(AGENPARL) - Roma, 23 Giugno 2026 - Image
 
PRESS RELEASE

Congress of Local and Regional Authorities

Council of Europe Congress to examine the application of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in Georgia

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe is the political assembly representing local and regional governments across the 46 member States, responsible for promoting and monitoring local

The discussions will focus on the distribution of competences between the different levels of governance, the financial autonomy of local authorities, as well as establishing an adequate legal framework with regard to sectorial legislation to strengthen the role of the Sakrebulo in the appointment of deputy mayors, improving the financial equalisation formula and continuing the regional development efforts. The rapporteurs will also examine the impact of recent legislative changes on local democracy, a matter that the Congress has already addressed on several occasions over the past few years.

The delegation will visit Tbilisi, Marneuli and Tetriskaro and have meetings in the Ministry of Regional Development, the Ministry of Finance, the Parliament, the Constitutional Court, the State Audit Office, the three municipalities, as well as representatives of the opposition and civil society, and the diplomatic corps. The rapporteurs will also have meetings with the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia (NALAG) and the Georgian delegation to the Congress. They will be accompanied by Professor Tania Groppi, Vice-President of the Group of Independent Experts on the European Charter of Local Self-Government (Italy).

Contact: Stéphanie Poirel (

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Composed of two chambers – the Chamber of Local Authorities and the Chamber of Regions – and three committees, the Congress brings together 612 elected officials representing more than 130 000 local and regional authorities.

President of the Congress: Gunn Marit Helgesen (Norway, EPP/CCE), President of the Chamber of Local Authorities: Konstantinos Koukas (Greece, 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), Patriots for Europe (PfE).

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