Skopje, 11 October 2025 (MIA) — President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova on a visit to Venice met Saturday with Marc Cools, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.

According to an official press release, Siljanovska Davkova and Cools discussed bilateral cooperation and implemented projects.

As a long-standing member of the Group of Independent Experts on the European Charter of Local Self-Government of the Council of Europe and its vice president for two terms, Siljanovska Davkova agreed with Cools that present times required engagement in strengthening local self-government and democracy in the Council of Europe's member states.

Meeting participants pointed out that the development of democracy at the central level was impossible without the development of democracy at the local level.

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is a political assembly at the Council of Europe that promotes local and regional democracy to strengthen local and regional governance, encourage self-government and ensure the principles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government are followed. mr/