Presse-Release-Congress-EN

T +33(0)390214895        www.coe.int/congress        [email protected]

Ref. CG-PR 003 (2016)

Monitoring visit by the Congress to the Republic of Croatia

Strasbourg, 1st March 2016– A delegation from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe is to make a monitoring visit to the Republic of Croatia from 2 to 4 March. The delegation will examine the follow-up action taken on the commitments made by this country in the sphere of devolution when it ratified the European Charter of Local Self-Government in 1997. The delegation will focus in particular on the developments in the field of local and regional democracy occurred since the last Congress monitoring visit in 2007.

High level meetings are scheduled in Zagreb, in particular with Dubravka Jurlina-Alibegovic, Minister of Public Administration, Marija Vukovic, Deputy Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds, as well as Ivana Jakir-bajo, Deputy Minister and Chief State Treasurer.

The delegation will also meet Jasna Omejec, President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia, the General Auditor of the State Audit Office as well as the speaker of the Croatian Parliament.

The delegation will meet representatives of the Zagreb county, the city of Zagreb as well as the Ombudswoman of Croatia and members of associations of local and regional authorities.

On 3 March, meetings are scheduled with representatives of Rijeka City, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Omisalj Municipality and the Town of Krk.

The countries which have ratified the Charter are bound by its provisions. The Charter requires compliance with a minimum number of rights which form the European foundation for local self-government. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe makes sure that these principles are observed.

File on “Monitoring of local and regional democracy"

European Charter of Local Self-Government

Contact:

Stéphanie Poirel, Secretary to the Congress Monitoring Committee,

Mobile: +33 3 90 21 51 84, E-mail: [email protected]

The Congress has two chambers, the Chamber of Local Authorities and the Chamber of Regions. It brings together 324 full and 324 substitute members representing more than 200 000 European territorial communities.
President of the Congress: Jean-Claude Frécon (France, SOC), President of the Chamber of Local Authorities: Anders Knape (Sweden, EPP/CCE), President of the Chamber of Regions:
Gudrun Mosler-Törnström (Austria, SOC)
Political Groups: Socialist Group (SOC), Group of the European People’s Party (EPP/CCE), Independent and Liberal Democrat Group (ILDG), European Conservatives & Reformists Group  (ECR)