User:S Nunes/CALRE

CALRE, the acronym of the Conference of European Regional Legislative Assemblies, unites the Presidents of the Regional Assemblies of Italy, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Austria, United Kingdom ( Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland only), Portugal (i.e. the Presidents of the Legislative Assemblies of both Azores  and Madeira), Finland (the President of the Parliament of the Åland Islands only).

Origin
CALRE was founded in 1997 in  Oviedo, Spain, as a result of the debate about the involvement of regional parliaments in the European Union decision-making process, as initiated by the Amsterdam Treaty. In the same way national parliaments did and with the support of the President of European Parliament at the time, José María Gil-Robles y Gil-Delgado, Regional Parliaments with legislative power have defined a political agenda and objectives.

Since its foundation, in 1997, the mission of the Conference of European Regional Legislative Assemblies (CALRE) is to deepen the democratic and participatory principles within the European Union (EU), to advocate for the values and principles of regional democracy, and to reinforce the relationships between Regional Legislative Assemblies, always observing the autonomy of each Assembly.

Organization
CALRE has no corporate status and its registered office is the registered office of the president pro tempore.

CALRE’s bodies are the President, elected for a one-year mandate that can be extended for another year, the Vice-President, the Standing Committee and the Plenary Assembly. The General-Secretary and the Workgroups are subsidiary bodies.

The Standing Committee is formed by the President, Vice-President, one President per State, and by the coordinators of Workgroups, with the latter not being entitled to vote.

The Plenary Assembly is held once a year (in the last four months of the year) and is attended by the Presidents of all Assemblies.

The President then appoints the General-Secretary for his mandate, whose main task is to support the Standing Committee in performing its duties.

Workgroups are formed in the Plenary Assembly, at the request of the Standing Committee.

Activity
CALRE has distinguished itself during the European Convention years, due to its debate on subsidiarity and cooperation with national Parliaments.

Regarding subsidiarity, the constitutional Treaty and then the Treaty of Lisbon, establish the participation of Regional Parliaments with legislative powers in the early warning process in articulation with their respective national parliaments.

In relation to cooperation, CALRE, along with the President of the Legislative Assembly of Azores, the President of the Parliament of the French Community in Belgium and the President of the Council of Toscana, attended the COSAC, a meeting held in Rome on May 5th, 2003. Since 2003, CALRE has also been promoting interparliamentary cooperation initiatives, particularly about the subject of democracy, via a Meeting in Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, and then via a Meeting of National and Regional Parliaments held in the hemicycle of the Council of Europe, in Strasbourg, on September 12th, 2007.