The European Committee of the Regions (EU) and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe are both celebrating their 25th anniversary this year. On this occasion, a ceremony will be held in the hemicycle of the European Parliament, during the plenary session of the European Committee of the Regions, with speeches by Karl-Heinz Lambertz, President of the Committee, and Anders Knape, President of the Congress. Representatives of the political groups of both organisations will also debate with the participants.

The ceremony will be followed, the same day, by a joint anniversary event on “The Added Value of Local and Regional Authorities in the Unification of Europe” in Brussels on 27 June 2019, at the headquarters of the Committee of the Regions. The objective is to highlight the synergies between the work of the two institutions in strengthening local self-government and regional democracy, a priority shared by both the Committee and the Congress.

The event will comprise two panel discussions on the state of local and regional democracy in Europe and how it is being implemented in the member states.

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and the EU's Committee of the Regions have signed a co-operation agreement which formalises the fields of interest and methods of co-operation of the two institutions. This agreement, signed in 2005 and revised in 2018, is part of the broader context of the Memorandum of Understanding concluded in 2007 between the European Union and the Council of Europe.

Web page of the event

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