New year's message by Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset:
We enter 2026 between two worlds.
The one we knew, shaped by shared rules, patient institutions, and the belief that law could restrain power. And the one that is coming at us, where democracy is seen as weakness, truth as opinion, and justice as optional.
In this world, courts are painted as obstacles. Migration is framed as a threat rather than a shared responsibility. And accountability, the idea that power must answer to law, has become a dirty word.
Yet, the closing weeks of 2025 reminded us that another course is possible.
We saw it when the Council of Europe established the International Claims Commission for Ukraine, with 35 countries and the European Union having signed to date the convention establishing it. The convention is open, allowing the coalition around it to grow in support of accountability and reparations for Russia's war of aggression. This mechanism exists so that those who have suffered are not forgotten, and accountability is not a footnote to peace talks.
We saw it too in the way Europe chose to confront difficult questions on migration. All 46 member states agreed to continue political dialogue within the Council of Europe, acknowledging real challenges while refusing to weaken shared standards. A political declaration is now being prepared for adoption in May 2026 in Chișinău, affirming the Council of Europe as the institution where security policies are tested against shared legal standards.
Another front has emerged in the form of disinformation. Elections are targeted. Public debate is manipulated. Disinformation and foreign interference distort choices before they are made. The Council of Europe is developing concrete tools with member states to respond to these threats, and this work will intensify in the year ahead.
Today, security is no longer only about borders or military budgets. The frontline is everywhere, in our courts, our parliaments, our information space, and the trust people place in public institutions. At a moment of Cold War-scale rearmament, the Council of Europe plays a central role in ensuring that democratic control gives security its legitimacy. A Europe that rebuilds military strength but neglects democratic control does not become safer. It becomes more fragile.
That is why democratic security will define 2026.
All eyes will be on Ukraine. As the country continues its fight for survival, the Council of Europe is committed to reinforcing the democratic institutions that will guide Ukraine's recovery. From judicial independence and free, fair elections to anti-corruption reforms and resilient public institutions, these are the foundations of any democratic reconstruction.
Our continent is often told it is weak. This claim does not stand. The fact that its liberal democracy has become an enemy in some narratives leaves no ambiguity about Europe's choices. A continent that chooses law over revenge and unity over division is not weak. It is prepared to meet the challenges of our time.
Consultations on the New Democratic Pact for Europe will move forward in 2026. They make clear that democratic strength, public trust, and security are treated as inseparable by the Council of Europe
In a world where values are becoming a rare currency, our task is to ensure that democracy can still protect, still decide, and still deliver.
That is the work before us in 2026.
Secretary General Alain Berset
