The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe will meet in Strasbourg, France, from 29 to 31 October 2019, for its 37th Session, under the theme “Mayors safeguarding democracy”.
The Session’s debates will focus on smart cities and cybersecurity, the working conditions of local elected representatives, the fair distribution of taxes in transfrontier areas, the use of languages by local and regional authorities and the protection of internally displaced persons, as well as on the regional dimension in the future of Europe and on the Venice Principles on the protection and promotion of the ombudsman institution. Members will also consider the revision of the "Code of Good Practice for Civil Participation in the Decision-making process" prepared by a joint working group composed of members of the Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe and the Congress.
As part of its monitoring activities, the Congress will consider for adoption two reports on local and regional democracy in the Russian Federation and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as a report on the observation of local elections in Turkey (31 March 2019), including the repeat mayoral election in Istanbul on 23 June 2019.
Invited guests include Ivan Malenica, Minister of Public Administration of the Republic of Croatia, and Carolina Darias San Sebastian, Councillor of the Government of the Canary Islands, Spain, who will speak on the role of the regions in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030. In addition, as part of the institutional dialogue, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly, Liliane Maury-Pasquier, as well as Jacqueline Gourault, French Minister of Territorial Cohesion and Relationships with territorial collectivities speaking on behalf of the Committee of Ministers, will address the members of the Congress.
