Check against delivery – Remarks by Mr Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe

President Mattarella,

President Sandu,

President Siljanovska-Davkova,

Minister Tajani,

President Bazy Malaurie,

Members of the Venice Commission,

Mayor Brugnaro,

Representatives of the Italian authorities,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thirty-five years ago, in the Eternal City, Europe made a bold but necessary decision.

To create an impartial advisory body to bring constitutions into dialogue.

Across borders.

Above divisions.

And to do it in the only place it could be done: the Council of Europe.

At first, there was resistance.

Making history never comes easy.

But Antonio La Pergola, with Italy’s support, saw that change was coming.

Democracy, human rights, and the rule of law can only rest on constitutional foundations.

And those foundations are stronger when they are shared.

That was the insight of 1990.

When nations reclaimed their freedom.

And from it flowed the Venice Commission’s first task.

To help young democracies take root.

Its fingerprints are everywhere.

In the constitutions of Central and Eastern Europe.

In electoral codes from the Baltics to the Western Balkans.

In the independence of judiciaries across the continent.

The Venice Commission gave Europe a common vocabulary of democracy.

Then came the second task.

To guard against relapse.

When governments tried to weaken courts or bend parliaments, the Venice Commission acted as a counterweight.

Its principles on judicial independence have been cited by the European Court of Human Rights.

By the Court of Justice of the European Union – and even beyond.

The Venice Commission is our best ambassador.

It has helped guide transitions in South Africa.

Inspired reforms in Tunisia.

And shaped judicial debates across Latin America.

With 61 member states, it is a European invention with a global influence.

And now we have entered a third phase.

One defined by democracy backsliding, external threats, and new challenges.

Dangers clearly identified in the Reykjavík Declaration.

And visible every day.

I am talking about courts under attack.

Parliaments weakened.

Independent media silenced.

Foreign influence.

And the influence of money.

Disinformation campaigns.

Fueled by artificial intelligence.

The climate crisis.

Behind it all: double standards and contempt for the international rule of law.

The Venice Commission is already at work.

With its Rule of Law Checklist.

Its Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters.

Its declaration on AI.

Its ongoing mapping of legislation on foreign influence — and on the influence of money on democracy.

Its opinions on judicial independence in Ukraine in wartime.

These are instruments of democratic security.

Our values as the first line of defence.

Because today, security is not just military.

Rearmament without democratic safeguards is dangerous.

Tomorrow, extremists could turn that power against our values.

Thirty-five years ago, the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe was born against the odds.

It helped new democracies find their voice.

It has helped all of us defend the rule of law.

And now it confronts new dangers head-on.

At stake?

Nothing less than the security of democracy.

This is the task of our time.

Our strength.

Our unity.

Our future.

Thank you.