The secretaries of the delegations of Morocco and Tunisia, countries granted the status of Partner for Local Democracy in the Congress, held an online exchange of views with the Congress secretariat on 30 September 2020.
"It is a particularly opportune time to hold this exchange. Indeed, the sharing of experiences and solidarity between the two shores of the Mediterranean, but also on a global scale, is one of the keys to overcoming the crises we are facing," stressed Congress Director Rafael Benitez at the opening of the meeting.
The meeting provided an overview of the Congress' activities - statutory, co-operation and thematic - and of the practical modalities of co-operation with the delegations of Partners for Local Democracy in the framework of the South-Med Partnership. In particular, they highlighted the participation of the Moroccan and Tunisian delegations in the work of the three committees - Monitoring, Governance and Current Affairs - as well as in the sessions and Statutory Forum of the Congress.
The Congress implements co-operation activities in Morocco and Tunisia, within the framework of the Council of Europe's Neighbourhood Partnerships (2018-2021) and its South-Med Partnership, aimed in particular at strengthening the capacities of national associations of local and regional authorities in the fields of communication, the internal functioning of associations, advocacy, consultation mechanisms and participatory democracy.
Participants included the Association of Moroccan Regions (ARM), the Moroccan Association of Presidents of Prefectural and Provincial Councils (AMPCPP), the Moroccan Association of Presidents of Communal Councils (AMPCC) and the National Federation of Tunisian Municipalities (FNCT).
The South-Med Partnership programme adopted by the Congress in 2017 aims at supporting territorial reforms and strengthening decentralised governance in beneficiary neighbouring countries. This programme contributes to implementing the local and regional dimension of the Council of Europe policy towards neighbouring regions, in particular the Neighbourhood Partnerships with Morocco and with Tunisia (2018-2021). The activities organised in this framework benefit from financial support by Liechtenstein, Norway and Spain.
