“The year 2019 ends with a number of Congress achievements in favour of local and regional democracy in our 47 member states of which we can be rightly proud,” stated Congress President in a message sent to Congress members on 19 December 2019.
“I am thinking in particular of the monitoring of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, the observation of local and regional elections, as well as our thematic and cooperation activities for better territorial governance.
Next year, we will continue our statutory activities and work to meet the challenges facing our cities and regions. In this respect, the 70th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights in 2020 will be an opportunity to highlight, through a number of initiatives, the role of local and regional elected representatives as guarantors of these rights for citizens.
All this work forms the basis of the Congress' contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations Agenda 2030, based on three principles:
- Achieving SDGs is the shared responsibility of all levels of government
- Local and regional authorities must have proper competences and financial autonomy
- Citizens must always remain at the heart of the action.
This is the message we have chosen to send on the Congress greetings card that you will find below in e-format.
The Congress' 2020 agenda will also include two key steps: the continuation of our reflection with a view to adopting the 2021-2025 priorities, as well as the renewal of our delegations at the 39th Session (27-29 October 2020).
All these perspectives are part of our ongoing political dialogue with governments, in particular during the Georgian and Greek presidencies of the Committee of Ministers.
At the end of this year, I would especially like to welcome your willingness to engage in dialogue with your national authorities in order to defend the role of the Congress in the architecture of the Council of Europe and the need to provide it with the necessary resources to carry out its tasks and responsibilities successfully.
Together, we will pursue this commitment to make our cities and regions more democratic, inclusive and sustainable.”
- Calendar of the 2020 Congress Sessions :
- 38th Session - 17 to 19 March 2020
- 39th Session - 27 to 29 October 2020
