Presidency
Marc Cools, President of the Congress
Marc Cools (Belgium, ILDG) was elected President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe on 24 October 2023 for a mandate of two years and a half. He is currently the Communal Councillor of Uccle (Belgium) and Honorary Vice-President of the Brussels Parliament and was previously the chair of the Independent and Liberal Democrat Group in the Congress.
Congress Connect
Curriculum Vitae: English, French
The President's role is to direct the political activities of the Congress and its Chambers, to carry out Congress policy and to represent the Congress vis-à-vis other international organisations, within the context of the Council of Europe's general policy on external relations.
The President of the Congress ensures that decisions taken by the Congress are implemented and reacts on behalf of the Congress to current developments. He or she also presents the activities of the Congress and the texts that it has adopted to the Parliamentary Assembly and Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
- Congress President welcomes liberation of prisoners of conscience in Russia and in Belarus
- Congress President calls for concerted action at all levels of governance to tackle the environmental crisis
- President Cools at the Committee of Ministers: The Congress determined to implement the conclusions of the Reykjavik Summit
- High-level Congress delegation to the Second International Summit of Cities and Regions in Ukraine
- Congress President meets Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova
Tunc Soyer, President of the Chamber of Regions
Tunc Soyer (Türkiye, SOC/G/PD) was elected on 25 October 2023 President of the Chamber of Regions of the Congress for a two-and-a-half-year term of office.
Chambre of Regions
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Council of Europe Photo Library
Congress profile
Curriculum Vitae: English
Bernd Vöhringer, President of the Chamber of Local Authorities
Bernd Vöhringer (Germany, EPP/CCE) was elected on 25 October 2023 President of the Chamber of Local Authorities of the Congress for a two-and-a-half-year term of office.
Chamber of Local Authorities
Council of Europe Photo Library
Congress profile
Curriculum Vitae: English, French, German