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BORDELOT Federica
In Gender equality, Gender equality, Impact community Society, Impact community Society, Latest, Migration and inclusion, Migration and inclusion, Publications

EU directive on gender and domestic violence 

Gender Violence - News 2023

CEMR urges multi-level coordination, victim support, and recognition of women politicians’ safety 

Read full position paper

Violence against women and domestic violence remain among the most widespread violations of fundamental rights in Europe. In response to the European Commission’s proposed Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence, the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) has published a position paper calling for a unified and multi-level approach to ensure effective implementation across the EU. 

CEMR welcomes key elements of the Directive, including provisions on safeguarding victims, training professionals, tackling harmful gender stereotypes, and addressing sexual harassment at work. However, the organisation stresses that the Directive must go further to recognise the central role of local and regional governments (LRGs), who are on the frontline of prevention, victim support, and access to justice. 

Among its recommendations, CEMR calls for: 

  • Formal consultation with LRGs in policy design and coordination, ensuring that Article 39 on multi-level response explicitly requires their involvement. 
  • Targeted EU funding for local authorities through programmes such as CERV, ERDF and ESF+, to strengthen prevention, awareness-raising and victim services. 
  • Better data collection, disaggregated by sex, age and region (NUTS 2, NUTS 3, and local level), to tailor policies effectively. 
  • Improved victim support systems, combining both “one-stop” online access and physical centres, with minimum geographic coverage standards. 

The paper also highlights violence against women in politics, noting that harassment and threats against elected representatives undermine democracy itself. CEMR urges the addition of a specific clause under Article 13 on aggravating circumstances for violence against women in public office. 

Finally, CEMR emphasises the importance of prevention, beginning with early education to challenge gender stereotypes, and extending to workplaces where women in public-facing professions are disproportionately exposed to third-party violence. The organisation recommends a dedicated article on cooperation between LRGs and social partners to strengthen workplace protections. 

By adopting a truly coordinated, multi-level approach, the Directive could transform Europe’s fragmented response into a coherent framework that empowers governments at every level to protect women’s rights and safety. 

Read the policy paper here 

For more information, contact: 

BORDELOT Federica
In About CEMR, Impact community Climate, Impact community Climate, Impact community Cohesion, Impact community Cohesion, Impact community Labour, Impact community Labour, Impact community Society, Impact community Society, Latest, Publications

CEMR report of 2021 

Meet Local Leaders - News

Report on the publications, knowledge-sharing, advocacy and communications in 2021 

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The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) is pleased to present its 2021 Activity Report, which provides an overview of the organisation’s main actions and achievements over the year. Guided by the 2021–2030 multiannual strategy and the 2021–2022 work programme, CEMR focused its work on four objectives: 

  1. Policies and advocacy 
  1. Knowledge sharing and capacity-building 
  1. Pan-European campaigns and visibility 
  1. Internal organisation and sustainability 

All actions were aligned with the aim of advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across Europe’s territories. 

Shaping European and Global Agendas 

Throughout 2021, CEMR actively influenced European initiatives and alerted members to upcoming developments affecting local and regional governments. Activities included: 

  • Monitoring EU initiatives on recovery, resilience, and international cooperation. 
  • Engaging in structured dialogues on cohesion policy, rural development, disability rights, and urban development. 
  • Providing input that shaped OECD analyses, Council Conclusions, and the European long-term vision for rural areas. 
  • Publishing position papers and resolutions on gender equality, migration, the Fit for 55 energy package, water, and digitalisation. 

At the international level, CEMR deepened cooperation with UCLG, the Global Taskforce, OECD, and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities. 

Building Knowledge and Capacity 

To strengthen understanding of EU policies and empower members to act, CEMR: 

  • Produced publications and webinars, including a new edition of the TERRI Report on decentralisation reforms. 
  • Organised workshops on member participation in national and European processes. 
  • Delivered capacity-building through externally funded projects in areas such as EU funding, climate adaptation, gender equality, migration, and SDG implementation. 

Raising Visibility and Engaging Citizens 

2021 was also a year of celebrations: 

  • 70th anniversary of CEMR and the 15th anniversary of the Equality Charter brought together 500 participants online. 
  • Pan-European campaigns were launched for Europe Day, SDG Day, and equality, highlighting the voices of local leaders and women in politics. 
  • CEMR ensured visibility for its spokespersons through social media, interviews, videos, and participation in international events. 

In numbers: 

  • Over 120 articles published in English and French. 
  • More than 650 tweets reaching 1 million views. 
  • 14 newsletters delivered to the network. 

