The President of the Congress, Anders Knape, held a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, on 7 February in Strasbourg. They discussed the role of local and regional authorities in Europe and the challenges they are facing as well as the work of the Congress in the field of monitoring and election observation.

President Knape underlined that the Congress was the only institution that monitored the situation of local democracy in all 47 Council of Europe member States and the only institution to observe local and regional elections. He highlighted that, despite the current budgetary difficulties, the Congress needed a secured budget if it was to continue delivering the expected results.

The President also welcomed the election of the mayor of Aranjuez, Cristina Moreno Moreno as Vice-President of the Congress last November. He supported the involvement of the Spanish delegation in the Congress work. “Spain is an important player in the Council of Europe and we need a strong and active Spanish delegation in the Congress”, he stated. Former Bureau member of the Congress and current Secretary of State of Territorial Policy Ignacio Sanchez Amor will address the April Session of the Congress.