The 46th session of the Congress opened in Strasbourg today to the sound of the European and Ukrainian anthems played young musicians from Ukraine.
The 3-day session’s agenda features debates on two years of the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine, with the adoption of a declaration, and on the role of local and regional authorities in protecting the rights of children of Ukraine, with the participation of Daria Herasymchuk, Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights and Child Rehabilitation. Congress members will also hold an exchange of views with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Leader of Belarusian democratic forces, during a debate on the role of local and regional authorities in supporting them. The Congress will hold a special ceremony on Wednesday 27 March to mark its 30th anniversary.
The Congress will debate monitoring reports on the application of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in Andorra, Croatia, France, Italy, Montenegro and Norway, as well as on the observation of local elections in the Republic of Moldova (5 November 2023). Resolutions and recommendations on local and regional authorities as actors and guarantors of the rule of law, local and regional responses to natural disasters and climate hazards: from risk preparedness to resilience, and the UN Summit of the Future will also be discussed and voted on.
Rising antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred in Europe, local responsibilities in environmental protection, the right to water under threat, exodus of services from peripheral and rural regions, intercultural regions and the draft convention on artificial intelligence are among other themes of session debates. Congress members will also exchange views with Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović-Burić and Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović, who will present the results of their respective terms of office, as well as with Deputy Prime Minister of Liechtenstein Sabine Monauni on behalf of her country’s Committee of Ministers Presidency.
Among other invited guests are Minister for Regional Affairs and Autonomies of Italy Roberto Calderoli; Secretary of State for the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development of Norway Ole Gustav Narud; President of the European Committee of the Regions of the EU Vasco Alves Cordeiro; Minister for Interior and Sports of the State of Lower Saxony (Germany) Daniela Behrens; Chair of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) Bertil Cottier; as well as Mayor of Zürich (Switzerland) Corine Mauch, Mayor of Reykjavík (Iceland) Einar Þorsteinsson, Mayor Valongo (Portugal) José Manuel Ribeiro, Deputy Mayor of Paris (France) Arnaud Ngatcha and Deputy Mayor of Nikopol (Ukraine) Tetiana Obydenna.
