"A system can only be reliable and functional, if it is based on the trust of citizens in their elected representatives," said Congress Vice-President Xavier Cadoret, speaking at the 10th plenary session of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) in Seville, Spain, on 27 February 2019.

Mr Cadoret underlined the importance of ARLEM as a framework for cooperation between elected representatives from the three shores of the Mediterranean and praised the quality of the report prepared by ARLEM on "Governance and Transparency in the Mediterranean Region”. He stressed the importance of good governance and transparency to promote a better understanding by citizens of the work of elected officials, greater involvement of citizens and better monitoring of public action.

"Local authorities benefit from significant public funds and competences, which is why their action must be subject to control," he explained. "Serving our citizens must be the sole driving force behind the action of public authorities, whether national, regional or local," he said, adding that such action is "more effective when conducted in a transparent, participatory and accountable manner”.

Mentioning the Congress' work on good governance and the close relations with elected representatives in the southern Mediterranean in the framework of its South-Med Partnership, he concluded that good governance and public ethics are all the more important in countries in the process of democratic transition, as is the case in the Mediterranean region.