Live webcast - Portal

Session of the Congress

The following pre-recorded videos will be available online around two hours after their delivery

Full sessions: Morning / Afternoon
Inaugural address by Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe
Debate: Local democracy as a pilar of peace and stability in South-East Europe: 20th anniversary of the creation of NALAS
Statement by Theodoros ROUSOPOULOS, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Debate: Russian Federation’s war of aggression against Ukraine, destruction of cultural heritage in Ukraine
Statements by:
Mykola TOCHYTSKYI, Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine
Anastasia BONDAR, Deputy Minister for Digital Development, Digital Transformation, and Digitalization
Mykola LUKASHUK, Chair of Dnipropetrovsk Regional Council, Ukraine
Debate: Monitoring of the application of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in Finland
Statement by Kristiina KOKKO, State Secretary to the minister of local and regional government, Finland
Debate: Fostering a circular economy at local and regional level
Debate: Global outreach of the Congress
Statements by:
Sami KANAAN, President of the Global Cities Hub
Bernd VOEHRINGER, Vice-President of the Congress
Debate: Local and regional democracy around the world
Statements by :
Yesset BAIKEN, Deputy Mayor, Astana, Kazakhstan
Ahmed Salem DEKLE, Member of the Regional Council of Nouakchott, Mauritania
Rahma OUAZZANI TAIBI, Deputy Mayor of Rabat in charge of international co-operation, Morocco

Morning - Chamber of Local Authorities, Hemicyle

Full session
Opening of the session of the Chamber by the President
Communication of the President of the Chamber
Debate: Monitoring of the application of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in Iceland
Statement by Svandís SVAVARSDÓTTIR, Minister of Infrastructure, Iceland
Debate: Monitoring of the application of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in Latvia
Statement by Inga BĒRZIŅA, Minister for Smart Administration and Regional Development, Latvia
Thematic debate: Local elected representatives, actors for the protection of human rights
Statement by Mattias Guyomar, Judge of the European Court of Human Rights (France)
Debate: Monitoring of the application of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in Malta

Morning – Chamber of Regions, room 1

Full session
Opening of the session of the Chamber by the First Vice-President
Communication of the First Vice-President of the Chamber
Statement by the newly elected President of the Chamber
Debate: Regions with special status
Statements by:
Jörgen PETTERSSON, Speaker of the Parliament of Åland, Finland
Mikel Anton ZARRAGOITIA, European Affairs Director, Basque Government, Spain
Debate: Digitalisation, artificial intelligence and regional governance
Statements by:
David ERAY, Congress Spokesperson on AI, Minister, Canton of Jura, Switzerland
María BOBILLO VARELA, Director of the Office of Strategic Support and Planning Agency for the Technological Modernization of Galicia, Spain
Marco REUTER, Head of the Digitalisation and Innovation division at the Representation of the State of Hesse to the EU, Germany
Debate: The role of regions in international co-operation for the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine
Statements by:
Tetyana YEHOROVA-LUTSENKO, President of the Ukrainian Association of District and Regional Councils, Chair of Kharkiv Regional Council, Ukraine
Pavlo ZHURBA, Deputy Head of Ternopil Regional State Administration, Ukraine
Anita SCHNEIDER, President (Landrätin) of the Gießen district, Germany
Patrick MOLINOZ, Vice President of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, President of the CIVEX (CoR), France
Christian DEBEVE, Regional Councillor (Région Grand Est), France

Afternoon

Full session
Statement by Arnoldas ABRAMAVIČIUS, Vice-Minister of the Interior of Lithuania on behalf of the Presidency of the Committee of Ministers
Debate: Recurring issues based on assessments resulting from Congress monitoring of the European Charter of Local Self-Government and election observation missions (reference period 2021-2024)
Debate: Ageing communities – ensuring access to quality social care for older persons
Statement by Rui Moreira, Mayor of Porto, Portugal
Debate: Congress Rejuvenating Politics Initiative: 10 years of making democracy younger
Statement by Veronique BERTHOLLE, France, Congress thematic spokesperson on Youth

Full session
Debate: Observation of local elections in Türkiye (31 March 2024)
Debate: Local outreach of the Congress
Statements by:
Fabrizio ROSSI, Secretary General, Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR)
Kelmend ZAJAZI, Secretary General of Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South East Europe (NALAS)