Mr. Alin-Adrian Nica, President of Timiş County Council in Romania, and first vice-chair of the Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External affairs (CIVEX) represented the Committee of the Regions at the High-level political conference entitled "Embedding democratic values in Europe's communities" on 15 May 2023 in Reykjavík. The conference was co-organized by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, together with the Icelandic Association of Local Authorities and the City of Reykjavík in the context of the 4th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe Member States.

On this occasion, the representatives of seven European institutions and associations* signed a Call for Action, highlighting the key role of local and regional authorities in upholding and defending democracy, human rights and rule of law in their communities. In his statement, Mr Nica focused on a human rights-centred approach in local and regional governance, towards promoting equality, diversity, and fight discrimination, and building more cohesive, inclusive and respectful societies and communities. He outlined the relevant CoR initiatives in this area, including the Annual High Level Group Meeting, with the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Congress of Europe, the Annual dialogues with the Fundamental Rights Agency in the CIVEX commission, and the Paweł Adamowicz Award.

* Assembly of European Regions, Association of European Border Regions, Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions, Conference of European Regional Legislative Assemblies, Council of European Municipalities and Regions, European Committee of the Regions and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.