(AGENPARL) – Fri 19 September 2025 Image
PRESS RELEASE
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
Ref. CG056(2025)
Council of Europe Congress President: Only a just peace in Ukraine can bring a lasting peace back to Europe.
“Ukraine’s communities and people deserve to live in the freedom and security from which so many benefit across our continent today.
“But a sustainable peace must also be a just peace based on international law, and respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the legitimate aspirations of its people for a democratic and European future.
“Throughout this ongoing war of aggression, Ukraine’s local and regional authorities have shown strength, determination and innovation as they have maintained vital public services and provided the emergency support and care that have been needed by so many. Their resilience will also be central to the recovery and reconstruction of Ukrainian communities, and the country as a whole, whenever this terrible aggression ends.
Let this be the last International Peace Day before a just peace is reached for Ukraine.”
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).
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Council of Europe/Conseil de l’Europe, Avenue de l’Europe, Strasbourg, . 67000 France