Calendrier

This co-organised session presents the CEMR–28DIGITAL programme “Empowering Local Leaders Through AI” and its AI training for local and regional government leaders. By bringing together politicians and partners to discuss the importance of local leaders’ AI literacy for improving governance and the need to scale practical capacity-building efforts to support cities and regions across Europe.

• Public event
• In person
• Session at Smart City Expo: register here

Under the LORAI programme, CEMR will organise a peer exchange bringing together approximately 60 local and regional representatives from EU Member States and candidate countries. The session will provide a platform for dialogue on the local and territorial dimensions of EU enlargement, exploring how accession-related reforms and investments can contribute to the long-term resilience and attractiveness of municipalities, particularly in small and medium-sized communities.

Through the exchange of experiences and good practices, participants will discuss challenges linked to demographic decline, service provision, and local economic development, as well as the role of local governments in ensuring access to quality public services, including education and childcare. Particular attention will be given to how the EU accession process can support sustainable local development through targeted investments, enhanced infrastructure, energy-efficient public buildings, and strengthened local capacities, ultimately helping municipalities create favourable living conditions and opportunities for citizens while preventing territorial disparities and depopulation.

• Member only event
• In-person

Program of the event

Register here

---

On 28 January 1951, in the aftermath of the Second World War, visionary European mayors gathered in Geneva with a shared conviction: that rebuilding Europe would begin in its towns, cities and regions. Their commitment gave birth to the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), the first transnational organisation in Europe, and in the world, bringing together mayors and local leaders around a common vision of peace, democracy and European cooperation. Seventy-five years later, that vision remains as important as ever.

Over the decades, CEMR has grown into the largest and broadest organisation representing local and regional governments in Europe. Together with its members, it has championed local democracy, supported local self-government, defended human rights and territorial cohesion, while ensuring that local and regional governments have a voice in shaping European policies and global debates.

Through periods of reconstruction, integration, enlargement and transformation, CEMR has consistently defended a simple but powerful principle: Europe is built from the ground up, and local democracy is one of the foundations of the European project.

Today, Europe once again stands at a turning point. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, growing geopolitical tensions, climate change, artificial intelligence, demographic shifts, declining trust in democratic institutions, pressures on competitiveness and social cohesion, or the housing crisis are reshaping Europe’s political agenda. While these challenges are global and European in nature, their success or failure will ultimately be determined where citizens live: in Europe’s towns, cities and regions.

As Europe asks more of local and regional governments than ever before, an important political question emerges: How should Europe’s governance systems evolve to enable local and regional governments to deliver on Europe’s future priorities?

Marking CEMR’s 75th anniversary, this high-level political event will bring together leaders from across Europe to reflect on the evolution of local leadership over the past seven decades and to look ahead to the governance challenges of the future. Beyond celebrating a remarkable history, the discussion will explore whether local and regional governments are equipped with the powers, resources and partnerships needed to respond to Europe’s most pressing challenges.

The event will also mark the launch of the latest edition of TERRI Report, CEMR’s flagship publication on territorial governance, local and regional government powers, and territorial reforms in Europe. Published every five years, TERRI offers a comparative analysis of how territorial governance, reforms and the powers of local and regional governments have evolved across Europe. The 2026 edition focuses on housing, providing a timely case study through which to explore whether Europe’s governance framework equips local and regional governments with the powers, resources and partnerships needed to address Europe’s housing emergency.

Rather than treating housing as a standalone policy issue, the discussion will use it as a case study to explore whether Europe’s governance systems are fit to address increasingly complex challenges and to deliver on citizens’ expectations.

• Public event

As part of the CEMR–28DIGITAL project “Empowering Local Leaders through AI”, which aims to develop a training programme to strengthen AI literacy and leadership among political leaders, we are pleased to invite CEMR members to express their interest in participating in the pilot phase of the AI training.

The pilot, developed with the support of the Finnish consultancy Gofore, is designed to provide local and regional leaders with a practical introduction to artificial intelligence and support informed decision-making on AI-related opportunities and challenges for municipalities and regions. It will be conducted online on 11 and 25 November and will be delivered by two AI experts who contributed to the programme’s development.

Similar to the training programme, the pilot is open to local and regional elected officials and to their colleagues responsible for digitalisation within their administration.

Learn more about our expert group

• Pubic event
• Online

This meeting will be open for discussions and could include the usual state of play of local finances in Europe, a presentation of the CEMR analysis on local finances and housing, local benefits from strategic infrastructure (e.g. data centres and renewable energy installations), the budget cost of demographic transition, a new VAT on circular economy, an update on the EU Taxonomy, and the UCLG World Observatory on local finances.

Learn more about our expert group

• Member only event
• In-person

As part of the LORAI project, CEMR is organising a series of MFF workshops in each Western Balkan country. The MFF workshop in Albania will bring together approximately 45 participants, including representatives of local and regional governments, national institutions, EU stakeholders, civil society organisations, and experts.

The event will feature panel discussions and a structured multilevel dialogue on how the future Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) can better support Albania’s accession-related priorities and strengthen the role of local governments in the EU integration process, including the Reform Agenda. It will also include three interactive and participatory MFF Lab sessions involving local government officials.

• Member only event
• In-person
• Learn more about the LORAI project

The study visit is part of the LAB project, an EU-funded project by CEMR and EPSU aiming to strengthen social dialogue and social partner capacities in the local and regional government sector of the target countries. It aims to deepen the networks and lessons learned from the previous LAB project workshop by bringing workshop participants on a study visit to further exchanges and showcase best practices for social dialogue.

• Member only event
• In Person
• This event contributes to Sustainable Development Goal 8 – Decent work and economic growth

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 statutory affairs meetings, as well as political discussions and events on the broader EU and international context.

This edition of the Leaders’ Summit will be hosted by the ​CEMR Italian Section (AICCRE).

• Member only event
• On-site