The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe will meet in Strasbourg from 23 to 26 October, and this session will be important in view of the decisions adopted by the Heads of State and Government of the 46 Member States of the Organisation at the Reykjavik Summit last May.
Mathieu Mori, Secretary General of the Congress, who met EUROPE on 19 October, said he was “very satisfied” with the recognition of the role of the Congress in the Final Declaration and its appendices.
“The one on democracy is very important because it emphasises the role of local and regional authorities in implementing the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, which broadens our scope of action, particularly in terms of raising awareness among elected representatives”.
He added: “We will be working with the ‘Department for the Execution of Judgments’ “to “optimise our monitoring”.
In addition, the administrative reform of the Council of Europe begun after Reykjavik provides for the recentralisation within the Congress of all activities linked to local and regional affairs, which will add to it a centre of expertise to be “very strong at the cooperation level” currently linked to the General Division ‘Democracy and Human Dignity’.
The session agenda also includes the election of a new Congress President - with only one candidate announced at this stage, Belgian Liberal Marc Cools - as well as a number of exchanges and debates, including one on the role of Ukrainian local and regional authorities in promoting the ‘Register of Damage’ from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, decided in Reykjavik.
“These authorities will also have a role to play in matters relating to the land register” points out Mathieu Mori. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)