Annex III to BS/IRGG/WG/R(2006)1
TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE
BSEC WORKING GROUP ON
INSTITUTIONAL RENEWAL AND GOOD GOVERNANCE
The present ”Terms of Reference of the BSEC Working Group on Institutional Renewal and Good Governance” were agreed upon the Resolution of the 12th Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the BSEC Member States (Komotini, 23 April 2005) establishing the BSEC Working Group on Institutional Renewal and Good Governance.
The mission of the Working Group is:
- to promote cooperative activities in the BSEC region in the field of institutional renewal and good governance taking into account the provisions of the BSEC Charter, the BSEC Economic Agenda for the Future, the Resolutions, Decisions and Recommendations adopted by the BSEC Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the Joint Declaration on Institutional Renewal and Good Governance of the Ministers in Charge of Public Administration and the Ministers of Justice of the Member States of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (Athens, 21 February 2005), the priorities of the Member States and the global challenges;
- to facilitate the establishment of a regional network for public policy dialogue and enhancing capacity for policy reform among the BSEC Member States, especially in the vital sectors of public administration, trade and investments, energy, transport, communications, environment, tourism and agriculture;
- to seek ways and means of strengthening international relations capacities of the BSEC Member States in view of the internationalization of most spheres of public policy, in particular with regard to intensified and multidimensional interaction with international and regional organizations supporting coordination of actions of national institutions, which have links with international organizations and know-how transfer on cooperative actions at bilateral and multilateral level;
The Working Group on Institutional Renewal and Good Governance is assigned with the following tasks:
1. To develop cooperative activities in policy formulation and implementation in the key reform areas:
- exchange of best practices in human resources management;
- promotion of interaction between civil society and public administration structures;
- training of civil servants in innovating practices, the use of technology and communications to foster e-government, and with a view to improving the quality and delivery of public services and the simplification of the administrative procedures;
- cooperation in technical issues and know-how transfer regarding the citizens’ right to free access to public information, government-citizens interaction, control of the legitimacy and effectiveness of public administration actions and the establishment of public-private sector partnerships;
- sharing experience on regulatory reform and management including the use of independent regulatory authorities and on managing the policy implications of designing independent institutions in relation to the rest of the governance system (ministries, parliament, judicial authorities);
- exchange of legislative and other normative legal acts as well as sharing experience with international and European organizations in legislative development to underpin democracy and the rule of law, human rights, civil society and the freedom of media, as well as the operation of a free market economy;
- cooperative measures in view of judicial improvement and interaction in meeting international standards, requirements and norms.
2. To promote effective policy formulation and capacity building to secure successful collaboration among national authorities given the range of commitments of the Member States resulting from the BSEC Agreements: The Agreement among the Governments of the BSEC Participating States on Collaboration on Emergency Assistance and Emergency Response (1998) and its Additional Protocol; The Agreement among the Governments of the BSEC Participating States on Cooperation in Combating Crime, in Particular in its Organized Forms (1998) and its Additional Protocols.
3. To submit recommendations and guidelines in formulating policies, strategies and create action plans for specific aspects of building government capacity.
4. To elaborate recommendations in order to secure financial support of International Financial institutions and in particular to enhancing cooperation with the EU for implementation of BSEC projects in the field of institutional renewal and good governance, including those elaborated with the help of the BSEC Project Development Fund.
5. To consider and promote joint projects in the BSEC Member States involving intergovernmental – inter alia, the United Nations, the European Union, the Council of Europe, the OECD – and non-governmental organizations.