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.  

news

Back Gudrun Mosler-Törnström: "We must no longer accept any form of violence against women”

Gudrun Mosler-Törnström:

“2017 has been a year of heightened media attention on sexual abuse of women in many countries. Calls for action such as the #MeToo social media campaign have shown that women are ready to speak out more and more.  We, as policy makers, must advocate for genuine cultural change to combat violent behaviour against women and recognise their place in our societies" said Gudrun Mosler-Törnström, Congress President and Vice-President of the Salzburg Parliament, on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, 25 November 2017.  “Local authorities, because of their responsibilities, particularly in the field of social policies, must initiate and accompany such change" she added.

Ms Mosler-Törnström also called on local and regional authorities to put pressure on those governments which have not yet done so, to sign and ratify the “Istanbul Convention”, the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, ratified so far by 27 countries out of 47.

 

 

Congress texts on women’s rights and equality between men and women:

Presidency Strasbourg, France 25 November 2017
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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.