A delegation from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, composed of rapporteurs Anders Knape (Sweden, EPP/CCE) and Urs Janett (Switzerland, ILDG) will carry out a monitoring visit to Georgia from 23 to 25 June 2026 to assess the application of the European Charter of Local Self-Government since the previous monitoring report adopted by the Congress in 2018.
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).
