EU Statement in response to Ms Gunn Merit Helgesen, President of the Congress of the Local and Regional Authorities
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States, the Candidate Countries: Moldova, Montenegro and North Macedonia, as well as Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino and Norway aligned with this statement.
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The European Union thanks the President of the Congress, Ms Gunn Marit Helgesen, for her remarks, including on local democracy trends, democratic resilience and on the Congress’ important engagement with Ukraine as it continues to defend itself against Russia’s war of aggression.
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Thank you also for referring to the Local Observatory on Reform Agendas Implementation (LORAI) project – our joint programme to enhance the role of local authorities in the Western Balkans in implementing and monitoring the Reform Agendas under the EU’s Reform and Growth Facility, a key element in the region’s path towards EU accession.
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In Türkiye, we have been closely following the developments related to the detention of Sinem Dedetaş, elected Mayor of Üsküdar and Vice-President of the Congress. Ms Dedetaş is the third member of Türkiye’s delegation to the Congress to be placed in detention. The related statement of the Rapporteurs on the situation of local democracy in Türkiye noted that this detention "further exemplifies the persistent pattern of detentions affecting CHP mayors and officials", and expressed "extreme concern by these systematic arrests of opposition local elected representatives".
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As an EU candidate country and a long-standing member of the Council of Europe, Türkiye is expected to uphold the highest democratic standards and practices. The role of opposition voices is crucial in any healthy democracy. We echo the call on the Turkish authorities to fully honour these commitments.
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We once again thank the President and wish her all the best for her tenure.