The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe will hold its 50th session from 31 March to 2 April 2026 in Strasbourg, France. It will welcome new national delegations with a five-year mandate, elect its new leadership and adopt its priorities for 2026-2031.
The session's agenda features a debate on Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction at local and regional level, with the participation of First Deputy Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament Oleksandr Korniyenko, Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine Oleksiy Riabykin and Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O'Flaherty, as well as a debate on territorial organisation of power in Ukraine. In parallel to the session, the High-Level Dialogue on decentralisation, good governance and elections in Ukraine will take place on 1 and 2 April.
Congress members will exchange views with Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge and Secretary General of the Republic of Moldova's Government Alexei Buzu, on behalf of his country's Presidency of the Committee of Ministers.
Also addressing the session will be President of the European Court of Human Rights Mattias Guyomar; Lithuania's Minister of Interior Vladislav Kondratovič; Monaco's Minister of Interior Lionel Beffre; Minister of Health, Environment, Solidarity and Social Economy of Wallonia (Belgium) Yves Coppieters; Deputy Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament Olena Kondratiuk; Mayor of Bragança (Portugal) Isabel Ferreira; Mayor of Gaziantep (Türkiye) Fatma Şahin; Deputy Mayor of Bilbao (Spain) Eider Inunciaga; President of the Equal Rights and Opportunities Commission of the Region of Emilia Romagna (Italy) Elena Carletti; and Secretary General of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) Kevin Casas-Zamora.
Other highlights include debates on ensuring free local and regional elections, tackling violence against elected officials, safeguarding local democracy in Georgia and delivering social rights at local and regional levels, as well as implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights by local and regional authorities, use of artificial intelligence, health access under pressure and regional history teaching. Also on the agenda is thematic debates "From borders to boroughs: global movements, local responses" and "International disorder, regional consequences".
The Congress will also debate reports on the application of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in Lithuania and Monaco, and on the observation of local elections in Estonia, North Macedonia, San Marino and Kosovo*.
On Monday 23 March at 2 pm, Congress Secretary General Mathieu Mori will hold a hybrid press briefing (online and offline), in Room 15 of the Palais de l'Europe in Strasbourg, to present the session's agenda. The presentation will be made in English. To receive the link to participate in the press briefing online and draft copies of the Congress documents, please address the contact persons below.
The Congress session is open to media upon prior accreditation.
The session can be followed live in English, French, German, Italian, Turkish (all debates), Spanish (all plenary debates), and Ukrainian (some debates) at https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/home.
Draft agenda and the session's documents (reports to be debated and adopted texts) as well as video recordings of each sitting and photos are available on the Session's dedicated page. News items on debates appear on the Congress home page as well.
