Congress of Local and Regional Authorities President Gunn Marit Helgesen, President of the Chamber of Local Authorities Konstantinos Koukas (Greece, EPP/CCE) and President of the Chamber of Regions Cecilia Dalman Eek (Sweden, SOC/G/PD) have met representatives of the Russian democratic forces in exile on the margins of the spring Congress plenary session. The meeting, which took place on 31 March 2026, involved Ilya Yashin, former head of the Moscow Krasnoselsky District; Ksenia Fadeeva, former municipal councillor in Tomsk; and Natalia Arno, President of Free Russia Foundation.
Pursuing the dialogue launched in 2025 the new Congress leadership and the Russian representatives exchanged on possible steps to structure relations between the Congress and the Russian democratic forces. The Congress leadership wishes to discuss proposals to this end to the Congress bureau meeting in Monaco in June 2026.
In August 2024, then Congress President Marc Cools welcomed the freeing of Ksenia Fadeeva and Ilya Yashin, who were part of a prisoner exchange.
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities brings together representatives from across the continent, including elected mayors and local representatives, in an assembly for all of Europe. It is the voice of Europe’s municipalities and regions.
