The President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, Leendert Verbeek paid a working visit to Budapest, on October 5, 2021.

He met with Péter Sztáray, State Secretary for Security Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Tibor Pogácsás, State Secretary for Local Government at the Ministry of Interior.

He also met with Zsolt Németh, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Hungarian National Assembly, and Hajnalka Juhász, Ministerial Commissioner responsible for the fostering of international relations in connection with the priorities set out during Hungary's presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

The discussions focused on the co-operation in areas of common interest, in particular to strengthen local and regional democracy in Hungary. President Verbeek underlined Congress’ unique role in the institutional architecture of the Council of Europe and the significance of the European Charter of Local Self-Government.

The Congress president also met with Jenő Schmidt, President of National Association of Local Municipal Governments, Károly Szita, President of the Alliance of County-ranked Municipalities, László Gémes, President of County Csongrád-Csanád, who represented the Hungarian regional level politics, and the members of the Hungarian delegation to the Congress

This visit was organized on the sidelines of the Congress Bureau meeting held in Visegrád on October 4 and 5 at the invitation of the President of Csongrád-Csanád County, László Gémes.

The European Charter of Local Self-Government is an international treaty which lays down standards for protecting the rights of local authorities. It has been ratified by the 47 member states of the Council of Europe and its implementation is monitored by the Congress.