Iter procedulare

GUIDELINES ON PROCEDURES FOR PROGRAMMATIC AGREEMENTS, UNDERSTANDINGS AND TWINNINGS

Agreements, understandings and twinnings undertaken by regional administrations represent a form of structured cooperation that carries obligations and is subject to a procedure of advance notice and subsequent authorisation. Understandings and agreements differ in function of the foreign counterpart involved, which is an analogous body in the case of understandings, and a government in the case of agreements. There are three types of agreements: executive and applicative of international agreements already in force, technical-administrative and programmatic. Authorisation is granted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in the case of agreements between Italian regional administrations and foreign governments, while the Department of Regional Affairs (DAR) of the Office of the Prime Minister authorises understandings and twinnings. Scrutiny of the documentation submitted by regional bodies is regulated by timeframes and procedures that are subject to the rule of “silence gives consent” in the sole cases of understandings and twinnings. In addition to the MFA Directorates General and Services, the network of foreign missions is also involved in this process. The following guidelines concern programmatic agreements (which are the most common form of collaboration between the regions and foreign governments) only, as well as understandings and twinnings. The twinnings guidelines concern twinnings in the broad bureaucratic sense as well as the more specific “Town Twinnings”, and their procedures are regulated by special Community programmes.

AGREEMENTS : Any document, regardless of title, naming an Italian region and the government of a foreign country as the contracting parties.

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  Legal basis: Art. 6 paragraph 3 of Law no. 131 of 2003 (known as the “La Loggia” law)
  

“The Regions and Autonomous Provinces of Trent and Bolzano, in the matters in which they are legally authorised, can sign executive and applicative agreements with the governments of other countries with regard to agreements already in force or agreements of a programmatic nature aimed at fostering economic, social and cultural development (…)”.

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  1st phase - Negotiations: “To this end the regions or autonomous provinces must inform the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Prime Minister—Department for Regional Affairs in a timely manner, which, in turn, informs the other administrations. The foreign ministry can outline the principles and criteria to be followed in conducting negotiations (…)”.
  

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  The regions are obliged to respect:
  

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  the Constitution;
  
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  constraints of Community law;
  
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  international obligations, orientation and objectives of Italian foreign policy; and
  
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  the fundamental principles of Italian legislation regarding the matters treated in art. 117 of the Constitution.
  

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  Procedure:
  

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  MFA conducts procedures:
  

The region sends the MFA’s Secretary General of the Country System Unit (SG-USP) and the DAR a draft of the agreement, with attached report containing the following elements: a) the reasons for the region’s interest in making this specific agreement, referring to its own economic, social and cultural development aims; b) how it intends to apply the programmatic agreement; c) the agreement’s means of funding.

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  The SG-USP forwards the draft, with its own eventual initial comments, to the ministry’s Diplomatic Disputes and Treaties Advisory Unit, the Legal Affairs Office and the competent Directorates General and to the foreign country institution concerned, for review and opinions.
  

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  The DAR forwards the draft to any other ministry concerned.
  

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  Once all opinions have been gathered, the SG-USP responds to the regional administration.
  

Outcome of the draft review:

- positive opinion  negotiations proceed;

- in the case of the draft’s obvious contrast with existing obligations, particularly with the orientation and objectives of Italian foreign policy, the Secretary General of the foreign ministry, having heard the DAR, advances objections to the launch of negotiations and informs the region that this can only take place once the reasons underlying this contrast have been eliminated.

- Observations aimed at introducing eventual modifications to the draft.

Timetable: approximately 45 days from the date on which the draft agreement is received.
2nd Phase – Full Powers: “Before signing the agreement, the region or autonomous province informs the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the project, who then, having conferred with the Office of the Prime Minister—Department for Regional Affairs (DAR), and ascertained the political advisability and legitimacy of the agreement, (…) confers full power of signature (…). Agreements signed in the absence of full power are null and void”.

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  Procedure:
  

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  The authorised MFA Geographic Directorate General conducts the procedure.
  
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  Once the final text of the agreement has been negotiated with the foreign counterpart, and all eventual modifications requested in the first phase have been incorporated, the region submits a request for full power of signature to the MFA.
  

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  Request for full power of signature initiates a new consultation period of roughly 60 days for the purposes of final assessment of the agreement’s political advisability and formal legitimacy.
  
