President of the Chamber of Local Authorities, Anders KNAPE (SWEDEN, PPE/CCE-EPP/CCE), addressed Congress members at the opening of the 33rd Session of the Chamber of Local Authorities of the Congress, on 19 October 2017, in Strasbourg. Reporting on his recent participation in the plenary of the Venice Commission, Mr KNAPE highlighted the importance of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in exercising of local democracy. “Here it is our responsibility to safeguard and to defend the rights of our citizens and their own freely elected assemblies to manage their own affairs as much as possible”, he stated. He observed that the Congress was encountering an increasing number of issues relating to the use of languages in local and regional administrations and that this had prompted the Congress Bureau to invite the Governance Committee to prepare a report on this issue. He also mentioned the situation in Mostar and insisted that a sustainable solution to resolving the electoral crisis must be found. “As far as the Congress is concerned, we will keep this high on our political agenda, and the monitoring mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is scheduled for 2018, to assess the implementation of the provisions of the Charter of Local Self-Government will certainly keep the focus on Mostar”, he concluded.
33rd Session, 18-20 October 2017
Speaking at the opening of the 33rd Congress Session, in Strasbourg, France, on 18 October 2017, Congress President Gudrun MOSLER-TÖRNSTRÖM, pointed out that the European construction has enabled historic advances over the last sixty years. 'We do not want to abandon these advances and each and every one of us, in our own particular roles, can help preserve what has been achieved,' she added highlighting the role of the Congress in this regard. Reaffirming the importance of strong regions with broad powers, the President of the Congress indicated that she did not believe that 'the Europe we earnestly hope for can be built on weak nation States, a disintegrated, fragmented Europe which would be devoid of all influence in the world.”. 'There is no room for selfishness, be it national or regional. There is no place for nationalism, whether national or regional”, she added. .' For the President, the message of the Congress is clear: 'We know that devolution is essential, that municipal and regional self-government, clearly defined within the limits of each State’s legally-established borders, is indispensable. But we do not want to see our nations implode,” she concluded.
MediaBox is a mobile studio of multimedia resources allowing live radio interviews and video recordings for the web. Congress members can offer this tool to their press contacts who will have access free of charge to all the facilities on offer. Journalists can also use it directly for the coverage of the Congress Session.
Information on the obligations of Congress members, as well as practical details (travel, refunds, interpretation and translations) are available on the "Members' Area" page.
Table Office
[email protected]
Institutional Communication Unit
Dmitri Marchenkov