Strategic Partner for the Council of Europe Code of Good Practice

In 2011, the Council of Europe organised a meeting involving a number of European networks working for the interests of civil society including the European Network of National Civil Society Associations. The meeting focussed on the role that European networks could play to promote the Council of EUrope's Code of Good Practice for Civil Participation in the Decision-Making Process. The Code of Good Practice describes different mechanisms for civil participation providing a useful framework to categorise interventions made by public authorities on the basis of the degree by which these mechanisms allow for an open, transparent, and collaborative decision-making and implementing process to take place.

Following the kind invitation by the Council of Europe, ENNA joined a number of other European networks to become strategic partners with the Council of Europe with the objective of increasing awareness of the existence of the Code of Good Practice for Civil Participation in the Decision-Making Process as well as engaging in activities which help promote its use by public authorities and civil society organisations to further the development of participative democracy across Europe.

The Code of Good Practice was drafted by civil society experts, a number of whom currently sit on the ENNA Steering Group. Its development followed a recommendation of one of the Council of Europe's Forums for the Future of Democracy leading to the Conference of International NGOs to draft the document.

As stated by the Council of Europe,"The principal objective of the Code of Good Practice is the definition of a set of European principles and guidelines for NGO participation in decision-making processes that are to be implemented at local and national level in Council of Europe member States. Several regional NGO consultation conferences were held throughout Europe before its adoption by the Conference of INGOs on 1 October 2009 and its official launching at the meeting of the Forum for the Future of Democracy in Kyiv on 21 October."

The Code of Good Practice has received the backing of the Council of Europe's decision-making organs in particule the Committee of the Ministers which brings together ministers of governments of the Council of Europe, as well as parliamentary and local and regional authority representatives who have all made references to the Code of Good Practice in a number of declarations.

Too few people are aware of the Code of Good Practice's existence and it is incumbent on ENNA and the other strategic partners to do what we can to raise awareness of the Code and to identify the best ways in which the Code can be actively employed to support local, regional, and national efforts to increase participative and transparent democracy.

The Code of Good Practice is a recurring document in our day-to-day activities, and serves to inform our positions on the importance of participative democracy. We therefore look forward to continuing to promote the Code within our Network and to incorporate the document as part of our ongoing activities at the European level.

The Council of Europe hosts a webpage where the Code of Good Practice can be accessed alongside further background information. See the Council of Europe's webpage for further details.

You can also access an English version of the document on our website.