Michael Häupl who is also President of the Austrian Association of Cities and Towns (Österreichischer Städtebund). It has a staff of about 20 headed by its secretary general Jeremy Smith.
CEMR’s budget is about €2.5 million, the main part of which comes from the membership fees of its national associations. The rest (about 15%) consists of an annual grant from the European Commission.
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[edit] CEMR's activities
CEMR works to promote a united Europe that is based on local and regional self government and democracy. To achieve this goal it endeavours to shape the future of Europe by enhancing the local and regional contribution, to influence European law and policy, to exchange experience at local and regional level and to cooperate with partners in other parts of the world.
CEMR works in many fields of activity such as regional policy, transport, the environment, equal opportunities and governance. Its committees and working groups seek to influence draft EU legislation to make sure the interests and concerns of local and regional authorities are taken into account from the earliest stages of the EU legislative process.
They contribute to CEMR’s calendar of activities by organising seminars and conferences on a wide range of issues to promote the exchange and dissemination of experience at the local and regional level.
CEMR is particularly proud of its unique town twinning network. Today, there are over 30,000 twinning projects linking towns from all over Europe. On this issue, CEMR works closely with the DG Education and Culture of the European Commission.
Lastly, CEMR is the European section of the new worldwide organisation United Cities and Local Governments.
[edit] The European charter for equality of women and men in local life
The Council of European Municipalities and Regions launched in May 2006 a European charter for equality of women and men in local life.
The Charter is addressed to the local and regional governments of Europe, who are invited to sign it, to make a formal public commitment to the principle of equality of women and men, and to implement, within their territory, the commitments set out within the Charter.
[edit] CEMR and town twinning
Town twinning, in CEMR's views, has always been a vital way to bring Europe closer to its citizens beyond national boundaries. Twinning contributes to a united and peaceful Europe close to its citizens.
In May 2007, CEMR organised a conference on "Twinning for tomorrow's world", in Rhodes.Over 600 representatives of local governments from across Europe met to discuss such as how to develop new types of twinning? How to obtain financial support? How can twinning contribute to social inclusion?
CEMR is also putting the finishing touch to a new websit totally dedicated to twinning. The website will be available in 15 languages at its launch, with more to follow. It will consist of two part: one bringing together background and topical information about twinning, and the other enabling local governments to find twinning partners online, in their mother tongue. CEMR's twinning website should be completed by Autumn 2008.
