Following the decisions taken at the highest political level by the Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the Council of Europe at their 4th Summit in Reykjavik last year, namely to enhance the Council’s efforts on securing and strengthening democracy and good governance at all levels throughout Europe and further strengthen the meaningful engagement with civil society as a whole, the newly created Steering Committee on Democracy (CDDEM) will take up its work during its first plenary meeting on 13-14 May in Strasbourg.
As the new Committee aims to steer the Council’s intergovernmental work towards the effective implementation of the “Reykjavik process” in the quite broad field of democracy, this introductory meeting will set the tone for the work-programme to be engaged in the years to come. During the two-day event, the newly appointed members of the Committee will be provided with food for thought by a diverse range of guest speakers from public institutions, civil society organisations, and academia. After a welcome address by Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić, high-level representatives of the Council’s statutory bodies and other relevant structures will each provide their perspectives and engage in an exchange of views on topics relevant to the Committee’s work, set to follow an explicitly holistic approach on the subject of democracy.
During the meeting, members will debate the best possible way forward regarding the implementation of the 10 Reykjavik Principles of Democracy (adopted at the Summit last year) and agree on a workplan to achieve the deliverables defined in the Terms of Reference of the Committee by the Committee of Ministers. Two first working-groups are expected to be created to carry forward the Committee’s agenda, in particular to establish guidance for the enhancement of Civil Society engagement in the Council of Europe and to define parameters for the implementation of the 10 Reykjavik Principles of Democracy.
Once running, the CDDEM will meet in plenary twice a year.
