Chamber of Municipalities

The Chamber of Local Authorities is one of the two chambers of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe . The chamber is the voice of the local authorities (cities and municipalities) in the Council of Europe . It consists of 324 representatives from the 47 member states of the Council of Europe, who were either directly elected to an office of a local authority or are subordinate to a directly elected assembly. The chamber offers municipal representatives an opportunity to discuss common concerns, exchange experiences and develop policy proposals.

The Chamber's work takes place within the framework of four statutory committees. The Committee for Institutional Issues deals with issues of local self-government. He observes elections at local and regional level, writes reports and makes recommendations. The Committee for Culture and Education is responsible for the fields of culture, education, media, youth, sport and communication. The Social Cohesion Committee is responsible for issues relating to employment, civic responsibility, migration, intermunicipal relations, social justice, gender equality and solidarity. The Committee for Sustainable Development deals with environmental issues and urban and spatial planning issues.

According to the new Charter of the Congress, which was adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on May 2, 2007 , membership in the Chamber is based on a balanced geographical distribution, an equal representation of the different types of local authorities and the political forces within these local authorities, as well as a equal representation of women and men. The Chamber drafts reports, recommendations, resolutions and opinions on topics from its fields of activity and presents them to the Standing Committee of the Congress for approval. The chamber elects its president every two years from among its members and appoints the chamber's office, which consists of the president and seven vice-presidents. As far as possible, attention is paid to a fair geographical distribution between the Member States.

The Chamber's permanent secretariat is located in the Palace of Europe in Strasbourg and is headed by a manager appointed by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

According to the statutes, the Chamber of Municipalities consists of 324 members from the following countries:

Country	Members	Country	Members	Country	Members
Albania	04th	Andorra	02	Armenia	04th
Azerbaijan	06th	Belgium	07th	Bosnia and Herzegovina	05
Bulgaria	06th	Denmark	05	Germany	18th
Estonia	03	Finland	05	France	18th
Georgia	05	Greece	07th	Ireland	04th
Iceland	03	Italy	18th	Croatia	05
Latvia	03	Liechtenstein	02	Lithuania	04th
Luxembourg	03	Malta	03	North Macedonia	03
Moldova	05	Monaco	02	Montenegro	03
Netherlands	07th	Norway	05	Austria	06th
Poland	12	Portugal	07th	Romania	10
Russia	18th	San Marino	02	Sweden	06th
Switzerland	06th	Serbia	07th	Slovakia	05
Slovenia	03	Spain	12	Czech Republic	07th
Turkey	18th	Ukraine	12	Hungary	07th
United Kingdom	18th	Cyprus	03
TOTAL					324

See also

• Council of Europe
• Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe
• European Charter of Local Self-Government
• European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
• European City Charter
• European Agreement on the Participation of Foreigners in Local Public Life
• European Landscape Convention

Web links

• Homepage of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe
• Charter of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities (in English)
• European Charter of Local Self-Government in the official German translation

1. ^ Congress Database - Council of Europe. Retrieved February 6, 2020 .