The Council of Europe (CoE)  is the continent’s leading human rights organisation. It includes 47 member states, 28 of which are members of the European Union. All Council of Europe member states have signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights, a treaty designed to protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The European Court of Human Rights oversees the implementation of the Convention in the Member States.

The Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS) is the only Norwegian national association for municipalities and regions, and has as its’ members all the 423 municipalities and 18 counties in Norway.

KS is Donor Programme Partner – DPP – in the Programme “Local Development, Poverty Reduction and Enhanced Roma Inclusion.” One of the main objectives of the EEA and Norway Grants is to strengthen relations between the donor states – Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein – and Romania. To support this objective, KS has a special responsibility as DPP to identify and promote bilateral activities in cooperation with the PO (RSDF).

KS is an interest and employer association, and as such, a spokesman towards central government on behalf of the members, as well as responsible for conducting central collective bargaining on behalf of municipalities and counties as employers. KS has 273 employees, including the Head Quarter in Oslo, seven regional offices and a representation in Brussels.

KS is a member of the European Committee for Municipalities and Regions-CEMR, the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, United Cities and Local Government-UCLG, and have been involved in international projects for more than 20 years.