Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge paid a working visit to Poland March 4-5. In Warsaw he met the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Radosław Sikorski. Their conversation focused on the need for multilateral support for Ukraine and the Council of Europe’s specific role in addressing the consequences of Russia’s war of aggression. The Deputy Secretary General underlined that there cannot be any fatigue when it comes to our support for Ukraine and he emphasized the need to ensure accountability as “a pre-condition for a just and lasting peace”.
Bjørn Berge thanked Poland for its support to the Council of Europe Register of Damage and the Action Plan for Ukraine as well as for the outstanding humanitarian assistance given to millions of Ukrainians crossing the Polish-Ukrainian border.
The discussion with the Foreign Minister also covered Poland’s crucial support for the Council of Europe action plans for the Republic of Moldova and Georgia.
A separate meeting with Minister of Justice, Adam Bodnar, covered in detail Poland’s ongoing rule of law reforms. The Deputy Secretary General welcomed the Polish authorities’ commitment to implement the judgments of ECHR and ECJ and Poland's 7-point plan to restore the rule of law. He praised the Minister’s determined approach to this and reiterated the Council of Europe’s full support and the availability of its expertise, including the Venice Commission as well as other CoE monitoring and expert groups.
Today, the Deputy Secretary General visited the Office of the President of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and discussed with President Witold Bańka and Director General, Olivier Niggli co-operation activities between the two organisations and the need for global coalitions in sport to address the impact of Russia’s war of aggression.
