''The European Charter of Local Self-Government, which has now been ratified by all member States, is a treaty of key importance. By preparing national reports on the state of local and regional democracy in the member States and on the implementation of the Charter principles, the Congress performs some very useful work' said Isabelle Weykmans, Deputy-Minister-President, speaking on behalf of the Belgian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers at the 28th Session of the Congress on 24 March. 'We were particularly interested to receive last year's report on local and regional democracy in Belgium, which attracted a lot of attention in our country. The Belgian authorities will continue to pay full heed to the recommendations contained in the report' she added. 'Developing democratic representation and local governance is one of the priorities of the Belgian Chairmanship of the Council of Europe.'