(AGENPARL) - Roma, 12 Febbraio 2026 - (AGENPARL) – Thu 12 February 2026 Image
PRESS RELEASE
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
Ref. CG007(2026)
Council of Europe Congress Bureau meets in the Republic of Moldova and hosts event on participatory democracy
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 democracy.
On 16 February in Sireţi, the Centre of Expertise for Multilevel Governance at the Congress will organise a roundtable entitled “Local Voices, Shared Goals: Advancing local democracy”. The event will explore how local authorities from the Republic of Moldova are promoting participatory democracy. The roundtable will be opened by Congress President Marc Cools, Deputy Secretary General of the Government of the Republic of Moldova Alexandru Iacub and President of the Congress of Local Authorities from Moldova (CALM) Tatiana Badan. Mayors of Sireţi, Zubreşti and Leova will also participate. Congress Secretary General Mathieu Mori will deliver the closing remarks.
On 17 February, the Congress Bureau will meet in Chișinău. The meeting will be opened by Congress President Marc Cools and State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova Sergiu Mihov and will include an exchange of views with representatives of the country’s central and local authorities. Bilateral meetings with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mihai Popșoi and the Speaker of the Parliament Igor Grosu are foreseen. A press conference will be held at the venue at 15:30 (Great Hall, Palace of the Republic, second floor 16 Maria Cebotari Street, Chișinău, Republic of Moldova).
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: 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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