“In Norway, local and regional authorities have acted jointly with national authorities to respond to the COVID-19 crisis,” said Gunn Marit Helgesen, President of the Chamber of Regions and First Vice-Chair of the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS), during the online event “Covid-19: local and regional authorities on the front line”, organised by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities on 7 December 2020.

Ms Helgesen reaffirmed the importance of supporting the role of local and regional authorities in the crisis management, because due to their proximity to citizens, they are on the front line in providing concrete and effective responses. “Territorial authorities must have appropriate competences. In my country, the involvement of local democracy actors alongside national governments has been a good omen in the search for solutions when individual freedoms have been curtailed, " she stressed.

The President of the Chamber of Regions highlighted the need for a relationship of trust between citizens and their representatives at all levels of governance, and the need to rely on multi-level governance involving cities, regions and national governments to overcome the crisis. Active consultation between the different levels of government is one of the essential conditions for managing the crisis. "In Norway, the consultation between local and regional authorities and national authorities, operated by the Norwegian association of local and regional authorities, has proved to be very effective," added Ms Helgesen, regretting, however, that this example of success has not been observed in all European countries.

*** "COVID-19: Local and regional authorities on the front line" event - 7 December 2020 ***
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