Conference of European Regional Legislative Assemblies
On 7 October 1997, the Conference of European Regional Legislative Assemblies (CALRE) was established in Oviedo, Spain, following a period of meetings to enhance European roles for regional legislatures.
Three precedents were the founding principles: [4]
- "The Declaration of the Assembly of European Regions (Basle, 1996) in its article 12.1 proposed mechanisms for contact between the European Parliament and Regional Parliaments, considering that they are institutions representing the direct will of citizens"
- "The Stuttgart theses, developed in May 1997 during an International Conference organised by the Landtag of Baden-Würtemberg in collaboration with the European Centre for Research on Federalism of Tübingen, on the role of Regional Parliaments of the European Union in European policy"
- "The Declaration signed by Germany, Austria and Belgium in October 1997, referring to one of the Stuttgart theses on the principle of subsidiarity established by the Maastricht Treaty. This declaration predicated the extension of this principle not only in the relationship between the Union and the Member States but also the Lander and other Regions considering that they have been attributed legislative power assigned by the national Constitution"
The Conference of European Regional Legislative Assemblies serves as a conference of the seventy-four presidents of the regional legislative assemblies across continental Europe and European Union member states. The current composition of Conference of European Regional Legislative Assemblies is made up of representation from the parliaments of the Spanish communities, Italian regional councils, the federated states of Germany and Austria, the Portuguese regions of l'Açores and Madeira, the countries of the United Kingdom with devolved national parliaments – Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, Ǻland Islands in Finland and Belgium community and regional chambers. [4]
Conference of European Regions with Legislative Power
Following the Barcelona Conference held in 2000, six presidents (heads of governments of the membership regions of the conference) were appointed to manage the network which was agreed following the conference held in Barcelona. The six members responsible for managing the network following the Barcelona Conference were Baden-Württemberg, Catalonia, Scotland, Tuscany, Tyrol and Wallonia. Flanders spearheaded discussions around the creation of a political declaration by Bavaria, Catalonia, North-Rhine Westphalia, Salzburg, Scotland, Flanders and Wallonia and defining regions with legislative power as "regions having a legislature as defined in Article 3 of the First Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights". [5]
In November 2002 during a meeting of the conference held in Florence, the REGLEG conference called for greater roles and representation of regions with legislative across the European continent in regards to the European Union. Previously, in 2001, the European Council adopted the Laeken Declaration as part of the Convention on the Future of Europe which acknowledged the enhanced roles regions of Europe with legislative power could have in regards to decision making across the European Union. The European Commission formally recognised the White Paper on Governance which highlighted the role regions of Europe with legislative power and own system of government could. As a result, the European Commission formally recognised the "enhanced inclusion of the sub-national authorities can contribute to the quality of European decision- making" and called on each of the member states of the European Union to suggest how relations and decision making processes between the European Union and regions with legislative power can be improved. [3]
