COVID-19 is a test for democracies, and good governance is the key to success, Council of Europe experts have stressed.
Over a hundred experts and observers from the European Committee on Democracy and Governance (CDDG) shared lessons learned during an online meeting. They included the importance of coordination and communication between administrations and civil society, the frontline role of local authorities and cross border cooperation. Many administrations have developed new working methods and simplified administrative procedures, held online meetings and provided online access to citizens.
The meeting agreed that the European Charter of Local Self-Government and the 12 Principles of Democracy were essential in times of crisis and encouraged the use of the recently launched toolkit
