Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić met with Mr Mokhtar Hammami, Minister of Local Affairs and Environment of Tunisia today, underlining the increasing political dialogue between Tunisia and the Council of Europe. She welcomed cooperation on democratic reforms, notably Tunisia’s request for accession to GRECO (the Group of States against Corruption) and its participation in the Venice Commission (the European Commission for Democracy through Law). More...

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe will meet in Strasbourg, France, from 29 to 31 October 2019, for its 37th Session, under the theme “Mayors safeguarding democracy”. More...

Journalism has to be firmly supported by states, professional associations, internet intermediaries and platforms, regulatory authorities and journalists alike to ensure trust between public and media, concluded an international conference organised by the Council of Europe in Ljubljana in partnership with the Slovenian Ministry of Culture. More...

Ahead of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December, the Council of Europe presents a new report focusing on children with disabilities in the digital environment. The report describes the experiences of children with intellectual, physical, hearing and visual impairments. More...

“The government should step up its efforts to fight the hate speech prevailing today in Bulgaria in particular against Roma, LGBTI people and other minority groups” said the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, today after a 5-day visit to the country. More...

The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers is holding its quarterly meeting to oversee the execution of judgments and decisions from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg from 3 to 5 December. More...

"The Council of Europe has already strongly demonstrated its ability to adapt to the changing world. But the organisation needs our continued commitment and the Assembly and the Congress, as well as our national parliaments and local and regional authorities, have a fundamental role to play. It is up to us to restore confidence in our democracies to our fellow citizens”, said Parliamentary Assembly President Liliane Maury Pasquier, addressing the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, meeting in Strasbourg. More...

An international conference on the Twelve Principles of Good Democratic Governance is taking place in Strasbourg on 28 October.
The event has been organised by the Council of Europe Centre of Expertise for Good Governance, within the framework of the French presidency of the Council’s Committee of Ministers. It will be followed by a ceremony to award the European Label of Governance Excellence (ELoGE) to several French municipalities.
Participants include representatives of French municipalities, the National Centre of Training for Local Authorities (CNFPT) and other ELoGE accredited organisations, municipalities from 20 other member states, the European Committee for Democracy and Governance, the Centre of Expertise for Good Governance, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. More...

Meeting in session on 30 October 2019, the members of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe adopted a report on the local elections in Turkey (31 March 2019) and the Istanbul repeat mayoral election (23 June 2019), following observation missions led by the Congress. More...

In its report on the Russian Federation adopted today, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe noted with satisfaction the developments that have taken place since 2010: the principle of local self-government is now recognised both in the Constitution and in ordinary legislation, the provisions of the European Charter of Local Self-Government are applied by the Constitutional Court in its case law, and a great variety of instruments of citizens’ participation in local public affairs is available. More...