The Secretary General of the 46-member Council of Europe, Alain Berset, will make his first official visit to Belgium on 5 and 6 February.
On Thursday 5 February, in Brussels, the Secretary General will have an audience with His Majesty King Philippe at the Palais royal.
He will also have bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Bart De Wever, the Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Maxime Prévot, Minister of Justice Annelies Verlinden and the President of the Belgian Senate, Vincent Blondel.
Reinforcing cooperation
Discussions are expected to focus on further strengthening cooperation between Belgium and the Council of Europe, including the European Court of Human Rights, current geopolitical developments and threats to the rule-based international order.
The Secretary General will underline the need for enhanced democratic security across the continent, the challenges that disinformation and foreign influence are presenting to European democracies, and the next steps in the Council of Europe's priority work towards ensuring justice and accountability for Ukraine.
Later on Thursday, the Secretary General will be the keynote speaker at an event entitled "Towards a New Democratic Pact for Europe", organised by the faculty of law and criminology at the Université libre de Bruxelles.
He will then meet a number of Belgian civil-society organisations at the Council of Europe office in Brussels, notably to discuss the participation of young people in democratic life - a central theme of the New Democratic Pact.
On Friday 6 February, Secretary General Berset will travel to the College of Europe in Bruges, where he will give a high-level speech and take part in discussions with staff and students, including participants in the EU Diplomatic Academy/Programme.
Secretary General Alain Berset
Belgium and the Council of Europe
New Democratic Pact for Europe
The Council of Europe's support for Ukraine
