Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland was in Berlin on Tuesday for meetings with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and the Head of the Federal Chancellery, Minister Ronald Pofalla. He also paid a courtesy visit to Chancellor Angela Merkel. Talks focused on the human rights situation in Europe, the reform of the Council of Europe and its current priorities.

Together with Foreign Minister Westerwelle, the Secretary General inaugurated the 30th Council of Europe art exhibition – "The Desire for Freedom: Art in Europe since 1945" – at the German Historical Museum in Berlin.