The congress launched the first Euroregion in Adriatic in 2006, he said, but the task is more difficult in the Black Sea: "The political climate in the Black Sea region is not quite warm as in the Adriatic. So signatures would be collected in more time, not immediately."

Mildon says Turkish and Russian participation in the initiative is uncertain and points out that they do not aim to form a political institution, but an institution to facilitate direct cooperation among the provinces in the region. Referring to the brief war between Georgia and Russia, he says it is important to have Russia and Georgia around the table, because "big conflicts can be solved with the efforts of the local administrations."

Mildon, elected president at the end of May by a unanimous vote, elaborated on the role of the local administrations and changes to Turkish laws regarding local authorities in an interview for Monday Talk.

First of all, congratulations on your election as president. Have there been any changes at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities since your election?

Thank you. We brought a 30 percent quota for women at all 47 national representative delegations at the congress. It’s been a great pleasure for me that a step toward increasing women’s political participation has been taken during my term. Following this measure, we should work toward increasing women candidates. I am hopeful to see more women candidates in Turkish local elections next year as well.

At the local administrations level, Turkey’s record is embarrassing when we look at women’s participation. There are 3,225 elected mayors and only 18 of them are women, compared to an EU average of 20 percent women. What can be done to improve this record?

We need special programs geared toward solving this problem. The main problem is that a lot of Turkish women have not gained their economic independence yet. For becoming a candidate in any election, you need necessary financial resources. Except being a mayor, most local positions are voluntary, so you need income from other sources, either from your salaried job or business, to support yourself. Several political party leaders in Turkey are working toward achieving more women’s participation. In addition, the Turkish public expects this as well.

What are the recent trends in Europe at the local and regional administrations levels, and how can Turkey catch up?

Turkey’s municipalities need to develop more strategies at the local level to catch up with all the developments -- because provincial councils are not passive as they used to be -- and start to make their voices heard more and more at the regional level. The EU has funds to support developments, but on a project basis. Therefore, Turkish administrations need to increase the number of projects.

What kind of projects can they develop?

There are many areas, from health and education to environment and culture. Turkey does not have enough projects in that regard, even though the latest changes in the law regarding municipality budgets revenue gave the municipalities more financial power. The municipalities now have about 45 percent more revenue and they should use it to serve the people. The Council of Europe would follow the developments in all member states regarding the issue. We should not forget that local and regional administrations plus the civil society organization, are going to carry Turkey to the European Union. It’s not realistic to have expectations only from the government to realize Turkey’s membership in the EU. Municipalities and civil society groups have a major role in this direction, so they should be in close partnership with each other. The local and regional administrations should open their doors wide to civil groups in order to have a voice in the EU. Just having rules changed and laws passed is not enough. We need to see implementation. … And in the implementation process, we need to see more transparency to comply with the principles of the Council of Europe.

What are those principles?

Human rights, democracy and the rule of law. I want to give an example from Austria. A regional parliament member from Austria -- at the same time an active member of the congress that I am heading -- once had a record as a careless driver, and his driving license was suspended. Next day he was found to be driving again. Following that, his party asked for his resignation and he was erased from the political arena.

We know that Turkey has been under observation at the general parliamentary level by the Council of Europe. Is it watching Turkey at the local level as well?

Yes, this is the job of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.

Are there any scheduled observations?

Yes, rapporteurs will be in Turkey in October or November to prepare a report. One of the rapporteurs is Anders Knape, president of the Swedish Association of Local Authorities, and the one is Hans Ulrich Stockling, former minister of education of Switzerland.

How often do such rapporteurs come to Turkey?

They may come in response to some complaints as well. In the past, they have come in 2001 and 2005.

What type of complaints do they receive, and from whom?

It’s usually been the southeastern municipalities presenting some written complaints regarding some issues. And Turkey has responded to those. The complaints are usually related to technical issues and there are some big issues related to the circumstances in the Southeast too, but those concern the Turkish government.

Should Turkey expect a lot of criticism in the report that has yet to be prepared?

In the latest report in 2005, the biggest problem was that the law regarding municipality revenues had not been passed, although other laws on municipalities and their responsibilities had passed. The municipalities would have the responsibility to meet demands without resources. So this main wrong has been corrected, and we don’t expect a major problem.

You also point out the international role of the local administrations. Would you elaborate on that?

