Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset on Wednesday called for greater European unity in a time of war and rupture, and for a strong legal and democratic framework on which lasting European security can be built.
Speaking at the University of Zurich, 80 years after Winston Churchill's landmark speech, the Secretary General reflected on Churchill's vision for Europe and the Council of Europe's role in responding to today's growing geopolitical challenges.
Strengthening democratic security
"Europe's defense spending is rising steeply, while trust in democratic institutions is falling," the Secretary General pointed out. He said rearmament was necessary because Russia is more aggressive and the United States is less present. However, he warned of the risks if an extremist government were to control a heavily armed state on the European continent. "The weapons we are building today will outlast the governments that ordered them."
"Europe rarely argues about whether to hold force, but it argues about who controls it and by what authority. At the Council of Europe, we call this democratic security," he stressed.
Democratic security means having institutions people can trust and democracies that can withstand pressure: independent courts, transparent elections, free media, and the capacity to confront cyberattacks, terrorism, and foreign interference.
Europe's common legal space
The Secretary General praised the "shared legal DNA" across the 46 Council of Europe member states, which have converged on the same rules under the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights. "What brings Europe together is more than geography. It is democracy, human rights and the rule of law," he said.
"This common legal space was built for the reconciliations that look impossible tonight. We are ready for Ukraine," Berset added.
