Addresses by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, the President of the Portuguese Republic António José Martins Seguro, and Germany’s Foreign Affairs Minister Johann Wadephul, and Secretary General Alain Berset holding a question and answer session with parliamentarians are among highlights of the autumn session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe taking place in Strasbourg from 28 September to 2 October 2026.
Human-rights defenders honoured
At a ceremony on the opening day of the session, the 14th Václav Havel Human Rights prize, which honours outstanding human rights defenders in Europe and beyond, will be awarded to an overall winner selected from three shortlisted candidates. The 2021 prize winner, Belarusian human rights activist Maria Kalesnikava, who was in detention at the time of the award but released in December 2025, will also attend the ceremony.
AI, Ukraine and media pluralism on the debates agenda
Other highlights include debates on the role of the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in evaluating the impact of AI on the future of work, with the participation of OECD Deputy Secretary-General Yasushi Masaki; on ensuring the implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights concerning the Russian Federation, including payment of the compensation awarded; and on threats to the International Criminal Court.
A joint debate will address the issue of a coherent European policy on veterans and on the need for systemic support to Ukrainian soldiers who became disabled as a result of hostilities.
Parliamentarians will also discuss growing threats to media pluralism and the independence of the media, and there will be a general policy debate on “Europe, the fastest-warming continent: accelerating climate action with young people”, with the participation of European youth representatives.
Other speakers and events in the autumn session
The President of the Committee of Ministers, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Monaco Isabelle Berro-Amadeï, will present the work of the Council of Europe’s ministerial body since the last session and take questions from members.
Also addressing the Parliamentary Assembly and answering members’ questions will be the President of the European Court of Human Rights Mattias Guyomar.
The Parliamentary Assembly will also assess the honouring of membership obligations to the Council of Europe by Greece.
The observation of early elections to the Assembly of Kosovo and the parliamentary elections in Armenia will also be discussed.
On the first day of the session the Parliamentary Assembly Platform for dialogue with Russian democratic forces will host a round table on the topic “Fake ‘elections’ in Russia: what next?”.
The assembly decides its final agenda only on the first day of the session.
What’s on the agenda for the Parliamentary Assembly’s autumn session?
