In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe has taken several steps to pursue its activities while implementing the measures recommended by the health authorities of member states and the World Health Organisation, in accordance with Council of Europe policy.

The written procedure provided for in Article 19 of the Rules and Procedures of the Congress will be used to enable the Bureau to continue some of its work. Rule 19 provides that “The Bureau may take a decision by e-mail if the matter under consideration cannot wait for the next Bureau meeting. In this case voting is by simple majority and a lack of response by the required deadline is taken to be tacit agreement.”

Where urgent decisions are required in between Bureau meetings, the President of the Congress may take them in agreement with the chamber presidents.

In order to adopt the resolutions and recommendations prepared by the Committees and the Bureau, meetings of the Statutory Forum could be envisaged, in-person if health conditions permit or remotely, as provided for in the Rules of Procedure of the Congress (Chapter IX).

The Statutory Forum is composed of the Chairpersons of all national delegations and the members of the Bureau. It acts on behalf of the Congress between sessions. It shall be convened, if necessary, by the President upon decision of the Bureau.

The Statutory Forum shall act on behalf of the Congress between sessions. In particular, it shall adopt reports, and organise debates and hearings in accordance with the objectives of the Congress.

The written procedure provided for in Rule 56 of the Rules and Procedures of the Congress will be implemented in order to allow the three Congress committees - Monitoring Committee, Governance Committee and Current Affairs Committee - to continue some of their work. Rule 56 provides that "The committee may take a decision by e-mail if the matter under consideration cannot wait until the next meeting of the committee. In this case, the absence of a reply within the time-limit set by the committee chairperson shall be considered as tacit agreement."

Co-operation and external relations activities have also been adapted to the COVID-19 situation, in co-ordination with institutional and field partners. Current work includes the preparation for launching a new project in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with special emphasis on Mostar; development of proposals for new projects in Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Kosovo*; and the continuation of co-operation activities in Ukraine, Armenia, Tunisia and Morocco, as well as planning a workshop on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the Assembly of European Regions.

(*) All reference to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.

In the context of the sanitary crisis, the secretariat of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities remains operational and partially work remotely via telework. The Congress staff can be reached by email, as well as by phone. The contact details of the Congress Secretariat are available on the web page below.