"Democracy is not solely built top-down, but it should also be consolidated at the grassroots. Democracy should not only rely on vertical power, this power should also be distributed horizontally. It is important that the European Union support efforts for more local democracy in European countries be they candidates for accession to the EU membership or not," declared Marc Cools, President of the IDLG, at the exchange of views with the EU Committee of the Regions on the state of the EU enlargement held on 19 June 2019 in Brussels. Read more