“All Member States should realise that the Council of Europe is not a ‘menu à la carte’ where we only choose what we want. Therefore, we should not merely enjoy the benefits of the membership. On the contrary, it is necessary to honour and respect its obligations and to implement consistently the decisions made by the organisation in accordance with the rules agreed by all the Member States”, Peter Pellegrini, Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, said today addressing the Assembly.
The Council of Europe is a type of international organization – he said- that cannot be equally useful for all of its members at the same time. Therefore, “a member of an international organisation should approach it not in terms of whether it now meets its short-term expectations or demands, but whether it serves the whole community of member states from a long-term perspective”, he said.
Referring to corruption as the cancer of the society, he said that “in the struggle to preserve and restore the citizens' trust in the rule of law, we see independent and functioning institutions, an active civil society and free media as our partners. We deem the Council of Europe, along with its experience and know-how, playing a major role in this process.”
On the occasion of his visit to the Council of Europe, the Prime Minister signed the Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions on behalf of his country in the presence of the Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland.
