On the occasion of the 30th Session of the Congress, Lilyana Pavlova, Minister of Regional Development and Public Works of Bulgaria, spoke on behalf of the Bulgarian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers. She addressed the various areas of common concern of the Committee of Ministers and the Congress, in particular terrorism, refugee and migration crisis and the situation in Ukraine. She welcomed the Congress’s commitment to combat radicalisation and violent extremism, in particular through a conference organised with the municipality of Aarhus in 2015, the adoption of a strategy on this subject and a handbook for local elected representatives offering guidance for the organisation of intercultural and inter-faith activities. Mrs Pavlova recalled that this fight is a top priority of the Committee of Ministers. She also mentioned the situation in Ukraine, which remains a serious concern for both the Committee of Ministers and the Congress. In the framework of the Bulgarian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, the Congress will participate in an international conference on good governance at local level to be held on 31 March in Sofia, and a High Level Conference, on 5 and 6 April in Sofia, on the new Council of Europe’s Strategy on the Rights of the Child.

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