“The main theme we have chosen for our chairmanship is the strengthening of democratic security in Europe,” said Ioannis Kasoulides, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Cyprus and Chair of the Committee of Ministers, addressing the Assembly today. Given the series of recent terrorist attacks, he underlined that member States should act with even greater determination against terrorism, using the Council of Europe tools for strengthening international co-operation in the fight against terrorism, in particular the Protocol on Foreign Terrorist Fighters which was opened for signature in October 2015.
Mr Kasoulides said that terrorist groups were also attacking the culture and history of humanity, through the destruction of cultural heritage, in particular in Iraq and Syria, but also in Afghanistan, Mali and Libya. “This increase in the scale of the destruction of cultural heritage renders the need for our collective and unified response even more compelling,” he said, welcoming the preparation of a new Council of Europe convention on offences relating to cultural property, which will be the first international treaty on criminal measures and sanctions against unlawful activities in the field of cultural heritage.
“The Cypriot Chairmanship also wishes to help improve the quality of life of persons with disabilities and increase the possibilities for them to take an active part in the life of the community,” Mr Kasoulides stressed, before announcing the holding in March of a high-level conference to launch the new Council of Europe Disability Strategy to cover the period from 2017 to 2023.
After mentioning several political matters which have featured prominently on the agenda of the Committee of Ministers since November 2016, Mr Kasoulides pointed out that 2017 marked the 10th anniversary of the enhanced co-operation established between the Council of Europe and the EU on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2007. “Our relations with the EU are numerous and fruitful, both from a political and technical standpoint. The EU is undeniably the Council of Europe’s closest partner,” he said, and welcomed the visit by Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, who will address the Assembly on Tuesday morning.