Hosted back-to-back with the meetings of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, this conference will gather Congress members and local stakeholders to explore innovative alternatives to traditional top-down governance. The focus will be on collaborative models that promote efficient resource use, inclusive decision-making, and community-driven solutions to pressing environmental challenges.
The event draws inspiration from the Reykjavík Declaration – “United around our values”, where Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening democracy and good governance across the continent. They acknowledged the critical importance of multilevel governance in advancing the organisation’s mission and underscored the urgent need to respond to the triple planetary crisis: pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss—each with far-reaching implications for human rights, democratic institutions, and the rule of law.
In this context, the conference sets out to:
- Showcase effective multilevel governance models in environmental policy;
- Promote democratic principles within environmental practices;
- Raise awareness of the Council of Europe’s Environmental Strategy;
- Explore the distribution of competencies in implementing environmental policies; and
- Identify participatory multilevel governance approaches for future initiatives.
This conference aims to build on the outcomes of the Multilevel Governance Conference held in Vilnius in September 2024, under the Lithuanian Presidency, and to advance the commitments made in Reykjavík by fostering dialogue, sharing best practices, and shaping future action.
