Opening Remarks by Congress Mathieu Mori, Secretary General of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, at the XXXIII Congress of the Association of Local Authorities in Lithuania (Vilnius, 16 April 2026).
President Klišonis,
Dear Mayors,
Distinguished participants,
Dear friends,
It is an honour to address you today on behalf of the Council of Europe and its Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.
As in many countries, Lithuanian municipalities existed in some shape or form long before the modern Lithuanian state took shape. They saw monarchies, authoritarianism, and highly centralised regimes. That historical resilience is one of the quiet strengths of Lithuanian democracy today.
This resilience is all the more important at a time when history seems to be accelerating, when the world appears to be becoming a more dangerous and less predictable place. The past months-indeed, the past weeks-have marked a major turning point in international geopolitics. A turning point likely to define a generation. A rupture in the global order.
We live in a world where values and principles once taken for granted are increasingly called into question - a world in which democracy is portrayed as weak, the rule of law as restrictive, and human rights as optional rather than universal.
If we look back at just the last months - Venezuela, Greenland, Iran,
and, of course, Ukraine, one of our Member States, which has been under aggression from Russia for more than four years now - we see a recurring pattern.
In each of these situations, national security is invoked to justify the erosion of democracy, the weakening of international law, and threats to sovereignty.
And when national security becomes the unique overriding logic, everything becomes negotiable - including freedom, democracy, and even sovereignty itself.
Today, security is still mainly understood as military capacity. This way of looking at things is outdated. It belongs to the last century. Security of course needs military capacity but it equally needs strong, stable, accountable institutions, institutions that people can trust: independent courts, transparent elections, and free media. The front lines are no longer defined only by borders or battlefields-they run through our networks, our streets, and our screens.
Security must be understood widely, as the resilience of democratic systems under pressure, then armed forces and strong institutions will reinforce each other.
This democratic security built on rights. On laws. On strong institutions is what the Council of Europe is here to preserve, and it is what we deliver today for our Member States, the most telling example being Ukraine.
When Russia launched its war of aggression, the Council of Europe did not allow force to prevail over law. We expelled Russia, and since then we have supported Ukraine in ensuring that accountability prevails.
- We set up a register of damages
- We created a compensation mechanism
- And we work at creating an international tribunal to judge the crime of aggression
At the Congress we also work on democratic recovery:
- On the new decentralization laws
- On the transition from military to civil administrations
- And on the organization of future elections
We work every day with local communities, where institutions must be resilient under pressure.
Let us not be misled by the noise of the world. Many countries - in Europe and beyond - remain deeply attached to democracy, the rule of law, and human rights. They continue to believe in the values that underpin our international order.
And at the core of these values lies local democracy - a local democracy grounded in good democratic governance: free and fair elections, the rule of law, transparency, accountability, high ethical standards, and inclusive, participatory decision-making.
These principles are enshrined in the European Charter of Local Self-Government - the only legally binding international treaty dedicated exclusively to local democracy. Its importance is such that all 46 Council of Europe member States have ratified it - a rare achievement that places it on a par with the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Charter establishes the essential foundations of a well-functioning local democracy: for instance - the obligation for national governments to consult local authorities and their national associations, such as the Association of Local Authorities of Lithuania; the principle that local authorities must enjoy full discretion in exercising their competences; and the requirement that financial resources be commensurate with their responsibilities.
The Congress is responsible for monitoring the implementation of this Charter in all 46 member States every five years. Lithuania was monitored in 2025, and we just adopted the report and its recommendations at our plenary session in March in the presence of your interior minister. The Congress welcomed the meaningful progress made by Lithuania since its previous recommendations in 2018, including improved consultation mechanisms and highlighted the active role played by the Association of Local Authorities of Lithuania in representing local interests at national level.
Obviously, all is not perfect, and the Congress made a number of recommendations on which we will follow up in the months to come.
Through Charter monitoring, the observation of local and regional elections, the promotion of participative and deliberative democracy, the protection of local politicians, the engagement of young people in public life, and our cooperation with the European Court of Human Rights to develop Human Rights at local level, the Congress provides a true local democracy compass - enabling us to detect warning signs and strengthen democratic resilience across Europe.
I wish to pay tribute to all those who work tirelessly, every day, to keep local democracy alive and vibrant.
And primarily, you all, present today - who embody this commitment to our shared values and to democratic security.
For that, we thank you.
Let me conclude where I began: in a world filled with noise, fear, and calls to trade democracy for a false sense of security.
The response of the Council of Europe is clear. Through the New Democratic Pact for Europe, we reaffirm that democracy is not a luxury reserved for calm times - but a necessity precisely when times are difficult. And that democratic security begins locally: in our municipalities, in our councils, and in the everyday relationship between citizens and those who serve them.
European history showed that democracy is strongest not when power is concentrated, but when it is shared; not when voices are silenced, but when they are heard - starting locally.
By turning your municipalities into strong, autonomous, and trusted local authorities, you are not only protecting our own democracy; you are strengthening the democratic security of Europe as a whole.
Thank you.
