The Council of Europe, in cooperation with the Luxembourg Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, hosted the 2025 session of the Pan-European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG).
The event, organised under the theme of “Safeguarding human rights by balancing regulation and innovation”, brought together - both onsite and online - some 800 representatives of governments, international organisations, the private sector, civil society and academia to discuss emerging issues and challenges concerning the internet.
Around 34 stakeholders supported by CyberEast+ and CyberSEE, joint projects of the Council of Europe and of the European Union, and by the CYBERKOP Action of the Octopus Project, exchanged views on public policy issues related to internet governance. The Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence served as a frame of reference for fruitful discussions on the protection of international human rights standards, democracy and the rule of law in the context of rapid technological advances. Through their active participation, the delegates strengthened their capacities to align national legal and policy frameworks with European and international standards. Their participation reinforced cross-sector collaboration on tackling the emerging challenges of AI regulation, cybersecurity resilience, and the protection of human rights in the digital space.
On the second day of the event, CyberEast+ organised a flash session focused on the topic of non-consensual dissemination of intimate images (NCDII). A representative of the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) of the Council of Europe introduced the concept of NCDII, based on data from reports evaluating legislative and other measures taken by the Parties to give effect to the provisions of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention). The representative of the Cybercrime Programme Office of the Council of Europe (C-PROC) examined cybercrime and e-evidence standards under the Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention) and its Second Additional Protocol, necessary for the investigation and prosecution of NCDII offences, including through cooperation with service providers.
The practical benefits of the Convention on Cybercrime and its Second Additional Protocol were further highlighted during a Flash session dedicated to the relevance of electronic evidence in investigating war crimes. The representative of the Cyber Department of the Ukrainian Security Service provided examples of legal frameworks for handling electronic evidence, to be subsequently used in criminal proceedings related to war crimes and gross human rights violations in the context of the Russian armed aggression against Ukraine.
Pan-European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG)
CyberEast+ Project
CyberSEE Project
Octopus Project – CYBERKOP Action
Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention)
Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence
Understanding the UN’s new international treaty to fight cybercrime
United Nations Convention against Cybercrime
Council of Europe hosts European Dialogue on Internet Governance in Strasbourg