Home / Governance and citizenship /

Governance and citizenship

In-depth news News in brief Press releases Best practices

Back to all news in brief

Austria - 12.10.2015

Congratulations to CEMR honorary president for his reelection as mayor of Vienna
Michael Häupl, whose party secured 39.5 percent of Sunday's vote, was reelected mayor of Vienna on 11 October, despite tight competition with the far-right Freedom Party (32,3% of votes). Voter turnout is estimated about 72,4%.

Mr Haupl, who is member of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), was CEMR President from 2004 to 2007.
Austria - 29.09.2015

Summary of regional election results
The northern Upper Austria region held its regional elections on 27 September. The Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) recorded 30% of the vote securing 18 seats, whereas in 2009’s elections the figures were 15% and nine seats. Voter turnout is estimated about 80%.

The next local elections will be held in Vienna on 11 October 2015.
World Forum for Democracy - 27.07.2015

Participate in a workshop to promote participatory democracy at the local level
The Council of Europe is inviting cities and municipalities from its member states to participate in a workshop on participatory democracy at a local level. The workshop will be part of the World Forum for Democracy, to be held from 18 to 20 November 2015 in Strasbourg.

Interested in participating? Answer the questionnaire and send it to forum_democracy@coe.int by 15 September 2015.
Better Regulation - 14.07.2015

CEMR declaration: “Better law-making needs local input!”
The European Commission’s Better Regulation proposals are a key step forward for improving the effectiveness of its decision making. With its focus on improved impact assessments, consultations throughout the policy cycle and suggestions for how EU decision-making processes can be made more predictable, thorough and transparent, local authorities stand to gain substantially from this package.

In recognition of these major proposals, CEMR’s Policy Committee adopted a declaration during its meeting on 26 June in Munich.

Although CEMR’s politicians broadly view the Commission’s proposals with satisfaction, there is still work to be done by the EU’s decision-makers to ensure this key set of proposals can truly achieve their aims and respect the principle of “partnership” and multi-level governance. Local government will continue to assert its place in future EU law making.
Governance - 19.03.2015

Summary of the seminar on the simplification of local administration in Europe
In this newsletter (also available in French) published by our partners from the Observatory on Local Autonomy, you will find the different interventions during the seminar we organised alongside OLA in Bologna, on 30 and 31 October 2014.
2014 World Mayor Prize - 03.02.2015

Congratulations to the mayor of Ghent for being named the second most outstanding mayor of 2014
The mayor Ghent (Belgium), Daniël Termont, has been named the second most outstanding mayor of 2014 and awarded the World Mayor Commendation for services to European cities.

Termont has been mayor of Ghent since 2007 and a member of the City Council since 1977, where he has over the years promoted diversity in the city. He has also set many city ambitious environmental, social and economic targets.

The City of Ghent is a member of the Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities (VVSG), which is one of the CEMR's Belgian sections.
Local autonomy - 01.02.2015

Happy Day of Local Autonomy to Moldova
On 1 February of each year, Moldova celebrates its national Day of Local Autonomy. This official holiday was introduced in 2013 on the initiative of the Congress of Local Authorities from Moldova (CALM), CEMR member association, and represents the occasion for local elected representatives to meet and exchange on best practices or to raise the main challenges linked to local governance.

Moldova is a member of the Council of Europe and signatory of the European Charter of Local Self-Government since 1997.
Transparency Register - 27.01.2015

EU Commission and Parliament implement new rules on Transparency Register
A new, improved EU Transparency Register was launched on Tuesday with the aim of "making EU-decision-making and the activities of lobbyists more transparent and more accountable while also giving lobbyists more incentives to register and making the database easier for lobbyists and the public to access."

The new system brings changes to the way human resources invested in lobbying are declared, requires additional information about involvement in EU committees, forums, intergroups or similar structures, and legislative files currently followed; it also extends the requirement to declare estimated costs related to lobbying to all registrants.
Publication - 21.01.2015

Take a minute to discover more about the CEMR and its action on the ground
A minute. This is the time you will need to look through the new CEMR presentation brochure and to get a better idea of who we are, who are our member associations and what is our action on the ground. The publication provides you with examples of activities in the five thematic areas, which affect all aspects of the lives of European citizens as well as the local and regional governments that represent them.

"CEMR - For a Europe of municipalities, cities and regions" is available in English, French and Italian.