News 2017
Transparency as a tool to prevent corruption
How to increase citizens’ trust in local authorities, and vice-versa; how to improve local governance and what are the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder; how to include gender perspective in local policies and what are the main ingredients for sustainable local democracy - these were...
“Women have to overcome significant challenges to win elections in local government”
Speaking at the brainstorming session on “Women and the reconciliation process in Bosnia and Herzegovina” in Strasbourg on 20 December 2017 organised by the Council of Europe under its Confidence Building Programme, Congress Secretary General Andreas KIEFER addressed the six women mayors as well...
Roundtable in Kyiv: Stronger roles and responsibilities for local councillors in Ukraine
“The legal status of local councillors in Ukraine needs to be improved”, said Serhiy VLASENKO, Head of the Committee on State Building, Regional Policy and Local Self-Government of the Parliament of Ukraine at the opening of the roundtable on the ‘Legislative regulation of the legal status of...
Seminar in Kyiv: “Engaging citizens in local affairs for greater transparency”
The seminar on “Engaging citizens in local affairs for greater transparency” held in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 19-20 December 2017, gathered together mayors, local councillors and young local leaders. This event served as a platform for exchange and dissemination of collaborative ways to enhance the...
Legal status of local councillors: the Council of Europe’s Congress to hold a roundtable with the Ukrainian Parliament
The Congress organised, jointly with the Committee on State Building, Regional Policy and Local Self-Government of the Parliament of Ukraine, a roundtable on the “Legislative regulation of the legal status of local councillors in Ukraine: state of play and prospects for improvement”, on 18...
Andreas Kiefer addresses the Committee of Ministers: “Local authorities bind our societies together and apply democracy and human rights close to the citizens”
“The European model of society is not characterised by vertical hierarchies but has developed over the last decades in the direction of decentralisation. The Council of Europe has a duty to defend this model of society of which we are so justifiably proud” Congress Secretary General Andreas...
Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina pays a visit to the Congress secretariat
Possibilities of co-operation in 2018 between the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and Sarajevo where discussed at a meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Igor CRNADAK, and Congress Secretary General Andreas KIEFER. A...
Ukraine : Opening of a new Local Democracy agency in Mariupol
On 9 December 2017, the European Association of Local Democracy opened a new Local Democracy Agency in Mariupol (Ukraine). Mayors, members of the Ukrainian Parliament, representatives of civil societies and NGOs assembled for this important step toward the promotion of local democracy and good...
Andreas KIEFER: “Active associations such as NALAG are the bridges between the Congress and the mayors and councillors”
“Democracy at grassroots level is not static, it demands continuous improvement; it demands constant attention; it simply demands care”, said Andreas KIEFER, Secretary General of the Congress, while extending his congratulations to Georgian mayors and councillors on their success in the elections...
Herwig VAN STAA: There are no corruption-free zones in Europe”
Herwig VAN STAA (Austria, EPP/CCE), Congress spokesperson on promoting public ethics and preventing corruption at the local and regional levels, addressed the Regional conference on “Corruption-free Cities of the Future”, on 7 December 2017, in Tirana (Albania). “There are no corruption-free...
Regional conference in Georgia: a shared vision for improved local governance
“We need to make municipalities more transparent and open, basing our work on the principle of participatory democracy. We have the opportunity here to improve our governance, to meet the standards of our citizens and move closer to those of Europe” emphasised Zurab ALAVIDZE, Minister of...
EU Ambassador Janos Herman: “The Partnership for good governance serves our common goals”
Ambassador Janos HERMAN, the European Union Delegation to Georgia, addressed the participants of the regional conference on ‘Ethics and transparency at local level: strategies and tools’ at the opening on 6 December 2017 in Tbilisi, Georgia. The event was organised by the Congress of Local and...
Andreas Kiefer: “Mayors and councillors are the knots of the net of democracy”
Opening the conference on “Ethics and transparency at local level: strategies and tools”, in Tbilisi, on 6 December 2017, Congress Secretary General Andreas Kiefer underlined the key elements for a successful local self-government: an adequate legislative framework, mayors and elected...
Local Initiatives in Armenia, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine: Assessment and Sharing of Experiences in Tbilisi
A workshop on "local Initiatives: managing and communicating change", held on 5 December 2017, in Tbilisi (Georgia) brought together Mayors and project co-ordinators that have been implementing local initiatives to strengthen ethical governance in their communities. This event served as a means...
Situation in the Republic of Moldova and in Turkey, sessions in 2018, 2018 budget and ethical behaviour of members on the agenda of the Congress Bureau in Paris
The Congress Bureau met in Paris on 4 December for its last meeting in 2017. Following the adoption by the Congress of a report during the October Session, the Bureau members held an exchange of views on the latest developments concerning the situation of Dorin CHIRTOACA, Mayor of Chișinău and...
Tbilisi: Conference on ethics and transparency at local level: strategies and tools
Georgian version The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe organized a regional conference on 6 - 7 December 2017 in Tbilisi, Georgia, which brought together around 100 mayors and local elected representatives from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic of Moldova,...
Parliamentary colloquy on regionalisation in Morocco
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and the Committee for Home Affairs, Local and Regional Authorities, Housing and Urban Policy of the Moroccan Parliament held a colloquy in Rabat on 28 November 2017 on the theme of “Regionalisation in Morocco: opportunities...
Jean-Philippe BOZOULS: “A longstanding tradition of co-operation with Morocco”
In his address at the parliamentary colloquy in Rabat on 28 November 2017, Jean-Philippe BOZOULS, Director of the Congress, underlined the longstanding tradition of co-operation between the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and the Kingdom of Morocco. The joint...
Leendert VERBEEK : “ The European Charter can serve as a source of inspiration for local self-government in Morocco”
« The Charter of Local Self-Government, which is ratified today by all the 47 member States of the Council of Europe, has the binding force of a treaty and is a key European convention and a major reference tool for local democracy,” underlined Leendert VERBEEK (Netherlands, SOC), Chair of the...
Xavier Cadoret: “Decentralisation provides the foundation for national stability and sustainable development”
“We firmly believe that the vertical separation of powers between the national, regional and local tiers, through decentralisation, helps to build the foundations for national stability and the basis for sustainable development,” said Xavier Cadoret (France, SOC), Vice-President of the Congress,...