Newsroom
Foreign Minister Hasler: in the spirit of the Reykjavík Summit, the Council of Europe marks its 75th anniversary united around its values
United around our values - “The 75th anniversary of the Council of Europe that we are celebrating this year is taking place under the same motto that brought our leaders together in Reykjavík,” said Dominique Hasler, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Education and Sport of Liechtenstein and President...
Photo exhibition “Beyond borders: Ukraine’s untold stories” opens in Strasbourg
A photographic exhibition depicting the suffering of people displaced from Ukraine by the ongoing full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation, entitled “Beyond borders: Ukraine’s untold stories” opened today in the Council of Europe’s headquarters. In her opening remarks, Secretary General...
Situation of Ukrainian children: PACE calls for urgent measures and international co-operation
Following an urgent debate, PACE unanimously adopted a resolution based on the report by Olena Khomenko (Ukraine, EC/DA) underscoring the urgent need to address the situation and fate of Ukrainian children forcibly transferred and deported to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, the...
Michael O’Flaherty elected Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights
Michael O’Flaherty (Ireland) has been elected as the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights by the organisation’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) at its plenary session in Strasbourg. He will serve a non-renewable term of six years starting on 1 April 2024. Mr O’Flaherty obtained 104 of...
Educational responses to crises: Lessons learned from Ukraine and other European countries
On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the European Wergeland Centre (EWC) and the International Day of Education, a seminar on "Education as civic preparedness, bridging policy and practice: Lessons from Ukraine and other European countries" was organised jointly by the Permanent...
Secretary General meets Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liechtenstein
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Principality of Liechtenstein and President of the Committee of Ministers Dominique Hasler. The meeting focused on the current actions of the ongoing Liechtenstein Presidency. The progress registered on the...
PACE resolves not to ratify the credentials of Azerbaijan’s parliamentary delegation, citing a failure to fulfil ‘major commitments’
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has resolved not to ratify the credentials of the Azerbaijani delegation, which were challenged on the opening day of the session, concluding that the country has “not fulfilled major commitments” stemming from its joining the Council of Europe...
Police ill-treatment in Serbia persists, action by the authorities lacking, says anti-torture Committee
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published the report on its ad hoc visit to Serbia in March 2023, together with the response of the Serbian authorities. The visit focused on the treatment of persons deprived of their...
Brussels conference marks Data Protection Day
To mark the 18th International Data Protection Day, celebrated every year on 28 January, the Council of Europe is co-organising with the European Union Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) and the Computers, Privacy and Data Protection (CDPD) a one-day conference in Brussels on 25 January to take...
Prime Minister of Liechtenstein: multilateralism benefits us all
Multilateral organisations, such as the Council of Europe, play a critical role in promoting peace and stability,” said Daniel Risch, Prime Minister of Liechtenstein, when addressing the Parliamentary Assembly. “Multilateralism is one of our lifelines,” he said, adding that the multilateral...
Council of Europe joins the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance campaign #ProtectTheFacts
The Council of Europe has joined the #ProtectTheFacts campaign of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), in a signing ceremony at the Palais de l’Europe, in the presence of Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić and IHRA Co-Chair Sara Lustig. The partnership between the...
Secretary General meets Prime Minister of Liechtenstein
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met the Prime Minister of the Principality of Liechtenstein Daniel Risch. The priorities of the ongoing Liechtenstein Presidency of the Committee of Ministers were at the centre of the meeting. The conversation also focused on the implementation of...
International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust
“Remembrance is a choice. The Shoah must remain etched on Europe’s collective conscience. Because it is by remembering the darkness that we continue to live in the light”, highlighted Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić at the Council of Europe ceremony on Wednesday 24 January, marking the...
President of Cyprus calls for deeper multilateral cooperation to face current challenges
“We are witnessing a growing attempted erosion of rules-based international order, rising nationalism and violations of human rights,” said Nikos Christodoulides, President of Cyprus, in his address to the Parliamentary Assembly. In outlining many of these and other challenges, he stressed that...
Secretary General meets President of Cyprus
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met the President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides. The meeting focused on the follow-up to the Reykjavik Summit, highlighting the need to respond to new challenges such as artificial intelligence and the impact of climate change and...
Secretary General meets President of Montenegro
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić, in her meeting with the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, has welcomed the country’s active stance in the Council of Europe, including the joining of the Register of damage caused by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and excellent technical...
Annual Report 2023: Commissioner Mijatović calls for determined and collective efforts to regain lost ground and advance human rights
“The intensification of challenges to the protection of human rights cannot be an excuse for giving up. Rather, the moment calls for a renewed commitment to the principles and standards for which our Organisation stands”, said the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović,...
Theodoros Rousopoulos elected PACE President
Theodoros Rousopoulos (Greece, EPP/DC) has been elected President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). Taking over from Tiny Kox (Netherlands, UEL), he is PACE’s 35th President since 1949 and the first Greek national to hold this office. The President serves for a...
Council of Europe and Georgian authorities launch new Action Plan for 2024-2027
Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge and the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Lasha Darsalia, have jointly launched the Council of Europe Action Plan for Georgia 2024-2027 in Tbilisi. Building on the work of previous years, the new Action Plan aims to support...
Support for young people from Ukraine: special call for 2024 youth organisations projects
On 18 January 2024, the youth sector of the Council of Europe organised a civil society event to connect youth organisations from Ukraine and those in other member states, discussing the needs and aspirations of young people in Ukraine, nearly two years after the Russian aggression. The meeting...
