Good Democratic Governance provides a foundation for delivery of quality public services, accountable management of resources and participation of citizens in decision making at the local level.

It is a dynamic system of rules and practices which constantly needs to be improved at all levels of authority. To successfully ensure good democratic governance, particularly at local level, the Council of Europe elaborated the European Label of Governance Excellence (ELoGE). It offers to municipalities a way to measure compliance with the Council of Europe’s 12 Principles of Good Democratic Governance, and to obtain the European Label. ELoGE is both an acknowledgement of good performance, and a powerful learning and improvement tool for everyone involved.

The Council of Europe Centre of Expertise for Good Governance, in cooperation with the think tank Providus, has launched the implementation of the tool for the first time in Latvia. Further to a training workshop held for the Latvian experts on ELoGE benchmark, a kick-of meeting with the interested municipalities was held on 29 April 2022 online. Council of Europe and the national experts presented the specifics and benefits from carrying out ELoGE to the local authorities. A Lithuanian expert has also shared the experience of implementing ELoGE in Lithuania in 2020.

The first ELoGE round in Latvia will be implemented by the end of 2022. The best performing municipalities will receive the labels at a final award ceremony, to be held tentatively in May 2023 in the context of the Latvian presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.