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World leaders gather in Vatican for Pope Francis’ Funeral
Heads of state, royalty, and senior officials from more than 130 foreign delegations, along with tens of thousands of faithful, assembled in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City on Saturday for the funeral Mass of Pope Francis. Among the dignitaries present were U.S. President Donald Trump,...
Poland: International conference explores civil society’s role in defending the rule of law
Some 200 representatives of European Union institutions, the Council of Europe, civil society, legal practitioners, academics and the media gathered in Warsaw, Poland on 22-23 April to discuss the role of civil society in defending the rule of law in the framework of the Polish Presidency of the...
Deputy Secretary General meets Serbian students in Strasbourg
The Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Bjørn Berge, today met with a group of Serbian students who arrived in Strasbourg on bicycles, having made the journey from Novi Sad. The meeting took place in the European Youth Centre of the Council of Europe. The Deputy Secretary General...
Switzerland funds Council of Europe co-operation with Ukrainian Parliament
The Government of Switzerland has made a voluntary contribution of €30,000 to strengthen relations and cooperation between the Ukrainian Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). Ambassador Claude Wild, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the Council of...
Parliamentarians can promote responsible AI governance – “Let’s make sure our new AI Convention quickly enters into force!”
Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge today attended the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) Side-event “Legal certainty and trust in AI: the role of parliamentarians in AI governance” organised in the context of the Spring Session 2025. He delivered a keynote speech addressing the contemporary...
International Roma Day: call to integrate Roma history and culture in school curricula
On 8 April, the International Roma Day, the Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge participated in a High-level event at the European Parliament in Brussels on Roma History and Culture in School Curricula, co-organised by the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) and the European...
Launch of European Youth Capital in Lviv, Ukraine
On 5 April in Lviv, Ukraine, Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge took part in the launching event of “Lviv, the European Youth Capital” together with thousands of youngsters and government representatives, the mayor of Lviv, international organisations and non-governmental...
High-level meeting: “2030 Albania in the EU - The Path of Reforms”, democratic success as a process and lasting commitment
On 3 April Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge attended the high-level event “2030 Albania in the EU - The Path of Reforms” in Tirana, Albania, where he took part in the opening panel together with a lineup of distinguished speakers, including Edi Rama, Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania...
Austria shedding light on Council of Europe's history and achievements
The Institute of Public Law, Political Science and Public Administration and European Law and International Law, in cooperation with the Permanent Representative of Austria to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, Ambassador Aloisia Wörgetter, are organising a series of lectures at the University...
Deputy Secretary General addressed Conference for Ombudsperson Institutions and National Human Rights Institutions
On 27-28 March in Strasbourg, some 100 representatives from Ombudsperson Institutions and National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI) gathered for a High-level Conference to discuss pressing challenges to the rule of law, human rights protection and governance in the digital era. The event,...
High-level International Conference “The role of civil society in the protection of the rule of law”
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