"The COVID-19 crisis has put cities and regions at the forefront of dealing with the health emergency and finding responses to the crisis. It is all the more essential that national, European and international authorities take into account the local and regional dimension and that strategies are defined in a multi-level approach," stated Congress President Anders Knape in a message addressed on the occasion of the meeting of the High-Level Political Forum on the Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030, which is taking place from 7to 17 July 2020 at the United Nations in New York.
"The debate planned within the framework of the Forum on how to strengthen local action to control the pandemic is a positive sign of this consideration," the President of the Congress welcomed. "We welcome this recognition of the importance of the local dimension and encourage all partners to pursue the debate with all levels of governance," he said.
The President referred to the concern expressed in a Congress Bureau Declaration, adopted on 9 June, about the democratic and financial autonomy of local and regional authorities in Council of Europe member states, particularly in the face of the recovery plans in the wake of the crisis. "It is essential to ensure respect for the principles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, such as consultation and financial autonomy, and to restore democratic functioning at local level, in full compliance with the Charter," Anders Knape stressed.
Furthermore, in order to facilitate the sharing of experiences and local and regional responses to the COVID-19 crisis, the Congress has developed a Hub presenting a range of resources deployed by local and regional authorities, partner networks and other organisations. It also includes an interactive module that allows cities and regions to contribute directly and share their initiatives.
As an assembly of local and regional elected representatives from the 47 member states of the Council of Europe, the Congress contributes to the localisation of SDGs and local and regional implementation of the UN Agenda 2030, which a priority area of co-operation between the United Nations and the Council of Europe.
