The fundamental social rights of the citizens of the member states of the Council of Europe are guaranteed by the European Social Charter and its collective complaints mechanism. As a legal instrument, the Charter refers to young people as having certain rights, notably in terms of education, health and housing. There are still significant disparities, however, in the way these rights are implemented, which is why the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe has adopted a report on this issue, presented on 3 April 2019 by the co-rapporteurs Liisa ANSALA (Finland, ILDG) and Piero FASSINO (Italy, SOC).

In order to ensure that young people’s social rights are respected in practice, the Congress calls on local and regional authorities, as bodies which have competences in the social field, to consider these rights a priority for their policies. Member states are invited to ratify the Social Charter, to accept the collective complaints procedures and to involve local and regional authorities in the Social Charter monitoring mechanism. The Congress also emphasises the importance of raising youth awareness through various initiatives and co-ordinating actions at all levels of governance.

In the context of the Congress initiative "Rejuvenating Politics", youth delegates were invited to speak during the debate.

Produced in response to a request from the youth delegates, this report is a continuation of the Congress’s efforts to improve youth integration, participation and engagement at local and regional levels. Since 2014, the Congress has been committed to promoting youth participation, in particular through the “Rejuvenating politics” initiative. Youth delegates from the 47 member states are invited to participate in the debates and to exchange views with Congress members on the issues on session agendas.

• Report CG36(2019)12
• European Social Charter (Revised)
  List of youth delegates to the 36th Congress Session
• Speeches by:

- Presentation by Liisa ANSALA (Finland, ILDG), Congress o-rapporteur
- Presentation by Piero FASSINO (Italy, SOC), Congress co-rapporteur.

• Mediabox Interviews

• Videos of the debate: Lisa ANSALA & Sophia KIRCHER

*** 36th Session of the Congress ***

File 36th Session - Agenda - Videos and photos - Mediabox

The President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, Leendert Verbeek paid a working visit to Budapest, on October 5, 2021.

He met with Péter Sztáray, State Secretary for Security Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Tibor Pogácsás, State Secretary for Local Government at the Ministry of Interior.

He also met with Zsolt Németh, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Hungarian National Assembly, and Hajnalka Juhász, Ministerial Commissioner responsible for the fostering of international relations in connection with the priorities set out during Hungary's presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

The discussions focused on the co-operation in areas of common interest, in particular to strengthen local and regional democracy in Hungary. President Verbeek underlined Congress’ unique role in the institutional architecture of the Council of Europe and the significance of the European Charter of Local Self-Government.

The Congress president also met with Jenő Schmidt, President of National Association of Local Municipal Governments, Károly Szita, President of the Alliance of County-ranked Municipalities, László Gémes, President of County Csongrád-Csanád, who represented the Hungarian regional level politics, and the members of the Hungarian delegation to the Congress

This visit was organized on the sidelines of the Congress Bureau meeting held in Visegrád on October 4 and 5 at the invitation of the President of Csongrád-Csanád County, László Gémes.

The European Charter of Local Self-Government is an international treaty which lays down standards for protecting the rights of local authorities. It has been ratified by the 47 member states of the Council of Europe and its implementation is monitored by the Congress.