The Congress is a body within the Council of Europe that consists of over 600 local and regional politicians from all the member states. Anders Knape is the chairman of the Swedish delegation.

The Swedish minister for Local Government and Financial Markets Mats Odell on a visit to Strasbourg
Mats Odell addressed the Congress during its session in Strasbourg. He informed about the priorities of  the Swedish chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, which started earlier in May. He underlined that a good dialogue between the Congress and the Committee of Ministers as well as common goals were most important in order to strengthen the work and impact of the Council of Europe. Odell claimed that democracy is best known at its roots where the citizens can identify the needs as well as see the results of decisions. The opinions of the citizens reaches first the politicians working at local and regional level. This creates a unique environment for dialogue and exchange between citizens and politicians. The minister answered questions from the members of the Congress who also showed their appreciation for his presence. 

Mats Odell also visited the European Court of Human Rights where he met the Swedish judge Elisabet Fura-Sandström. Other meetings he attended concerned the Council of Europe’s work for democracy and good governance. The minister also took the opportunity to examine a cross border cooperation called Eurodistrict, between Strasbourg in France and five cities in Germany. The discussions focused on the experiences that authorities, industry and individuals have made so far and what kind of initiatives that are being discussed to further strengthen the cooperation over the boarder.  

Decisions and discussions
The Congress elected Yavuz Mildon from Turkey as its new president. A number of different questions and issues were discussed during the session. The European Urban Charter II, which is a manifest that consist of invitations to different parties involved in the urban development, was adopted. Other issues that were discussed were among others renewable energy sources and street children. Also current political questions were discussed, such as the situation in Belgian towns that has got a lot of attention lately. The Congress also decided to hold two sessions every year to promote the continuity in its work. For more info about  the Congress read here.

Scania and the city of Malmö offered herring
Every third year the organisation The General Assembly of the Council of European Minicipalities and Regions (CEMR) gathers for a conference, and next April this will take place in the city of Malmö, in the region of Scania, Sweden. They seized the opportunity to promote this conference in the Council of Europe by inviting all the Congress members for lunch. Since environmental thinking is a profile issue for Scania and Malmö, the lunch was organic with local delicacies, put together in order to have maximal taste with minimal effect on the environment.