Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge has welcomed Iceland’s leadership during its Council of Europe presidency with a core focus and thematic priorities that “unite around our values”, including the topics of equality, youth and the environment.

Meeting Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir on the occasion of the Parliamentary Assembly, the Deputy Secretary General stressed the importance of support to Ukraine and outlined the Organisation’s contribution to the new action plan to ensure resilience, recovery and reconstruction, as well as its work on a system of accountability for Russia’s crimes of aggression, which was based on Council of Europe standards and case law from the European Court of Human Rights. Iceland’s presidency and rich agenda was of great importance, and its leadership in developing the upcoming Reykjavik Summit on 16 and 17 May represented an historical opportunity, he said.