In his communication at the opening of the 41st session, on 26 October 2021, the President of the Congress Leendert Verbeek reiterated the importance of the European Charter of Local Self‑Government as an unparalleled international treaty that is one of a kind worldwide and bears witness to the importance that the Council of Europe and its member States attach to local self-government. At the same time, he pointed to the impact of the cuts in budget funding allocated to the Congress to carry out its tasks. The Bureau of the Congress will continue its ongoing discussion aimed at strengthening the capacity of the Congress to implement its priorities.
In their plenary session on the same day, the members adopted a report on the situation of local self‑government in Spain, presented by Bryony Rudkin (United Kingdom, SOC/V/DP) and David Eray (Switzerland, ILDG), and a report on local self‑government in the Netherlands, presented by Vladimir Prebilić, (Slovenia, SOC/G/PD).
The report on "Home sharing platforms: challenges and opportunities for municipalities" was presented by Jelena Drenjanin (Sweden, EPP/CCE), rapporteur and chair of the Governance Committee. The Congress is calling on local and regional authorities to adopt a long-term vision of home sharing practices which must be framed by a flexible, simplified, and accessible regulation, comprising various tools such as building permissions, urban planning, taxation and health and safety standards.
The Congress also examined the challenges of migration issues for cities and regions during a debate on "Migration: continuing challenges for cities and regions", organised with the participation of Ambassador Drahoslav Štefánek, Special Representative of the Council of Europe Secretary General on migration and refugees, and Erini Dourou (Greece, SOC/G/PD), Congress Rapporteur on migration issues. The debate highlighted the need for coordination between all levels of government, a clear and coherent legislative framework on a European scale and support from national governments and at European level to enable local and regional authorities to implement policies on receiving and integrating migrants and refugees.
The members of the Congress also examined the grassroots projects carried out by the 38 youth delegates as part of the "Rejuvenating Politics" initiative that has been ongoing for the last two years. The projects implemented in 2020 focused on the participation of young people during a pandemic with special emphasis on intercultural exchanges, mental health, community links and the targeting of fake news. The goal of the 2021 projects is to promote communication between youth workers and local authority representatives.
*** 41st Session of the Congress ***
Agenda- Documents : ENG | FRA | DEU | ITA | RUS
41st Session webpage: live broadcast, photos, videos and useful links