Strengthening Internal Organisation 

CEMR took concrete steps to become a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient organisation: 

  • Two online Policy Committee meetings gathered 170 elected representatives to adopt policy positions and validate the strategy. 
  • A new Secretary General selection process was launched. 
  • Internal processes were modernised with digital templates, e-signatures, and reduced paper use. 
  • Staff received training on project management, budget monitoring, public speaking, and team collaboration. 

Milestones and Campaign Highlights 

  • Advocated for local governments to be included in post-COVID recovery plans (#CohesionAlliance). 
  • Shared local leaders’ visions for the Conference on the Future of Europe. 
  • Continued the #Power2Her and #LocalEquality campaigns on gender equality. 
  • Helped secure recognition of the multilevel cooperative model in the Glasgow COP26 agreement. 

2021 was a year of adaptation, resilience, and influence for CEMR. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, the network succeeded in shaping European debates, amplifying the voice of local and regional governments, and strengthening internal capacities. With a stronger foundation and renewed strategy, CEMR continues its mission to empower Europe’s municipalities and regions to lead sustainable change. 

Read the study here

For more information, contact:

TARAN Stanislav
In Bridges of Trust, Impact community Society, Latest, Projects and Programmes, Twinning

Twinning in Ukraine

Mayors in Ukraine - News 2023

Twinning has to be a part of Ukraine’s reconstruction

In a letter to the president of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, CEMR calls on the European institutions to set up an initiative to strengthen twinning for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

The letter is signed by the Mayor of Kyiv and President of the Association of Ukrainian Cities (AUC), Vitaliy Klitschko, its Executive Director, Oleksandr Slobozhan, but also by CEMR’s President, Stefano Bonaccini, and its Secretary General, Fabrizio Rossi.

It stresses the willingness of local and regional governments across Europe to contribute to the reconstruction of Ukrainian municipalities and cities. It also invites the institutions to define, in collaboration with CEMR and its Ukrainian association, “strategic and operational aspects of a twinning initiative to launch and implement the reconstruction of Ukrainian cities and towns »

Letter to the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.
Letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. 
Letter to the President of the European, Charles Michel.

THOMAS Carol
In Impact community Society, Latest

Recovery plan

Pandemic - News Section

What happened to subsidiarity? Local governments have little say in post-COVID recovery plans

The Committee of the Regions and CEMR have teamed up again to explore the involvement of local and regional governments in the implementation of the European Union’s 724-billion-euro post-COVID recovery plan, the Recover and Resilience Facility (RRF).

The results of the survey, based predominantly on the responses of CEMR members, give important insights to the extent of local and regional governments’ ability to influence and contribute to the national recovery plans.

One year after the earlier CoR-CEMR study, the results remain largely discouraging: too often national recovery plans have been implemented as top-down processes with little input from municipalities and regions.

While respondents were broadly positive about the recovery plans’ ability to support the green and digital transitions, they were more ambivalent regarding other policy objectives, such as territorial cohesion.

The study will be a valuable tool as CEMR continues its advocacy work on the RRF, especially in view of the European Parliament’s upcoming vote on its position on the plan’s implementation.

THOMAS Carol
In Impact community Society, International cooperation, Latest, Local democracy, Twinning

Europe Day 2022

European Parliament - News

Conference on the future of Europe: What direction should Europe take?

Every 9 May, Europeans celebrate Europe Day. But this year, the celebrations take on a new meaning. Today, one year after it officially began, the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) comes to a close with 49 proposals being delivered to the presidents of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission.

This a good time for the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) to provide an update on this exercise in participatory democracy and to highlight certain proposals which should define the European Union’s agenda in the coming years.

“People need to take ownership of Europe”, said Manuela Bora, regional councillor for Marche (Italy) and a member of the CoFoE plenary, on 5 May at a meeting organised by our French Association (AFCCRE) and the Strasbourg Eurométropole.

“The most sensible choice, in my opinion, is to make the Conference on the Future of Europe a permanent body within which it is possible to continue to share ideas, especially the most controversial ones”, Ms Bora said. “A participatory debate between local authorities, citizens and the European institutions is the best guarantee for concrete and far-sighted results. And this is why CEMR has developed its six proposals to bring Europe closer to citizens.”

Among these, CEMR called for holding every year on 9 May “a debate on the European project, its benefits and challenges, such as how to build a decarbonised society, in every school and in every municipality and region in Europe.”

Twinning is also a powerful way to bring Europe closer to its citizens. In line with the CoFoE’s proposal of “reinforcing existing EU exchange programme”, CEMR argues for setting up a genuine Erasmus programme for local civil servants through exchanges between municipalities and regions, twinned if possible.

Another proposal promoted by CEMR: the development of European universities beyond the two Colleges of Europe and the teaching of languages such that by 2050 every European speaks at least English and two other European languages, in addition to his own mother tongue.

