CONGRESS CONNECT is a database containing detailed and general information on all members of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.

The Congress, which has 306 representative and 306 substitute members, represents the 150 000 local and regional authorities in the Council of Europe’s member States. It comprises two chambers: the Chamber of Local Authorities and the Chamber of Regions. The Statutory Forum is composed of the Presidents of all national delegations and the members of the Bureau. The Congress also comprises three committees: Monitoring Committee, Governance Committee and Current Affairs Committee.

Congress members, who must hold elected office on local or regional authorities, are appointed in accordance with criteria and a procedure laid down in the Charter and adopted by the Committee of Ministers. Each member state is expected to ensure that the various types of local and regional authority are fairly represented, and has the same number of seats in the Congress that it has in the Parliamentary Assembly.

 


Congress Members
Congress Members are grouped by national delegations and divided between the Chamber of Local Authorities and the Chamber of Regions.


Political groups
The members of the Congress are divided between four political groups: European People’s Party Group in the Congress, Socialist Group, Independent Liberal and Democratic Group, and European Conservatives & Reformists Group.


Structures
The functioning of the Congress is based on different structures: Bureau, Chambers of local authorities and Chamber of Regions, Committees and Working Groups.


Partners
The Congress cooperates with different partners: national associations, international associations, including institutional partners, such as the Committee of Regions of the European Union.