Local and regional administrations have started to take on roles in diplomacy. We call that “city diplomacy.” I’ll explain that with an example. After the latest crisis in Georgia subsides, I believe Turkish municipalities will play a key role in helping out with the problems of the municipalities in Georgia. The Georgian municipalities will need support to correct their infrastructure, plus support in strengthening their local democracies. And Turkish municipalities have been good examples for Azerbaijani municipalities and municipalities in the Balkans. I’m planning a visit to both Russia and Georgia in September. I will go to both South and North Ossetia, because from day one of the conflict there have been thousands of people who have moved from the south to the north. We will document the damage to the infrastructure and make sure ways of convening local and regional assemblies remain open.

Are there new international projects of the Congress?

We are planning a second Euroregion in the Black Sea. On Sept. 26 in Varna, we will open its bylaws for signature. We also had our preparatory meeting in [the Turkish Black Sea province of] Samsun.

Where is the first Euroregion?

We launched it in the Adriatic in 2006. It is important that those Euroregions cover both member and non-member states. So all regions around the Adriatic has been members. However, political climate in the Black Sea region is not quite warm as in the Adriatic. So signatures would be collected in more time, not immediately.

What would a Black Sea Euroregion yield?

In the Black Sea, the intergovernmental platform has been represented by the Black Sea Economic Cooperation] BSEC [inter parliamentary platform has been represented by PABSEC [Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation]. There has not been an inter-territorial platform, and that’s what we are trying to establish. We don’t aim to form a political institution. For example, the northern Black Sea province of Sinop can have more cooperation with Ukraine’s Odessa in the cultural and economic fields within the limits of municipality issues. Look at the world during World War II. They were able to make long-lasting peace due to the cooperation of the local administrations. And in today’s circumstances, it is important to have Russia and Georgia around the table, because big conflicts can be solved with the efforts of the local authorities.

What are the countries which are likely to support the Black Sea Euroregion initiative?

As EU member states, Bulgaria and Romania want to take an active role in this. Armenia said that it will participate. Ukraine is positive. A region in Georgia will be represented. We don’t know the attitudes of Turkey and Russia yet. I think the Turkish Interior Ministry will participate and some Black Sea provinces of Turkey will be in Varna.

Do you plan to have more Euroregions?

We are planning another in the Baltic.

In various positions on the Council of Europe, you served as observer of elections in many new democracies. What have you seen in those places?

I served as an elections observer in new democracies such as Albania, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. The Council of Europe played a big role in the democratic transition of these countries, especially at the local administration level. We base our principles on a document that requires autonomy at the local administrative level. This basic document of the Council of Europe has been signed by almost all 47 countries and has been implemented. Election observation has played a crucial role in the new democracies because they complied with our reports to improve their systems.

Would you give a few examples regarding your observations in those countries?

One thing immediately comes to mind. The head of the family would come to the [polls] and cast votes for the members of the family. This had widespread application but has been reduced nowadays.

Have you noticed any such cases in Turkey?

Even if there are some, those are few. I should note that the Turkish election system is much better than a lot of Western democracies. I say that especially after seeing what has happened as a result of the election in Florida in 2000. And the Council of Europe has played a key role in Turkey, too. As I mentioned, it prepared a report based on election observations in 2001 and 2005. There will be another one coming up. The 2005 report was prepared after Turkey passed new laws regarding special administration of its provinces.

What are those changes specifically?

Those laws helped Turkey’s democratization process a lot. As a result, the office of the governor has been reformed. Previously, the head of the provincial council was the governor. Now, the head of the provincial council is elected among the members of the provincial council. The [Justice and Development Party] AK Party government was courageous enough to pass those laws that were not previously changed by other governments.

Why?

It is not so easy to change established institutions like the system regarding the governor because the system has been there for at least a hundred years. Even the Western democracies have difficulties in doing that, though they often give advice to Turkey.

Could you talk about those difficulties in the West?

Take France, for example. They have a regional structure; first a central government, then regions, then departments and then communes. There are 36,000 communes in France. They know that so many communes are not necessary but they cannot reform it. In one commune, called Verdun, there are no constituents, but a mayor!

Yavuz Mildon

He was elected by unanimous vote on May 27 as the President of the Council of Europe Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, which represents over 200,000 communities in 47 countries. He is also the leader of the Turkish delegation to the congress and has been a member of the Provincial Council of Çanakkale since 1994. He joined the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in 1995. He was elected vice president of the Chamber of Regions in 2000 and president of the chamber in 2004. Occupying a variety of posts, including member of the Standing Committee, he acted as rapporteur on several occasions, particularly on regional democracy in Moldova and Albania.

He was president of the Gelibolu Chamber of Commerce and Industry from 1988 to 1992 and a member (2000) then chair (2002) of the Board of the Unions of Seafood and Meat Exporters of Turkey. He runs the Mildon Fish and Shellfish Company in Gelibolu and has been chairman of this seafood export company since the 1980s.

Todays Zaman