News of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
Call for tenders: provision of local consultancy services to promote local democracy and human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Council of Europe is looking for a maximum of 42 providers of local consultancy services with expertise in one or more of the following fields: Democratic innovations and deliberative processes; Strengthening capacities of local authorities and of associations of municipalities and cities...
Congress Secretary General in Armenia discusses progress in local democracy ahead of monitoring mission
As Armenia prepares to celebrate the 28th Local Self-Government Day on 11 November 2024, Congress Secretary General Mathieu Mori visited the country and participated in a public discussion on social policy in the context of decentralisation. In bilateral meetings with Minister of Territorial...
Civility and respect in politics: Congress calls for a political culture rooted in listening and collaborating
Addressing the Cross-Border Event on respectful leadership, in Dundalk (Ireland) on 7 November 2024, Carla Dejonghe (ILDG), Head of the Belgian delegation to the Congress and member of the Brussels-Capital Regional Parliament, underlined that civility in politics was an essential element of a...
Project in Hungary puts forward innovative approaches to financing of local services
The key achievements of a project to improve the financing of local services and their effective delivery in Hungary were presented at a meeting of the Project Advisory Group and the Local Finance Working Group in Budapest on 28 October 2024. The joint EU/CoE project ‘Local Government Public...
Dismissals of mayors in Türkiye: Statement by the Congress President
Marc Cools, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, has made the following statement: "I express my grave concern about the recent decisions of the Turkish authorities to dismiss the elected mayors of four municipalities (Mardin, Batman, Halfeti and...
Congress supports youth engagement for Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery
On 29 and 30 October 2024, the Congress held two webinars to help young peoplecontribute to the recovery process. Congress Secretary General Mathieu Mori emphasised that “the active participation of all our citizens, including young people, is crucial to guaranteeing the legitimacy, credibility...
Congress launches workshops on local self-government for Belarusian democratic forces
On 30 October 2024, the Congress held the first in a series of online workshops for Belarusian democratic forces, focused on the development of a local self-government system in a future democratic Belarus and its alignment with the European Charter of Local Self-Government and other European...
Flooding in Spain: Statement by Congress President
The President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Marc Cools, has made the following statement: “On behalf of the Congress, I express my solidarity with the people and authorities of Spain hit by devastating floods, and my condolences to the families and...
World Cities Day 2024: Local authorities must support youth initiatives for local action
“From climate action to more sustainable circular economies, young people are taking the lead in our towns and cities for local initiatives to improve the urban environment and quality of life,” underlined Congress Spokesperson on Youth Veronique Bertholle (France, SOC/G/PD) in her statement on...
Decline in media pluralism is a threat to democracy and human rights
“Where there is a lack of local media, democracy and human rights suffer. The decline of local media directly affects the exercise of free expression, access to information and media pluralism”, stressed Mélanie Lepoultier (France, ILDG), Deputy Permanent Rapporteur of the Congress on Human...
Georgia elections: Congress President expresses concern over deepening political divisions
Reacting to the statement by the PACE/OSCE/NATO/European Parliament international observation mission, the President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Marc Cools, has shared his concerns regarding deepening political divisions in Georgia, and the fact...
Regional cross-border co-operation is a key element of addressing security issues
The continent is facing multiple security challenges (such as the Russian Federation's war of aggression against Ukraine, consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and environmental disasters) and security concerns are often used by central governments to justify limitations to cross-border...
Secretary General Mori at the Committee of Ministers: Highlights of Congress action supporting Ukraine and upholding democracy and human rights
In his communication to the Committee of Ministers on 23 October 2024, Congress Secretary General Mathieu Mori presented the highlights of the Congress’ 47th session, focusing on support to Ukraine, action to strengthen local and regional democracy and human rights protection, as well as...
Forum in Lviv highlights the role of Ukraine’s metropolitan areas in its recovery and reconstruction
The newly established association “Lviv Agglomeration” convened the “First International Forum of Agglomerations in Ukraine“, in Lviv on 17-18 October 2024, to discuss the development of metropolitan governance in Ukraine and the importance of municipalities’ collaboration on spatial, strategic...
Congress President outlines Congress assistance for Ukraine's EU accession
Addressing the 8th meeting of the Working Group on Ukraine, organised by the European Committee of the Regions in Brussels on 21 October 2024, Congress President Marc Cools underlined that the Council of Europe and its Congress remained one of Ukraine’s strategic advisers on multilevel governance...
Destruction of cultural heritage in Ukraine
Mykola Tochytskyi: “Destroying Ukrainian culture means destroying the Ukrainian nation”. From the start of its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has systematically targeted its artistic and cultural heritage, seeking also to “rewrite history” to better justify its aggression. During...
Congress sounds the alarm on democratic backsliding at local and regional level
On October 16, the Congress passed a resolution and recommendations inviting the Committee of Ministers to call on member states to fully implement the ratified provisions of the Charter of Local and Regional Self-Government. The follow-up report on the application of the Charter in the period...
Congress President deplores foreign interference in Moldovan electoral process
The President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Marc Cools, today deplored foreign influence in the electoral process in the Republic of Moldova during its Presidential elections and referendum held on 20 October 2024. He referred to the findings of...
An anti-corruption code for Ukrainian municipalities
On 15 October 2024, the city of Fastiv, Ukraine, presented key results of a Congress-supported local initiative in this community: a local anti-corruption code and a novel anti-corruption chatbot where users can browse related legislation and practices, and alert authorities about alleged cases...
Inter-Municipal Co-operation Boost in Armenia: Call for Grant proposals Open Now
Local Communities aiming at jointly delivering better services to their citizens can make use of Inter-Municipal Co-operation (IMC) arrangements. Armenian communities wanting to develop Inter-Municipal Co-operation to strengthen local service delivery and stimulate economic development are...
