Advocacy

At officer level we work individually as well as with our UK and European counterparts to champion local government abroad. We facilitate the Scottish Locally Elected European Representatives (SLEER) Group made up by Councillors representing Scotland at European and international level and work closely with various networks across Scottish local government.

Representation

We brief and support local elected representatives, notably our Presidential Team, COSLA Spokespersons and elected members in international bodies to ensure that they are able to present COSLA's views.

Raising the profile

We use available opportunities to support Scottish local government international engagement and attendance at international events such as successive UN Climate Conferences. COSLA ensures that international reports on local government include a dedicated Scottish section and actively contributes to Scottish and UK international reporting such as the Voluntary National Reviews to deliver the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We have assisted Congress members to lead landmark European reports on central-local relations, local government finances and UK compliance with the European Charter of Local Self Government. COSLA’s Environment and Economy Spokesperson is the CEMR Spokesperson on Territorial Development and we have delivered a number of events both in Scotland and in Brussels on sustainable development matters.

Membership of networks

In order to be able to our work, we are active members of CEMR and UCLG and work on a bilateral basis with UK and other national associations (especially Baltic and Scandinavian), the Scottish and UK Governments and other Scottish and UK Brussels Offices thematic working groups.