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The European Week of Regions and Cities is the largest annual event on EU cohesion policy, bringing together local leaders, policymakers, and experts. Over four days, cities and regions showcase their role in driving growth, creating jobs, and strengthening European governance through collaboration and knowledge exchange. CEMR will organise different events during this week. More information will be available soon.

• Open to the general public.

Registrations: https://regions-and-cities.europa.eu/  

2025 marks the 40th anniversary of the opening for signature of the European Charter on Local Self-Government. This milestone document enshrines the rights and responsibilities of Local and Regional Governments (LRGs) in upholding local democracy. Over the past four decades, LRGs have played a crucial role in ensuring democratic governance, civic engagement, and the protection of public interests. However, in the digital age, local democracy faces unprecedented challenges from disinformation, misinformation, and deliberate efforts to erode trust in public institutions. 

The Council of Europe New Democratic Pact for Europe emerges as a response to these challenges. The Pact will address the urgent challenge of democratic backsliding through a collective, inclusive and complex process. It will not aim to reinvent democracy, but rather to reinforce its foundations, amplify its benefits, and innovating its form to make it resonate with all citizens, in particular with younger generations. The Pact is about making democracy stronger, more resilient and more adaptable to emerging and ongoing challenges through innovation, technology, and collective action. 

To address these pressing issues, CEMR and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe will organise an event to discuss with policymakers, local government representatives, and civil society actors how LRGs can continue to foster local democracy despite these challenges. The joint event will showcase efforts by local and regional actors to build democratic resilience, including the launch of CEMR’s recent study on how LRGs across Europe are addressing disinformation. 

• Open to the general public.  

CEMR is the European section of the world organisation United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). The World Council is the principal policymaking body of the World Organisation. Composed of 342 members from all UCLG Sections, it meets once a year to decide the World Organisation’s policies and ensure that general policies are implemented. More information available soon.  

• Open to members 

Held twice a year, this internal meeting brings together Secretaries General and directors from CEMR member associations to discuss organisational priorities and internal affairs ahead of each CEMR Leaders’ Summit. 

• Open to Secretaries General and directors of CEMR member associations.  

The CEMR Leaders’ Summit brings together over 150 international leaders from 41 member countries and partners to explore Europe’s most urgent challenges. This two-day gathering includes internal CEMR Policy Committee meetings on Day 1, and strategic political discussions on Day 2, focused on the needs of CEMR members and the broader international context. This edition of the Leaders’ Summit will be hosted by the Local Councils’ Association of Malta. 

• Open to CEMR members.