“The Hague Congress of May 1948 had direct and indirect impact on the major changes that happened over the past seven decades in Europe and stands at the origins of the Council of Europe, which was founded on 5 May 1949”, stressed Congress Secretary General Andreas KIEFER addressing a Conference to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Congress of Europe in The Hague, Netherlands, on 28 September 2018.
Held on 7-10 May 1948, The Hague Congress brought together some 800 people from 26 countries who called on the creation of a political Europe, united, progressive and social. “These founding fathers, who had lived through two world wars, were the pioneers of a Europe of peace founded on the values of human rights, democracy and the rule of law “, stated the Secretary General. “The Hague Congress was the event Europe needed to make this dream tangible for most of our fellow citizens, and the Council of Europe is one of the pillars making the dreams, hopes and aspirations of The Hague Congress a reality as one of its main achievements,” he added, underlining that the Council of Europe, established by the London Treaty of 5 May 1949 gave, as early as 1957, an institutional representation to another fundamental dimension of European democracy: the local level. “This democratic pillar on our continent – represented in the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities - was built to counterbalance excessive concentration of power at national level and bring democracy at the level of citizens”, explained Andreas Kiefer. The local and regional cause was given a new impetus with the establishment of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in its current form in 1994.
Although much of the vision of the founding fathers has been achieved in the past 70 years, in particular through the work of the Council of Europe to ensure that all member States follow the principles of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, Andreas Kiefer warned of the concrete risk of losing the achievements of The Hague Congress. “What is truly worrying is progressive restrictions in our behaviours that we are witnessing in public debate, in the way we think of our values and in our relations with others”, he stated, adding that “today’s leaders must be reminded that the heritage of The Hague Congress must not only be promoted but defended with vigor and persuasiveness”. The Secretary General invited the participants to “reaffirm yet again our values and will to pursue the story of building a fair, inclusive and peaceful Europe, started by the men and women united in The Hague Congress 70 years ago”.
