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

President Tokayev,
President Kagame,
President Siljanovska-Davkova,
Director-General Dongyu,
Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

How long can democracy hold?
Six months? A year? Two?

We gather here in Astana — a crossroads of East and West, North and South — to discuss security, energy, climate, and the economy.
But let us be honest: none of these can be secured if democracy fails.

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Democracy fails when we weaponize courts for political gain.

Democracy fails when impunity becomes the norm — and accountability the exception.
Democracy fails when disinformation convinces us that truth is just another opinion.
Democracy fails when politics stops standing for something — and starts standing against everything.
Democracy fails when we slide into a system that restricts liberty in the name of protecting it.

We see this every day. In Ukraine. In Gaza. On social media. On the streets. Across Europe — and beyond.

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In the face of these threats, we must rethink what we mean by security.
There is no longer “hard” or “soft” security.
Only the urgent need to defend what holds us together.

What we need is a strategy for democratic security — one that protects our institutions, our rights, and our freedoms.
Not only from outside attacks, but from internal erosion.

***

This means tackling issues like terrorism, weaponising migration, and cybercrime — together.
It also means rejecting double standards.
Because double standards undermine public trust and damage Europe’s credibility.

Above all, democratic security means making our values — democracy, human rights, and the rule of law — our first line of defence.

***

But we must all be on our guard.
The real danger is trading democratic security for the security of democracy — without even realising it.

We slide into a system:
Where rules are bent in the name of sovereignty or urgency.
Where laws against foreign interference go too far.
Where the line between critique and destabilisation disappears.
Where the public sphere is surrendered to algorithms.

***

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

We must not sleepwalk into that future.
We need a New Democratic Pact — now.

A pact that puts values at the heart of our security — and action at the heart of our values.
A pact built on three urgent priorities:

Educate — so we can tell truth from lies.
Protect — to reinforce democracy wherever it is in retreat.
Innovate — to adapt our institutions to fast-moving, cross-border, hybrid threats.

***

What we are living through is not just another crisis. It is a crisis of the order itself.
No country — and no institution — can face it alone.

In times like these, it is tempting to believe that values can wait.
That democracy, human rights, and the rule of law come second.

But it is precisely in moments of reckoning — when the world shifts, when impunity rises, when technology outpaces regulation, and when nationalism and protectionism challenge co-operation — that our values must guide us.

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Europe’s values do not stop at our borders.
The Council of Europe was never just about lines on a map.

If Europe wants to matter, it must stand where those values are on the line.

And we must stand with all those who are building democratic security — here in Central Asia, in Europe, and far beyond.

Before it is too late…

Thank you.