On 6 June, a high-level delegation of the Congress took part in the Third International Summit of Cities and Regions, held in Kyiv. Organised under the patronage of the President of Ukraine, the Summit brought together local, regional, national and international leaders to discuss Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction, with a focus on the role of local self-government in building democratic, inclusive and resilient communities.
The delegation included Marc Cools, President of the Congress; Andrew Boff, Vice-President; Véronique Bertholle, Co-rapporteur for recovery and reconstruction in Ukraine and Spokesperson on Youth; Mélanie Lepoultier, Deputy Standing Rapporteur on Human Rights; and Kristoffer Tamsons, Deputy Spokesperson on Migration and Integration. They were accompanied by Mathieu Mori, Secretary General of the Congress. The participation in the Summit was part of a wider programme including several events and bilateral meetings from 4 to 6 June.
“The contribution of Ukrainian communities to the country’s reconstruction is a powerful expression of democratic leadership in times of war,” stated Congress President Marc Cools in his address at the opening of the Summit. He praised the commitment of local leaders to transparency, service delivery and community engagement despite the ongoing Russian aggression.
In the framework of the Summit, the delegation held meetings with key Ukrainian stakeholders to exchange on multilevel governance, the protection of human rights at local level, and priorities for decentralisation and public administration reform in the context of Ukraine’s EU accession process and post-war recovery.
On 5 June, Congress members conducted a field mission to the Kyiv region, where they visited war-affected municipalities and observed ongoing reconstruction efforts. During exchanges with local authorities, the delegation assessed the challenges and progress made in democratic processes at the grassroots level.
The participation of the Congress delegation was organised within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” for 2023-2026 and the project “Strengthening multilevel governance and local democracy to support Ukraine's recovery”, implemented by the Council of Europe Centre of Expertise for Multilevel Governance at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.
