News - 2014 - Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
Congress Greeting cards 2015
The Congress Season's Greetings 2015 e-card is available online. You can add a personal message and send it to your contacts by e-mail. Download the greeting card 2015
EU Conference: Andreas Kiefer presents Congress activities in promoting human rights at the grassroots
On Wednesday 17 December 2014, EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourová opened the first ever stocktaking conference on the application of Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Director General Philippe Boillat (CoE DG on Human Rights and Rule of Law) presented the Council of Europe...
Communication of the Congress Secretary General to Committee of Ministers
In his communication to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 10 December 2014, the Congress Secretary General Andreas Kiefer presented an overview of the activities of the Congress in recent months, particularly the work of monitoring the local and regional democracy and the...
Regional seminar in Odessa : promoting local democracy with Ukrainian youth
The Congress is organising a regional training seminar for young local leaders in Odessa (Ukraine) from 9 to 11 December 2014. 22 young local leaders of NGOs, youth wings of political parties as well as local elected representatives will discuss and share their perceptions on local democracy, in...
Congress’ Secretary General invites Lord Ahmad to address the March 2015 Session
On the fringe of the meeting of the CDDG (European Committee on Democracy and Governance), Congress Secretary General Andreas Kiefer exchanged views with the UK Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Minister for Communities and European Programmes, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, on local governance...
Josef Neumann (Germany, SOC) participates in the Conference on Including People with Disabilities in Disaster Preparedness and Response
“Human rights have a home, it is where people reside, live, work, grow old; it is in their regions, municipalities and neighbourhoods. It is also in their home that people experience disasters. Empowering people with disabilities to actively participate in disaster management needs to be regarded...
Declaration by the President of the Congress on the treaty signed between the Russian Federation and Abkhazia
Reacting to the signature, on 24 November 2014, of a treaty on alliance and strategic partnership between the Russian Federation and Abkhazia, a separatist region of Georgia, the President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Jean-Claude Frécon, declared...
Andreas Kiefer meets with representatives of European Associations of Local Authorities
On 2 December 2014, Andreas Kiefer, Secretary General of the Congress met with his counterparts from European Association of Local Authorities to assess their common priorities and identify areas of future co-operation. The meeting was dedicated in particular to the presentation of the current...
Meeting of the Congress Bureau
The members of the Congress Bureau will meet in Brussels (Belgium) on 1 December 2014 in the framework of the Belgian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers. Rudi Vervoort, minister-president of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region will address the Bureau at the opening of the...
Congress supports new anti-corruption programme for the “Tyrol - South Tyrol - Trentino” region
On 27 November, the EGTC (European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation) European Region Tyrol – South Tyrol – Trentino unanimously adopted its ''Triennial plan to prevent corruption 2014 – 2016'', aiming at reducing corruption and bringing to light more efficiently corruption practices. The plan...
Conference on ''Minority Protection in South East Europe''
''Local and regional governments and elected representatives are full-fledged actors and stakeholders in creating conditions for the exercise of human rights in their communities and in ensuring their full implementation,'' stated Juliana HOXHA, Vice-President of the Congress addressing the First...
Pope Francis visits and addresses the Council of Europe
Today, Pope Francis is paying an official visit to the Council of Europe. Following an invitation by Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland at a private audience accorded at Vatican City, His Holiness will address the Organisation, as it celebrates its 65th anniversary, in a solemn session gathering...
The Congress supports Pope Francis’s call for a “new agora” for dialogue between all civic and religious groups
Speaking at the end of the visit by Pope Francis to the Council of Europe, the President of the Congress Jean-Claude Frécon (France, SOC), welcomed the Pope’s speech and his call to continue the dialogue to maintain the peace so desired by the founding fathers of the Council of Europe. “This...
Jean-Claude Frécon presents “partner for local democracy” status to the Contact Group of the Committee of the Regions and the Congress
On the occasion of the meeting of the Contact Group of the Committee of the Regions and the Congress held in Brussels on 18 November, Jean-Claude Frécon presented “partner for local democracy” status. “This status will be granted at the joint request of the government of the requesting state and...
Herwig van Staa : ''There is no level of government which has a monopoly on decision-making''
''When we speak of Multilevel Governance, we are recognising that there is no level of government which has a monopoly on authority and decision-making. Governance is a shared process, aimed at serving our citizens in the best possible way,'' stated Herwig van Staa (Austria, EPP/CCE), addressing...
2nd Congress visit in order to examine the situation of local and regional democracy in Greece
Artur Torres Pereira (Portugal EPP/CCE) and Gudrun Mosler Törnström (Austria, SOC) carried out a monitoring visit from 18th until 20th November in Greece. On 18 November several meetings were scheduled with the mayors of Paros and Naxos and Small Cyclades Islands, as well as the Director of the...
Joint Meeting of the Congress Governance Committee and the EU Committee of the Regions CIVEX Commission
On the occasion of the 20th anniversaries of the Congress and the Committee of the Regions, the Congress Governance Committee held a joint meeting with its counterpart in the Committee of the Regions, the CIVEX Commission on 17 November in Brussels. This was the first time the two committees held...
Young local leaders developing grassroots democracy in Ukraine
On the occasion of a study visit, twenty young Ukrainians discussed aspects of local self-government systems in Europe with representatives of different countries. Coming from several Ukrainian regions, they met with delegations from other European and neighboring countries and compared youth...
Committee of Ministers Chairmanship: Jean-Claude Frécon welcomes regional democracy example set by Belgium
'The Committee of Ministers chairmanships provide an opportunity to pursue the political dialogue we initiate with the member state governments in the course of monitoring the European Charter of local self-government', said Jean-Claude Frécon, President of the Congress, on 13 November 2014, as...
Workshop “Mayors, Leaders for Change” in Kyiv (Ukraine)
The Congress organised a workshop “Mayors, Leaders for Change” in Kyiv (Ukraine) on 11-13 November 2014. It brought together around 20 mayors elected at pre-term local elections on 25 May and 26 October 2014 from different regions of Ukraine. Organised within the “Immediate Measures Package for...
