(AGENPARL) – Fri 12 September 2025 Image
PRESS RELEASE
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
Ref. CG055(2025)
Council of Europe Congress President: The work of building democracy from the bottom up is never finished
“Today, as never before, we must re-engage citizens in our cities and regions through democratic participation and innovation, in order to bring about democratic renewal in Europe. Through deliberative democracy and participatory governance in our local and regional communities, we should be able to restore citizens’ trust and faith in democracy, and their commitment to democratic values.
“The Congress welcomes the initiative of the Council of Europe’s Secretary General, Alain Berset, to conclude a New Democratic Pact for Europe aimed at fostering democratic renewal. Local and regional authorities have a crucial role to play in this renewal at the grassroots, the level closest to the citizens. On this International Day of Democracy, we reaffirm our conviction that democracy is built from the bottom up, together with citizens,” said President Cools.
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: Cecilia Dalman Eek (Sweden, SOC/G/PD).
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).
______________________
Council of Europe/Conseil de l’Europe, Avenue de l’Europe, Strasbourg, . 67000 France