(AGENPARL) – mar 24 ottobre 2023 Image
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Ref. CG037(2023)
Council of Europe Congress elects its new President
Strasbourg, 24 October 2023 – The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Council of Europe has renewed its presidency on the occasion of its 45th Session.
The Congress members have elected Marc Cools (Belgium, ILDG) as the new President of the Congress, for a mandate of two years and a half. He is First Deputy Mayor of Uccle (Belgium) and he was previously the chair of the Independent and Liberal Democrat Group in the Congress.
President Cools applauded the work of the Congress under the leadership of the outgoing President, Leendert Verbeek (Netherlands, SOC/G/PD): “President Verbeek has invested an enormous amount of time and energy in the service of our Congress, and he has also achieved results for our Congress, particularly at the summit in Reykjavik”.
Underlining that his vision of the mandate was about continuing the work already done and working together collectively to promote local and regional democracy throughout Europe, he said that the proximity at local level between elected representatives and citizens makes a vibrant democracy: “New ways must be found to directly involve citizens in deliberations and bring decision-making as close to them as possible,” stated Mr. Cools who also called for the funding and staffing of the Congress to be raised in order to fulfil its mission and the mandate given by the Reykjavik Summit.
Speech of the President
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Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
Institutional Communication Unit
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is an institution of the Council of Europe, responsible for strengthening local and regional democracy in its 46 member states. Composed of two chambers – the Chamber of Local Authorities and the Chamber of Regions – and three committees, it brings together 612 elected officials representing more than 130 000 local and regional authorities.
President of the Congress: Marc Cools (Belgium, ILDG), President of the Chamber of Local Authorities: Bernd Vöhringer (Germany, EPP/CCE), President of the Chamber of Regions: Harald Sonderegger (Austria, EPP/CCE).
Political groups: Group of Socialists, Greens and Progressive Democrats (SOC/G/PD), Group of the European Peoples Party (EPP/CCE), Independent Liberal and Democratic Group (ILDG), European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR).
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