17 March 2017 – Lviv (Ukraine) “Meet peers, exchange views with your community members, and share experiences - this is essential for sustainable democracy” underlined Robert Zeman, member of the Congress (Czech Republic, EPP/CCE) during a three-day workshop which gathered together 27 local councillors from the Lviv, Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk and Zakarpattia regions. Organised by the Congress, this event enabled its participants to exchange, in particular, on citizen participation and practical dilemmas related to ethical decision-making. It also provided a platform for discussions with representatives from the Secretariat of the national Parliament on the drafting of the legislation concerning the status of local councillors in Ukraine.

The workshop was organised in Lviv, from 14 to 16 March 2017, in the framework of the Project “Promoting local democracy in Ukraine”, which is part of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2015-2017.

Ukraine joined the Council of Europe on 9 November 1995, ratified the European Charter of Local Self-Government on 11 September 1997 and its Additional Protocol on the right to participate in the affairs of a local authority on 2 September 2014. Countries which have ratified the Charter are bound by its provisions. The Charter entails compliance with a minimum number of rights and principles, which are the European bedrock of local self-government. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe ensures respect for these principles.

Contact:        Marité Moras, Head of Unit, Co-operation and External Relations Department, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Tel: +33 3 88 41 22 33

Svitlana Gryshchenko, Project Manager, Council of Europe Office in Kyiv, Tel: +380 50 45 23 118