Didier Reynders presents priorities Belgian Chairmanship of Committee of Ministers of Council of Europe to the OSCE

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders, as Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, visited the OSCE on 12 March. He held a speech for the Permanent Council of the OSCE, in which he outlined the priorities of the Belgian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, and had bilateral meetings with OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier and with Michael Link, Director of the Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

Didier Reynders emphasized that the Council of Europe and the OSCE need to further strengthen their cooperation to address current challenges. Both institutions need to further capitalize on their strengths to effectively address the challenges facing their member countries, for example intolerance and discrimination, radicalisation and violent extremism. Didier Reynders emphasized the role of the Council of Europe for the promotion of human rights, democratic institutions and the rule of law.

Belgium, as Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, focused on what had to be done in the framework of the Ukrainian crisis. Didier Reynders emphasised that the ceasefire in Eastern Ukraine remains fragile. For that reason, the measures for the implementation of the Minsk Agreements should be implemented faster by all parties. Reynders supports the work of the OSCE in de-escalating tensions in the crisis in and around Ukraine. The Council of Europe plays a role complementary to that of the OSCE. It provides essential instruments for strengthening democratic institutions, in particular the role that the Venice Commission can play in supporting the Minsk Agreements through constitutional reform, decentralisation and the organisation of local elections.