Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has taken part this week in a series of meetings with senior representatives of the European Union. On Monday the Secretary General had a video exchange with the EU High Representative and European Commission Vice-President for External Affairs, Josep Borrell. Among other issues, the meeting covered recent developments in EU neighbouring countries as well as strengthening the Istanbul Convention and increase ratifications.
Later the same day, the Secretary General had a face-to-face meeting with Commission Executive Vice-President for Digital Affairs, Margrethe Vestager, focusing on artificial intelligence and the Council of Europe’s development of a new legal framework on AI. The Secretary General and the Commission Executive Vice President stressed the complementarity and synergies between the Council of Europe and EU in this area and emphasised the need for protecting human rights. On Tuesday 8 June, Commission Vice-President for Democracy and Demography Dubravka Šuica informed the Secretary General of the EU Conference on the future of Europe. The Secretary General informed Ms Šuica of the Council of Europe’s forthcoming strategy for the right of the child 2022-2027. The Secretary General and the Vice-President also agreed to continue their cooperation in the field of child protection including from online abuse.
