Council of Europe: “political decisions at the highest level to overcome these dark times. The war in Ukraine is a wake-up call”

“The future of the Council of Europe” is the topic of a report just published by the High-Level Reflection Group chaired by the former prime minister of Ireland, Mary Robinson. “We need political decisions at the highest level to overcome these dark times”, Robinson commented. We hoped that realities like those we have seen in Ukraine belonged to our past. We were wrong”. The war in Ukraine is a “wake-up call for Europe”, but “the Democratic backsliding, undermining the rule of law, and challenges to our human rights protection system are on the rise as well”. Thirty are the recommendations that the group of experts worked out in the wake of the Council’s core competencies (promotion of democracy, human rights and the rule of law), inviting to enhance pan-European cooperation, especially with the EU and the UN. According to Robinson, and according to the Report, there are then “the tools to tackle the multiple and complex crises we are facing. What we need is the political will to do so”. An opinion shared by Marija Pejčinović Burić, secretary general of the Council, by Tiny Kox, president of the Parliamentary Assembly, and by Simon Coveney, Irish Minister of Foreign Affairs who chairs the Committee of Ministers, is the urgent need for a new summit of the heads of state and government of the member states of the Council of Europe. And efforts need to be made for the institution to “recommit to delivering on its core remit, including the implementation of judgements from the European Court of Human Rights”. The group of experts was composed of seven prominent figures, including Federica Mogherini.
Valentina Bombelli