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 and elect its new leadership.
Focus on Ukraine
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 and Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine Oleksiy Riabykin, as well as a debate on territorial organisation of power in Ukraine. In parallel to the session, a dialogue on decentralisation, good governance and elections in Ukraine will take place on 1 and 2 April.
The Secretary General of the Republic of Moldova's Government Alexei Buzu will address the Congress members as part of his country's Presidency of the Committee of Ministers.
History, migration, local democracy
Thematic highlights of the Congress plenary session 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 are the 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*.
Wide range of side events
Side events of the Congress session include a presentation of the Mariupol Justice project in which the Mayor of Mariupol and the Executive Director of the Register of Damage for Ukraine will take part.
The exhibition "My black-and-white shadows: memento mori" by Czech Roma artist Zdeněk Daniel will mark the launch of the 2026 edition of Opre Roma! Month. The opening featuring remarks by the Congress President, senior Council of Europe officials, the Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the Council of Europe and Roma civil society representatives will be followed by a concert by Roma group Djiben playing Tzigane céleste.
Dialogue with Russian opposition figures will be pursued: the newly elected Congress President will meet with Ilya Yashin and Ksenia Fadeeva, former municipal councillors and former political prisoners, to discuss future steps in structuring relations between the Congress and Russian democratic forces.
A new Council of Europe-European Union project, Local Observatory on reform agendas implementation (LORAI) will be launched to support local self-government reforms in the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia).
Other side events of the session include presentations of the Council of Europe Landscape Convention on its 25th anniversary, and of the trans-European cycling route EuroVelo4, "Road to Democracy and Freedom".
The Congress session can be followed via webcast (in English, French, German, Italian, Turkish (all debates), Spanish (all plenary debates), and Ukrainian (some debates)) from the Council of Europe's home portal.
*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.
The Moldovan Presidency of the Committee of Ministers
