Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 11 September (BelTA) – The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe hails direct dialogue with Belarusian authorities, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe Gudrun Mosler-Tornstrom said as she met with students and the academic staff of the Academy of Public Administration under the aegis of the President of the Republic of Belarus on 11 September, BelTA has learned.

Belarus is not a member of the congress. The Council on Local Self-Government Cooperation at the Council of the Republic has the status of an invited observer at the Congress. “The direct dialogue we have had for a long time is very important for our work and cooperation,” said Gudrun Mosler-Tornstrom.

She expressed hope that the roundtable on local self-government, which is due to take place in Minsk on 12 September, will help strengthen the dialogue. Gudrun Mosler-Tornstrom stressed that the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities expects to draw on useful experience, including Belarus’ best practices. “We are here not only to teach, but also to learn from Belarus. The country has well-developed local self-government. We want to study and adopt this experience,” she said.

Gudrun Mosler-Tornstrom spoke with students about the mission and the main principles and mechanisms of work of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, the European Charter of Local Self-Government. The president of the congress also answered questions from young people.

As BelTA reported earlier, the roundtable organized jointly by the Council of the Republic and the Congress of Local And Regional Authorities will feature representatives of the Congress from France, Italy, the Netherlands, Greece, and Romania. The delegation will be headed by President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe Gudrun Mosler-Tornstrom. The roundtable will highlight issues related to the approximation of the Belarusian legislation on local government and self-government and the provisions of the European Charter of Local Self-Government. Participants will also discuss way to improve the system of training, retraining and enhancing the qualifications of local authorities. Experts will talk over prospects for the development of associations of local councils of deputies. Particular attention will be on strengthening twinning relations as a tool for developing border areas.

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is an institution of the Council of Europe that represents local and regional authorities of European states. The Congress is made up of two chambers: the Chamber of Local Authorities and the Chamber of Regions.