Назад Congress and the European Committee of the Regions step up their co-operation

Congress and the European Committee of the Regions step up their co-operation

Leaders of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) met online 22 April 2021 to discuss priorities of co-operation in response to the current pandemic and the role of local and regional authorities in the post-crisis recovery.

Congress President Leendert Verbeek called to join forces to ensure that cities and regions are fully equipped for post-crisis recovery and that their voice is heard in the dialogue with national governments.

CoR President Apostolos Tsitsikostas underlined both institutions common goal of promoting local and regional democracy and good governance on the European continent as a basis for co-operation to improve the quality of democracy for citizens.

Both Presidents agreed that the respective thematic priorities are complementary, reflecting the challenges faced by local and regional authorities in Europe and offering a significant potential for synergies and joint action going forward.

The Congress presented its reports on holding local and regional elections and on respecting the European Charter of Local Self-Government in times of crisis, as well as its online tools to assess the state of local and regional democracy – CARTA-MONITOR on the Charter’s implementation by Council of Europe member States and bE-Open on frameworks for transparent and ethical governance, citizen participation and fight against corruption in select countries. The CoR presented its work on the Local and Regional Barometer, an overview of the situation of cities and regions in Europe, and its Adamowicz Award initiative in honour of the assassinated Mayor of Gdansk Paweł Adamowicz and in recognition of everyone who works with courage and integrity against intolerance, radicalisation, hate-speech, oppression and xenophobia.

The Congress was represented by President Leendert Verbeek, President of the Chamber of Local Authorities, Bernd Vöhringer and President of the Chamber of Regions Harald Sonderegger. The CoR was represented by President Apostolos Tzitzikostas, and the Chair of the Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX) Mark Speich. The Secretary Generals of both institutions also participated in the meeting.

A co-operation agreement was signed in 2005 by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and the Committee of the Regions of the European Union. The fields of interest and methods of co-operation of the two institutions were formalised in 2009 and revised in 2018, on the basis of the more general memorandum of understanding concluded in 2007 between the Council of Europe and the European Union. The cooperation agreement reaffirms, in particular, the principle of complementarity between the Congress and the Committee of the Regions, as well as mutual respect for their skills.

High-Level Group Meeting Remote Meeting 22 April 2021
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