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  The SG-USP submits the text to the competent geographic Directorate General, copying the ministerial divisions already involved in the first phase and the DAR, using the following formula:
  

“The DG …is requested, on the basis of the opinions of the other competent divisions, to evaluate the overall advisability of conferring full power of signature on the President of…and, in the case of a positive evaluation, having heard that of the DAR, to convey the request to the Diplomatic Disputes and Treaties Advisory Unit for the subsequent evaluation of its fulfilment of technical/legal requirements and for the preparation of the special telegram to be submitted for the approval of the foreign minister’s private staff”.

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  The DAR informs the other competent administrations and, within roughly 50 days, communicates the overall opinion of the administrations involved to the MFA (DG and SP-USP).
  

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  MFA confers full power of signature on the President of the region, notification of which arrives in the form of a telegram signed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
  

UNDERSTANDINGS: Any document, regardless of title, naming an Italian regional administration and its foreign counterpart as contracting parties.

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  Legal basis: Art. 6 paragraph 2 of Law no. 131 of 2003 (known as the “La Loggia” law).
  

“The Regions and Autonomous Provinces of Trent and Bolzano, in the matters in which they are legally authorised, can sing direct understandings with the bodies of other governments aimed at fostering economic, social and cultural development, and at generating activities of clear international importance (…)”.

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  Regional administrations are obliged
  

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  to respect the objectives of Italian foreign policy;
  
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  not to undertake commitments resulting in financial obligation or burden for the Italian government or that infringe on the interests of others as stated in art. 114, paragraph 1, of the Constitution.
  

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  Procedure:
  

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  The procedure is conducted by the DAR and the MFA is obliged to give its opinion as regards its sphere of competence.
  

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  The SG-USP receives a draft of the understanding from the DAR or the regional administration itself and submits it, with its eventual observations, to the Diplomatic Disputes and Treaties Advisory Unit, the Legal Affairs Office, the competent Directorates General of the foreign ministry and to the foreign body concerned, indicating a period of normally 7 working days within which to respond, after which “silence gives consent”.
  
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  In the case of the draft’s obvious contrast with obligations existing for the regions, particularly with the orientation and objectives of Italian foreign policy, the Secretary General of the foreign ministry, having heard the DAR, advances objections to the launch of negotiations and informs the region that this can only take place once the reasons underlying this contrast have been eliminated.
  
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  Once the indicated time period has expired, the SG-USP submits the MFA’s overall opinion to the DAR.
  

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  Within 30 days of receiving the draft of the text of the understanding the DAR formulates its observations on the basis of the opinions of all the administrations concerned.
  
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  The region is obliged to absorb the observations contained in the opinions into the text of the document after having informed the foreign counterpart of that and securing its consensus. The region then sends the modified text to the DAR and the MAE for authorisation.
  
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  Once both MAE and DAR have ascertained that the text received has been modified as required, the DAR authorises the region to sign the document.
  

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  In the absence of a response (“silence gives consent”), after 30 days the regions and autonomous provinces are automatically authorised to sign the understanding.
  

TWINNING: Any document, regardless of its title (Oath of Fraternity, Protocol of Collaboration or other), the parties to which are sub-regional bodies (Province, Metropolitan City, Town) and their foreign counterparts.

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  Legal basis: Art. 6 paragraph 7 of Law no. 131 of 2003 (known as the “La Loggia” Law)
  

“..towns, provinces and metropolitan cities carrying out activities of international importance in the matters for which they are authorised in pursuance of the laws in force, informing the authorised regions and the administrations, as stated in paragraph 2, of every initiative undertaken”.

Law no. 131/2003 refers to art. 2 of the Presidential Decree (DPR) of 31 March 1994.

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  to limit the scope of twinnings to activities of “clear international importance” as described in art. 2 of DPR 31 March 1994
  
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  to indicate, where expenditures are foreseen for initiatives aimed at the creation of twinnings agreements, that these do not create a new or greater burden on public finances in accordance with the constraints deriving from the budget law in force.
  

• Procedure

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  The DAR conducts the procedure.
  

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  The procedure is identical to that for understandings.
  

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  The “silence gives consent” rule governs.
  

EUROPEAN COMMUNITY FUNDED TWINNINGS

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  Town Twinnings: Twinnings between European Community towns with the scope of boosting collaboration and exchanges between the two towns, their institutions and citizens in an effort to facilitate the building of a European identity.
  

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  Sponsoring body: European Commission
  

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  Beneficiaries: Towns.
  

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  Twinnings: Agreements between the public administrations (ministries or regional governments) of two countries on short-term missions by Member Country public officials and experts to the public administrations of the beneficiary countries to assist them in the absorption of Community legislation and regulations.
  

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  Sponsoring body: European Commission
  
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  Beneficiaries: Member Country public administrations