“Incorporating fundamental democratic values into local communities results in empowered local authorities and a strong multilevel governance system. The Congress is certain that the resistance that we admire today in Ukraine is grounded on this work”, declared President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities Leendert Verbeek in a video message to the World for Ukraine Summit, held in Rzeszow, Poland, on 8 December 2022

The Congress President praised the “key role of local and regional authorities in Ukraine’s survival and resilience” and reaffirmed the Congress’ unwavering commitment to the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and to providing continuous political support to Ukraine until the end of the war and beyond.

President Verbeek shared concrete examples of how Congress has been supporting its Ukrainian partners at local level since March 2022, including the launch of Cities4Cities, a platform aimed at matching the needs of Ukrainian cities and regions with the supply capacity and knowledge of other European cities and regions, which today counts over 200 registered local authorities.

He also highlighted the Congress’ early support through coordination meetings with six major European associations of local and regional authorities – all of which have now joined the European Alliance of cities and regions for the reconstruction of Ukraine, which was launched in June by the European Committee of the Regions of the EU, and to which these meetings can be considered a precursor.  

President Verbeek also presented the ongoing co-operation project with Ukraine, which provides direct support to the Association of Ukrainian Cities in co-ordinating humanitarian aid and efforts aimed directly at upholding democratic values and promoting open government principles at local level.