The Chamber of Regions is one of two Chambers of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe , the other being the Chamber of Local Authorities .
The Chamber is the voice of regional authorities in the Council of Europe. It is composed of 318 representatives states, who has a general regional authority mandate, and
The work of the Chamber is organized around four statutory committees. The Institutional Committee is in charge of the issues of regional self-government, it issues reports and draws up recommendations. The Culture and Education Committee works on issues related to culture, education, media, youth, sport and communication. The Committee on Social Cohesion is responsible for employment, citizenship, migration, inter-community relations, social and gender equality, and solidarity. The Committee on Sustainable Development deals with environmental concerns.
According to the Charter of the Congress adopted on May 2, 2007 by the Committee of Ministers, the Chamber’s membership is based on the principles of balanced geographical distribution, the fair representation of the various types of regional authorities and their political groups, and more representation of women and men, at least 30 percent of the members must belong to the under-represented sex. The Chamber drafts reports, recommendations, resolutions and opinions on issues of concern and presents them to the Standing Committee of the Congress for adoption. The Chamber elects a President (currently Gudrun Mosler-Törnström of Austria) from among its members for two years and is attached to the Office of the President and seven Vice-Presidents. The current seven Vice Presidents are:
- Clemens Lammerskitten , Germany (Vice President)
- Gunn Marit Helgesen , Norway (Vice President)
- Helena Pihlajasaari , Finland (Vice President)
- Jean-Marie Belliard , France (Vice President)
- Leen Verbeek , Netherlands (Vice President)
- Nataliya Romanova , Ukraine (Vice President)
- Svetlana Orlova , Russian Federation (Vice President)
The Chamber has a permanent Secretariat located at the Palace of Europe , in Strasbourg , which is headed by its Executive Secretary (currently Denis Huber .
The Chamber consists of 324 statutory representatives and substitutes
- Albania (4)
- Andorra (2)
- Armenia (4)
- Austria (6)
- Azerbaijan (6)
- Belgium (7)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina (5)
- Bulgaria (6)
- Croatia (5)
- Cyprus (3)
- Czech Republic (7)
- Denmark (5)
- Estonia (3)
- Finland (5)
- France (18)
- Georgia (5)
- Germany (18)
- Greece (7)
- Hungary (7)
- Iceland (3)
- Ireland (4)
- Italy (18)
- Latvia (3)
- Liechtenstein (2)
- Lithuania (4)
- Luxembourg (3)
- Macedonia (3)
- Malta (3)
- Moldova (5)
- Monaco (2)
- Montenegro (3)
- Netherlands (7)
- Norway (5)
- Poland (12)
- Portugal (7)
- Romania (10)
- Russia (18)
- San Marino (2)
- Serbia (7)
- Slovakia (5)
- Slovenia (3)
- Spain (12)
- Sweden (6)
- Switzerland (6)
- Turkey (18)
- Ukraine (12)
- United Kingdom (18)
References
- Official website of the Congress of the Council of Europe
- Charter of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities