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Jan Van Zanen: “If we want impact, global and local governments must go hand in hand”

Jan Van Zanen, Mayor of The Hague and President of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), has been a long-standing figure in international municipal cooperation. With more than a decade of active involvement in both CEMR and UCLG, he has witnessed first-hand how cities increasingly shape global responses to shared challenges, from climate change to social cohesion.

This interview was recorded in Barcelona during the UCLG Retreat in February 2026. In it, Van Zanen reflects on the defining moments of his engagement within the global municipal movement, the importance of international city networks, and his vision for the future of CEMR and UCLG.

A defining moment in The Hague

For Jan Van Zanen, one memory clearly stands out from his years within CEMR and UCLG: hosting the UCLG World Council in The Hague in 2024.

For three days, more than 300 local leaders from around the world gathered in the Dutch city, in a moment that carried both political and symbolic significance. The meeting took place 125 years after The Hague hosted the first Peace Conference, adding historical depth to the occasion.

“To see that global community come together in The Hague,” he recalls, “was very meaningful.”

*UCLG World Council in the Hague 2024

The event also marked a personal milestone, as Van Zanen took over the rotating presidency of UCLG. In line with the city’s long-standing identity as a centre for peace and justice, the gathering led to the adoption of The Hague Charter on Municipal Peace — a document designed to guide cities in fostering dialogue and strengthening peaceful communities at the local level.

“Doing so in my own city, surrounded by colleagues from all over the world, made it truly memorable,” he says. “It is something I always look back on with pride.”

Cities at the heart of global challenges

Beyond memorable milestones, Van Zanen emphasises the growing importance of international cooperation between cities. In his view, local and regional governments today are on the frontline of major global transformations.

“From climate adaptation and migration to digitalisation and social cohesion, these developments may be global, but they always land locally in our streets and neighbourhoods,” he explains.

This is precisely why networks such as CEMR and UCLG play a crucial role. For cities like The Hague — home to numerous international institutions — engagement at the global level is both natural and necessary. But, he insists, the value of these networks goes beyond visibility or prestige.

“It is about connecting with fellow cities,” he says. “Sitting around a table with other mayors and local leaders, exchanging openly about what works in practice.”

Through this peer-to-peer exchange, cities are able to share solutions, learn from each other, and build collective resilience. Ultimately, this cooperation translates into more effective policies and tangible benefits for citizens.

Recognising local governments as key partners

Looking ahead, Van Zanen outlines an ambitious but clear vision for CEMR and UCLG in the coming decade. His expectation is that both organisations become fully recognised as indispensable partners in policymaking at all levels.

“I would hope that CEMR and UCLG are recognised everywhere as key actors in shaping solutions,” he says, “not only globally but also within the European Union and at national level.”

Central to this ambition is the idea that local governments should be involved from the very beginning when major agreements are designed, whether on climate, migration or development. For Van Zanen, this early involvement is essential to ensure that policies are both practical and impactful.

“Involved from the beginning, with a clear and recognised role,” he insists.

However, recognition alone is not enough. He also stresses the importance of aligning responsibilities with adequate resources, particularly in terms of access to funding. Without this, cities cannot fully deliver on their commitments.

From ambition to impact

Underlying Van Zanen’s reflections is a consistent message: local and regional governments are not just implementers but also innovators and essential drivers of change.

“Cities implement, cities innovate, cities are closest to citizens,” he notes.

This proximity gives local governments a unique capacity to translate global ambitions into concrete action. But to fully unlock this potential, stronger collaboration between levels of governance is needed.

“If we really want impact, global governments and local governments must go hand in hand,” he concludes.

For Van Zanen, the history of CEMR over the past 75 years demonstrates precisely this capacity: turning shared ambition into tangible results. Strengthening that role in the years to come will be key to addressing the complex challenges ahead — and ensuring that solutions are rooted where they matter most: in towns, cities and regions and its local communities.

Watch the video interview here.

• The Hague is part of CEMR’s national association of VNG.

For more information, contact:

Meritxell PARRAMON VILA

Head of Communications

Christophe Chaillou: “Europe cannot be built without its local territories”

Christophe Chaillou served as Director of the Cabinet of the Secretary General of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) from 1992 to 2007, during one of the most transformative periods in European history. Accompanying the organisation through the great years of the Delors Commission, the democratic transitions in Eastern Europe, and the formal recognition of local and regional governments by European institutions, he witnessed first-hand how CEMR helped shape the place of towns, cities and regions within the European project.

In this interview, he looks back on the defining moments of his period in CEMR, the presidents he worked alongside, and the message he believes must continue to guide CEMR today.

A privileged witness to a founding era

Christophe Chaillou’s time at CEMR coincided with a period of exceptional momentum for European integration.

It was the moment during which local and regional governments gained formal recognition from European institutions, a long-held objective of CEMR that finally became reality. For Chaillou, this convergence of political, institutional and historical forces made it a remarkable moment to be part of the organisation.

“I had the privilege of accompanying CEMR at a time when the European project was especially valued,” he recalls. “It was a fantastic period. In many ways, it meant achieving many of our founding objectives.”

Central to that experience was the opportunity to work alongside exceptional leaders. Among the presidents he served with, he mentions Pasqual Maragall [read Maragall’s head of cabinet interview here] and Valéry Giscard d’Estaing as figures who left a remarkable impression. Each bringing their own vision and weight to CEMR’s work on the European stage.

A moment of reconciliation: Prague, 1993

Of all the moments that marked his years at CEMR, one stands out above the rest. The General Assembly held in Prague in 1993 remains, in Chaillou’s view, one of the most powerful and symbolically charged events in the organisation’s history.

It was the moment when CEMR welcomed the local and regional associations that had just been re-established across Central and Eastern Europe, organisations asking for their place after decades of authoritarian rule and joining, for the first time, the broader European family.

“It was a moment of European reconciliation,” he says. “All the associations across the continent, gathered. It was undoubtedly a very powerful moment of affirmation of our message and, once again, of European unity.”

The assembly carried a weight that went far beyond the institutional. For those present, it was a vivid demonstration of what CEMR stood for: local democracy and European integration were not separate ambitions, but deeply interconnected ones.

Local freedoms at the heart of CEMR’s advocacy work

Beyond the symbolic milestones, Chaillou also highlights the strategic advocacy done by CEMR during his period as Secretary General. He specifically mentions the recognition granted to local and regional governments, which ensured that local freedoms were not recognised in principle but also respected in practice within the European institutional framework.

That achievement, in his view, was the result of both political momentum and persistent effort. It was built through relationships, credibility and the clarity of the CEMR’s message at a time when Europe was still defining what it wanted to be.

CEMR’s founding message, still urgent today

Looking ahead, Chaillou is unambiguous about the challenge that matters most. In a period marked by rising threats to democracy, growing geopolitical instability, and renewed questions about the future of European integration, he believes CEMR must return to its roots and carry its founding message with renewed conviction.

“What we need today is to strengthen all of this,” he says. “The main challenge is to preserve and promote local democracy in all the territories; the spirit of both local autonomy and European integration. That is the founding message of CEMR.”

For Chaillou, that message is as relevant now as it was in the early 1990s. Europe, he insists, cannot be built from the top down. It must be rooted in its territories in the places where citizens live, where decisions are made, and where democracy either thrives or falters.

“Europe cannot be built without its local territories,” he says. “And it is in the territories that local freedoms must assert themselves. In times when there are many threats, including a clear challenge to democracy, it is important to defend this message.”

Check the full interview here

For more information, contact:

Meritxell PARRAMON VILA

Head of Communications

Antònia Sabartés: “I would like CEMR to be brave and bold” 

Antònia Sabartés was Head of Cabinet to Pasqual Maragall, Mayor of Barcelona, and President of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) from 1992 to 1997. Closely involved in the organisation’s leadership during a pivotal period for Europe, she witnessed first‑hand how CEMR helped shape the place of local and regional governments in the European project.

*Antònia Sabartés – Head of Cabinet to Pasqual Maragall, President of CEMR from 1992 to 1997.

In this interview —recorded at the Fundació Mies Van der Rohe in Barcelona, rebuilt during Maragall’s time as the Mayor of the Catalan capital and closely linked to the European Union through the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture — she looks back on Maragall’s presidency, the defining moments of that period, and the legacy she believes continues to guide CEMR today.

Pasqual Maragall: a European by conviction and practice

Pasqual Maragall was elected President of CEMR in December 1991 in Paris and formally took office on 9 May 1992, at a moment of intense political, institutional and symbolic change for Europe. The year of his appointment coincided with the Olympic Games in Barcelona and with the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty, placing him — and CEMR — at the heart of Europe’s transformation.

As Mayor of Barcelona, he embodied the growing international role of cities, having an active role also in the creation of Eurocities. His political and intellectual background reinforced this outlook: he had studied in Paris, been a student of Jacques Delors, knew key European figures such as Romano Prodi, and came from a deeply pro‑European family.

*Pasqual Maragall with Jacques Delors – Arxiu Digital Pasqual Maragall, Fundació Catalunya Europa

For Sabartés, this combination of experience and conviction made him particularly suited to leading CEMR at a time when local and regional governments were claiming a stronger voice in Europe.

Memories that mattered: from Delors in Barcelona to the Steering Committee in Prague

Certain moments remain particularly vivid in Sabartés’ memory for their symbolic weight and historical significance. One was Pasqual Maragall’s formal inauguration as CEMR President in Barcelona on Europe Day in 1992 — an event made exceptional by the presence of Jacques Delors. Delors rarely left Brussels, and his decision to attend underlined both the importance of the moment and the esteem in which Maragall and CEMR were held.

Another landmark was the 1992 Steering Committee meeting in Prague, held shortly after the Olympic Games. Beyond its timing, the meeting marked a turning point for CEMR, reinforcing its internal consolidation and expanding its European ambition at a crucial moment of transformation for the continent.

Alongside these emblematic events, Sabartés also recalls more personal memories linked to Maragall’s presidency. Initially, she admits to having doubts. As a mayor with major responsibilities, she wondered whether he would be able to devote enough time to CEMR. Those concerns were quickly dispelled. Maragall attended every single meeting without exception and treated the presidency as a true priority.

*Pasqual Maragall with Josef Hofmann, ECOS Conference (Prague), in the 90s. HAEU, CCRE-846

She also vividly remembers the intense spirit of collaboration within the CEMR team during those years. Working closely with Elisabeth Gateau and Christophe Chaillou, coordination between Paris and Barcelona was constant and often demanding. In a pre-digital era, communication relied on phone calls and faxes, with short messages sometimes exchanged several times a day. Achieving what today comes effortlessly thanks to the internet required at that moment a real level of coordination.

The relevant role of Maragall in the creation of the Committee of the Regions

Under Maragall’s leadership, CEMR played a central role during one of the most important phases of European integration. The approval of the Maastricht Treaty created new opportunities, notably the future establishment of the Committee of the Regions.

*General view in the ceremony auditorium of the signature of the Maastricht Treaty. Copyright: European Communities, 1992.

Securing a place for the President of CEMR in the first presidency of the Committee of the Regions was a major success. From the moment Maastricht was approved until the Committee became operational in 1994, CEMR worked intensively to ensure that local and regional authorities would be taken seriously within the EU’s new institutional framework.

This effort was reinforced through a Consultative Council of Local and Regional Authorities set up by the European Commission, working closely with Eneko Landaburu, then Director‑General of DG REGIO. These relationships opened doors and ensured that CEMR was recognised as a key interlocutor.

Another complex but decisive achievement was the reform of the Conference of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, which became the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities with two chambers. This process sparked debate between CEMR and the Assembly of European Regions, led by another Catalan, who, in this case, was the President of the Government of Catalonia, Jordi Pujol.

Throughout all the discussions, Maragall’s personal qualities made a difference. Multilingual, approachable and deeply European, he had a unique ability to connect people across political and cultural divides, even when positions were opposed.

Another greatest achievement: a vision that still matters

Beyond institutional successes, Sabartés believes Maragall’s most important contribution was strategic and ideological. He was a convinced federalist, defending a Europe built on subsidiarity, proximity and citizenship at a time when this narrative was far from mainstream.

He also played a decisive role in shaping the path that would later lead to the creation of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). Working with mayors such as Jorge Sampaio of Lisbon, Pierre Mauroy of Lille, and leaders of IULA, he pushed for unification — particularly as a way to strengthen the presence of local governments within the United Nations system.

*Pasqual Maragall with Romani Prodí (2004) – Author: Bedmar, Jordi. Arxiu Digital Pasqual Maragall

Defending the European Charter of Local Self‑Government as a global reference helped open doors and positioned Europe as a leader in local democracy, also in the multilateral system.

“Brave and bold”, this is what CEMR needs to be in the next 10 years

Looking ahead, Sabartés is clear about what she hopes for CEMR today. In a context marked by geopolitical tensions, social inequalities, migration challenges and the rise of the far right, she believes CEMR must once again show courage.

“I would like CEMR to be brave and bold, as we were during the Maragall years,” she says. “Above all, it needs strong leadership. If we do not act, governments of proximity risk being sidelined. We must work to improve the lives of European citizens, confront prejudice and defend the values we believe in. That is my dream for CEMR.”

For more information, contact:

Meritxell PARRAMON VILA

Head of Communications