While ideas are not lacking, these still need to be formalised and consultation with civil society organisations and local governments needs to be made systematic. As Manuela Bora stressed: “If so much has been done in just a year, imagine what could be done in a permanent structured system! And that’s exactly the direction we need to go in.”

On the event

This event, entitled “The Future of Europe: The Vision of Local Governments”,  gathered representatives of local governments and civil society, among which were Antoine Chabal, President of the French section of the European Federalists, Philippe Laurent, the Mayor of Sceaux and the President of AFCCRE, and Jeanne Barseghian, the Mayor of Strasbourg.

TARAN Stanislav
In Bridges of Trust, Impact community Society, Latest, Projects and Programmes, Twinning

Twinning for Rebuilding

European mayors eye long-term partnerships with counterparts to rebuild Ukraine

Leaders of European cities and towns are moving to support Ukrainian local and regional authorities through peer to peer schemes as sub-national leaders look to rebuild the war-torn country.

Mayors of European cities have been some of the most ardent supporters of placing more pressure on Russia as it continues its devastating war in Ukraine.

By Wednesday, 28 April, 300 mayors, among them leaders of 15 European capitals, joined the call for an immediate full embargo on Russian energy exports.

“Not at the end of this year but immediately”, the mayors said in a joint video message.

In the meantime, European towns are helping their Ukrainian partners with donations. Lithuania’s Šiauliai district was one of the European municipalities that sent humanitarian and material aid worth around €100,000 to Dolyna in western Ukraine. However, they do not plan to stop there.

“I think not long from now, the war will be over, and even after, various forms of support will be necessary,” Mayor Antanas Bezaras told EURACTIV.

Bezaras is now planning to exchange visits with Dolyna to map local forms of self-governance and develop a long-term partnership with the city that his administration met in November 2021 through a project meant to increase cooperation and exchange of best practices, knowledge and skills between municipalities in Ukraine and the EU.

The municipalities met in the framework of the “Bridges of Trust” Initiative, implemented by the Council of European Municipalities and Regions and PLATFORMA with the support of the U-LEAD with Europe programme.

This article was first published by EurActiv. Real the whole text.

THOMAS Carol
In EU budget, EU budget, Governance, Governance, Impact community Society, Impact community Society, Latest, Publications

Recovery & Resilience Facility funds 

RRF Consultation - News

Local and regional governments warn of weak involvement, risks of fund misallocation, and limited ownership of recovery plans 

Read full study

The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) is the EU’s largest ever economic support plan, launched in response to the COVID-19 crisis. While national governments designed National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRPs) to guide investments and reforms until 2026, a new consultation by the Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) highlights a persistent problem: local and regional authorities (LRAs) remain sidelined in the process. 

Weak involvement in preparation and governance 

The survey, conducted in early 2022 among 26 associations across 19 EU member states, shows that most LRAs had little to no influence on defining objectives, reforms, or investments. Compared with 2021, dialogue with national governments slightly improved, but respondents stress that these consultations had minimal impact on final plans. Governance of the process remains largely top-down. 

Mixed views on the plans’ content 

Respondents were broadly positive about the NRRP’s contribution to the green (37% earmark) and digital transitions (20% earmark). However, they expressed doubts about the plans’ ability to advance territorial cohesion, one of the RRF’s six pillars. The interplay between NRRPs and other EU funds such as the ERDF or Cohesion Fund also remains unclear and inconsistent, raising fears of overlaps and inefficient spending. 

Implementation: low ownership, high risks 

When it comes to implementation, optimism is scarce. Only a handful of LRAs reported having a meaningful role in monitoring, adapting, or co-managing projects. Ownership is strikingly low, despite LRAs’ frontline role in pandemic response and recovery. The main barriers identified were a lack of political will at the national level and tight or unsuitable formats and timelines, rather than a lack of local capacity. 

These shortcomings translate into serious risks: 

  • Failure to meet milestones and targets 
  • Misallocation of funds 
  • Increased territorial disparities 
  • Public distrust in the EU and national institutions 

Calls for stronger EU-level monitoring 

To improve outcomes, respondents strongly supported enhanced dialogue between the EU and local/regional representatives and the creation of an early warning mechanism to flag delays or problems in implementation. 

Conclusion 

Two years after the pandemic outbreak, Europe’s recovery is underway, but its governance remains overly centralised. The CoR-CEMR consultation warns that without meaningful involvement of local and regional governments, the RRF risks missing its objectives, weakening both recovery efforts and citizens’ trust in the European project. 

