On 9 December, the Council of Europe office in Paris hosted a regular annual meeting between representatives of the Committee of the Regions and the Council of Europe's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.
The exchange of experiences between the two assemblies of local and regional representatives is very important for both sides. The Congress has very valuable experience in implementing its European Charter on Local Self-Government and working with local and regional authorities in the European neighbourhood, while the Committee of the Regions could be a strong link between local democracies in the "wider" Europe with the decision-making process in the EU.
Main topics of the meeting included multilevel governance and devolution in Europe, prevention of corruption at local and regional levels, cross-border territorial co-operation, as well as European Neighbourhood Policy, especially in the context of the recent Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius.
The European Alliance group was represented at the meeting by Mr Povilas Žagunis (Mayor of Panevėžys District, Lithuania).
Next meeting of the Contact Group will take place in the first half of 2014 in Brussels.
