Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset has reiterated to lawmakers in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe that "democracy is still alive", as shown by the recent elections in Bulgaria and Hungary, where "the people have spoken", calling on them to "build on this positive momentum at this challenging time". He emphasised:
"Europe is a geographical reality. No crisis is ever truly far from Europe. Not far from our energy, nor our economy, nor our security."
The Council of Europe: leading the response to crises
The Secretary General described the current moment as one of "profound geopolitical tension", highlighting, in particular, Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, the terrible situation in the Middle East, and the growing pressure on democracy, security and the rule of law.
Specifically on Ukraine, now in its fifth year since the full-scale invasion by Russia, Alain Berset outlined the support that the Council of Europe has led, urging Europeans not to forget the war amid crises elsewhere. He highlighted the progress towards the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, noting that the initiative now requires the commitment of the member states to be brought to fruition. He then spoke about the upcoming gathering of member-state foreign ministers in Moldova:
"The ministerial session in Chișinău next month will be such an important moment for our organisation. It will be also advance key priorities, from support for Ukraine to migration and foreign information manipulation and interference, in full respect of the Convention system and the values we stand for."
Living parliamentary democracy
Alain Berset was speaking as part of a Q&A with parliamentarians at this week's session of the Parliamentary Assembly, in which he took questions from across the political spectrum. This is very much an example of an organisation acting in accordance with its principles, living and securing democracy that is more than just a slogan.
One such question, from Swedish representative Azadeh Rojhan, concerned the independence of the European Court of Human Rights in discussions over migration. Secretary General Berset was unequivocal:
"The independence of the Court must be untouchable. This is why we need to act. One third of all the members of the European Union put the independence of the Court in question. This is a serious matter. We could not act as if nothing was happening. My goal was to take back this discussion to Strasbourg and to channel this discussion at the political level, where it must be dealt with, and not to accept pressure on the Court.
"We can expect from the future political declaration on the Court, that the Court can read this and take it into account in its work. The European Convention on Human Rights will remain the most important text that we have."
Addressing urgent questions from across the continent
The Parliamentary Assembly brings together representatives of national parliaments from our member states. It provides a unique pan-European forum for debate, dialogue and consensus-building on key issues facing the continent.
It's representatives therefore operate in extraordinarily different contexts. In that light, Secretary General Berset also took questions on, among other subjects, support for Ukraine, Armenia's elections, the arrest of two mayors in Türkiye, reforms of the Council of Europe, Serbia and Kosovo, multilateralism, and on Cyprus.
The Secretary General was able to set out his wider vision in response to a question from Lord Don Touhig of the United Kingdom as to how we can achieve a bold values-based Europe in the future:
need to adapt, not to renounce, but to be stronger for our values. We must adapt to a world that is more divergent, we are under pressure about values, force and violence, coming from partners even. We are therefore working on a possible reform of the Council of Europe. Not to do something differently, but to be stronger in defending our values, taking into account this context."
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Secretary General Alain Berset
