Composition
According to the new Charter of the Congress adopted on 2 May 2007 by the Committee of Ministers, the Congress is formed of representatives of local and regional authorities of the member states of the Council of Europe, who are either directly elected or are politically accountable to a directly elected assembly. The membership of each member state’s delegation ensures a balanced geographical distribution of territories, equitable representation of the various types of local and regional authorities and political forces within these authorities of the member states, and equitable representation of women and men. Each member state has the right to the same number of seats in the Congress as in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Apart from representatives (full members), the member states also send the same number of their substitutes (substitute members) to the Congress, who work in the same capacity.
Within the Congress the work is organised in the two Chambers: the Chamber of Local Authorities and the Chamber of Regions. The Congress has three statutory committees which reflect changes made in October 2010: the Monitoring Committee (which deals with monitoring and ensuring the application of the charter and institutional development), the Governance Committee (responsible for affairs falling within the scope of the Congress' statutory mandate such as governance, public finance, cross-border and interregional co-operation and e-democracy as well as co-operation with intergovernmental bodies), and the Current Affairs Committee (responsible for studying the role of local and regional authorities with regard to the major challenges of our society and preparing work on thematic issues such as social cohesion, education, culture and sustainable development ). The Standing Committee acts on behalf of the Congress between its sessions, which are normally held at least once a year. The Bureau of the Congress is responsible for everyday work of the Congress and its continuity. The Congress elects its President from its members for two years (at present it is Herwig van Staa of Austria) and directed by the Secretary General (Andreas Kiefer of Austria, as from 1 April 2010).
Read more about this topic: Congress Of The Council Of Europe
Famous quotes containing the word composition:
“Vices enter into the composition of virtues as poisons into the composition of certain medicines. Prudence and common sense mix them together, and make excellent use of them against the misfortunes that attend human life.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)
“Modern Western thought will pass into history and be incorporated in it, will have its influence and its place, just as our body will pass into the composition of grass, of sheep, of cutlets, and of men. We do not like that kind of immortality, but what is to be done about it?”
—Alexander Herzen (1812–1870)
“The composition of a tragedy requires testicles.”
—Voltaire [François Marie Arouet] (1694–1778)