Read the study here 

For more information, contact: 

THOMAS Carol
In Impact community Society, Latest

Impact of COVID-19

COVID 19 - News

Territorial impacts of COVID-19 and policy responses in European regions and cities

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on everyone’s lives. At the same time, local and regional governments face the most hard test of their capacity to achieve political, economic and social responses to this crisis. What solutions have they come up with to minimise setbacks and to change the direction for the better? What recommendations can we draw from these insights? 

These are some of the questions we will be examining in an online discussion on “Territorial impacts of Covid-19 and policy answers in European regions and cities”, on 11 May 2022.

This workshop will present the key overall policy findings and recommendations to emerge from the ESPON Covid 19 project. The workshop will bring together the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), associations of local and regional governments, and other relevant networks, in an interactive process designed to:

  • discuss and share information on the regional policy responses to the crisis;
  • learn about innovative good practice policies that emerged during the pandemic;
  • assess project recommendations (policy, governance, territorial and financial) that can help regions recover from the crisis and build resilience in the future.

CEMR will be represented by Durmish Guri, Director – External Resources and Knowledge Strategy, and Carol Thomas, Adviser – Governance and Institutional Relations.

You can find the agenda attached and you can register today by following the link here. The link for the workshop will be sent to the registered participants some days before the event.

OKKALI AKTAS Ayben
In About CEMR, EU enlargement and Eastern Partnership, Impact community Society, International cooperation, Latest, Twinning, Ukraine reconstruction

Secretaries General

CEMR’s Secretaries General and Directors met to discuss Ukraine and their priorities for the next months

Secretaries General and Directors of CEMR’s member associations took part in an executive meeting to develop a common position on priority issues on the local and international agenda. They exchanged on the war in Ukraine, discussed a base document proposing joint measures on climate neutrality and decarbonisation of towns and cities and presented the actions of the Young Elected Committee. They also discussed statutory, general and internal affairs. This first face-to-face meeting after the pandemic took place from 5 to 6 April in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain at the invitation of the Association of Basque Municipalities (EUDEL) and the city’s mayor Gorka Urtaran Agirre. It has been attended by twenty delegates (from Czech Republic, Turkey, Greece, United Kingdom, France, Norway, Spain, Cyprus, the Netherlands…) and the rest of the attendees have participated online.
 
Renewing solidarity and support with Ukraine
Participants, in particular, renewed their full solidarity and support with Ukraine. In this complex international context, they called for unity of local and multilevel action. Marlène Siméon, Operations Director of CEMR explained that “Since its creation in 1951, the CEMR and its members have worked to promote the construction of a united, peaceful and democratic Europe, based on local autonomy, respect for the principle of subsidiarity and the participation of citizens, but also on twinning and solidarity between municipalities on the continent and beyond. This is why the war in Ukraine immediately provoked a reaction from CEMR, with an appeal signed by more than 750 mayors and local or regional leaders from all over Europe, condemning the Russian invasion and pledging to support the municipalities and cities of Ukraine.” She emphasised that “in these times of pain and suffering, the European family of local and regional governments is united. Ukraine is part of Europe and we will continue to support it”.
 
40th Anniversary of EUDEL
The CEMR also participated in the ceremony celebrating the 40th anniversary of EUDEL. Chaired by Iñigo Urkullu, President of the Basque government, the celebration recalled the important milestones in the strengthening and transformation of the municipalities of the Basque country over the last 40 years. The association also paid tribute to the people who have presided EUDEL since its creation in 1982. For 40 years, EUDEL has energetically participated in many of CEMR fields of action. They are strongly involved in policy and advocacy work. For example, EUDEL has contributed greatly to CEMR’s work on local gender equality and, in particular, the revitalisation of the European Charter for Local Equality currently underway. Building on the Basque Country’s long tradition of promoting effective gender equality, EUDEL has been an active player in ensuring the Charter remains a useful and effective tool to mainstream gender equality in Europe’s territories. The whole CEMR is looking forward to many more years of collaboration with its Basque friends!

BIZARRO Pedro
In Climate, Energy, EU Covenant of Mayors, Impact community Climate, Impact community Society, Latest, Projects and Programmes, Twinning

Peer learning programme on climate and energy

Covenant of Mayors - News

Apply for the Covenant of Mayors peer learning programme: The deadline extended to 15 April!

Cities and towns have until 15 April 2022 to apply for the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy’s peer learning programme. The programme offers Covenant of Mayors signatories across Europe the opportunity to increase their capacity and knowledge on climate and energy challenges through peer discussions tailored to their needs.
 
In 2021, the Covenant Office supported 45 cities, 6 coordinators, and 4 energy agencies. This year, the Covenant of Mayors offers four programmes to respond to local needs: twinning, expert missions, peer review and technical assistance.
 
Find out more
Peer Learning Programme 2022/2023
Recording of the info session
Selection criteria

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