Global issues with local implications: Europe’s communities responding to AI, migration and healthcare pressure

Access to healthcare under growing pressure, the increasing use of artificial intelligence, widening socio-economic inequalities in Europe affecting the enjoyment of social rights, restrictions of freedom of media and freedom of expression, conflict-driven migration - these challenges, often seen as global, have a clear local and regional dimension. Local leaders are often left, on the front line, to address them.

These challenges have been discussed at the 50th plenary session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities concluding in Strasbourg over the course of this week. The debates were held as a contribution to the New Democratic Pact for Europe, and demonstrate the breadth of topics that the Congress can deal with from across Europe, and the range of local and regional perspectives the Council of Europe body can bring to bear.

Artificial intelligence: innovations come with privacy and human-rights risks

The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) is profoundly changing the way in which cities and regions deliver services, engage with citizens and manage infrastructure. Innovations often improve efficiency, responsiveness, and transparency of public governance but also come with complex challenges, related to privacy and human rights protection. Many elected officials and staff of local and regional authorities lack the skills and resources to work with AI tools.

The Congress has put forward that local and regional authorities should establish human-centred and human-rights compliant AI-governance structures in line with the Council of Europe Framework Convention on artificial intelligence, and to adequately train elected representatives and administrative staff in its use.

AI-based services should consider the needs and behaviours of end users: clear communication, accessible interfaces and specific in-person support should be ensured. The "digital only" principle should be limited to large-scale services and meaningful human oversight should be ensured wherever high-risk AI systems are used for automated decisions that impact individuals (for example regarding social benefits or housing allocation). Smaller municipalities could work together to benefit from economies of scale in procurement and deployment of AI tools.

Healthcare: old problems, new ageing society

Across Europe, access to essential healthcare services is under increasing pressure. Long­standing structural issues persist, but they are now compounded by new and urgent challenges - ageing populations, shrinking financial resources of local authorities, and growing pressure on supply chains. The result of this is rising healthcare costs, overstretched services and longer waiting lists. Growing pressure on healthcare workers leads many to leave the profession which puts yet further strain on healthcare systems.

Strategies that can help recruit, retain and support healthcare and social-care workers locally (training pipelines, housing and transport support, burnout prevention, career progression, and so forth) and support municipalities' capacities in prevention, primary care, mental health and digital health initiatives, including mobile services, were discussed.

Social rights: safeguarding against social polarisation and discrimination

Local and regional authorities are uniquely placed to protect and promote social rights thanks to their knowledge of local realities. The Congress recommends that local and regional authorities develop strategies in such areas as social housing, fair working conditions and safety in workplaces, equal access to quality education and health services; and that they address gaps in social protection, especially for vulnerable groups, to combat poverty and social exclusion. Engagement with civil-society organisations is key in this regard.

Migration, fundamental freedoms and human-rights implementation

Some areas of Europe, especially coastal regions and islands, are faced with the issue of migration and the challenges and opportunities it brings. This has consequences for local government and is among the considerations affecting democracy at a local and regional level. In the debate "From borders to boroughs", which featured statements by Fatma Şahin, Mayor of Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality in Türkiye, and Elena Carletti, President of the Equal rights and opportunities commission of Emilia Romagna, a region in Italy, Congress members discussed local responses to these global movements.

Local and regional authorities are key actors in Europe's human-rights system. They play a crucial role in implementing the European Convention on Human Rights, including applying the European Court's case-law. Child protection, evictions and social housing, environmental risks, freedom of expression and assembly, fair trials and the implementation of domestic-court judgments, unlawful detention - these are recurrent challenges that often require local solutions. The Congress calls for stronger cooperation, a systematic human-rights-based approach at local level, better enforcement of social rights, and adequate support from national authorities to ensure that local and regional authorities can effectively fulfil their human rights obligations. Mattias Guyomar, President of the European Court of Human Rights, addressed the Congress members during this debate, during which freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and association at a local level were also discussed.

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities

The Impact of the European Convention on Human Rights

The Council of Europe's AI convention