The Congress and the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Roma issues organised a consultation meeting with cities, regions and stakeholders of the European Alliance of Cities and Regions for Roma Inclusion, in Strasbourg on 25 September 2012. The aim of this meeting was to present the objectives and working methods of the Alliance to potential future partners and discuss possible cooperation and interaction. The decision to establish the Alliance was taken by the participants of the Summit of Mayors in September 2011, who committed themselves to setting up "a framework for co-operation, sharing of good practices, strengthening local and regional capacities for action, identifying specific problems and proposing solutions, and helping to ensure funding for Roma activities at the grassroots level". A Core Group of cities and regions elaborated a conceptual framework for the Alliance and identified immediate needs and priorities for its activities, which will be presented at the consultation meeting.