A delegation from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe composed of rapporteurs Konstantinos Koukas (Greece, EPP/CCE) and Rachel Bailey (United Kingdom, ECR), carried out a monitoring visit to Finland from 16 to 18 April 2024 to assess the application of the European Charter of Local Self-Government since the previous monitoring report adopted by the Congress in 2017 and the implementation of the latest Recommendation 396 (2017). They were accompanied by Tania Groppi, Vice-Chair of the Group of Independent Experts on the European Charter of Local Self-Government (Italy). The Congress delegation met with Jussi Halla-aho, Speaker of the Parliament, Kari Kuusiniemi, President of the Supreme Administrative Court, Juhana Vartiainen, Mayor of Helsinki, as well as the Finnish delegation to the Congress, the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities, and representatives of various ministries and institutions at all levels of government in Finland.
Finland ratified the European Charter of Local Self-Government in 1991. Countries that have ratified the Charter are bound by its provisions. The Charter requires respect for a minimum number of rights, which form the European foundation of local self-government. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities ensures that these principles are respected. Finland also ratified the Additional Protocol to the European Charter of Local Self-Government on the right to participate in the affairs of a local authority in 2012.
Contact: 
Svitlana Pereverten
