Congress President

Marc Cools, President of the Congress


Marc Cools (Belgium, ILDG) was elected President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe on 24 October 2023 for a mandate of two years and a half. He is currently the Communal Councillor of Uccle (Belgium) and Honorary Vice-President of the Brussels Parliament  and was previously the chair of the Independent and Liberal Democrat Group in the Congress.

President's role

The President's role is to direct the political activities of the Congress and its Chambers, to carry out Congress policy and to represent the Congress vis-à-vis other international organisations, within the context of the Council of Europe's general policy on external relations.

The President of the Congress ensures that decisions taken by the Congress are implemented and reacts on behalf of the Congress to current developments. He or she also presents the activities of the Congress and the texts that it has adopted to the Parliamentary Assembly and Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.  

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Back Anders KNAPE elected president of the Congress

Anders KNAPE elected president of the Congress

Congress members have elected Anders KNAPE (Sweden, EPP/CCE) president of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, on 6 November 2018, for a two-year term.

“Our Congress is a political body tasked with protecting local democracy. We represent not governments but rather citizens in our towns and regions,” said the new president, emphasising the major role played by the Congress in promoting and safeguarding local and regional democracy.  “That is why the process of consulting local and regional authorities is crucial and why we must continue to engage in regular dialogue with governments,” he added.

Mr KNAPE stressed the need to provide the Congress with resources to enable it to perform its tasks and maintain the quality of its work in support of local democracy. “The Congress is the only organisation responsible for monitoring implementation of the European Charter of Local Self-Government. This monitoring work, along with the post-monitoring and election observation activities, is essential,” he explained. “We are an important part of the Council of Europe and of the system of safeguarding democracy in Europe.”

Among the key themes, he mentioned youth participation in political life, the fight against corruption, and also the pressure and threats facing local and regional elected representatives. The new President also praised the work done by the outgoing president Gudrun MOSLER-TÖRNSTRÖM, the first woman to be elected to the head of the Congress, and expressed the hope that gender equality would continue, in future, to be a priority for action for the Congress.

 

** 35th Session of the Congress **

File 35th Session - Agenda - Videos and photos - Mediabox

35th Session Strasbourg, France 6 November 2018
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Chamber of Regions

Tunc Soyer, President of the Chamber of Regions

Tunc Soyer (Türkiye, SOC/G/PD) was elected on 25 October 2023 President of the Chamber of Regions of the Congress for a two-and-a-half-year term of office.

Chamber of Local Authorities

Bernd Vöhringer, President of the Chamber of Local Authorities

Bernd Vöhringer (Germany, EPP/CCE) was elected on 25 October 2023 President of the Chamber of Local Authorities of the Congress for a two-and-a-half-year term of office.