Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland will be taking part in the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in Sofia on 18th May.

He will meet with Daniel Mitov, Foreign Minister of Bulgaria and Chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and will hold a number of other high-level bilateral meetings.

The meetings will focus on key role of democratic security and the rule of law in conflict resolution; tackling violent extremism and radicalisation leading to terrorism; responding to the refugee crisis and the Council of Europe policy towards neighbouring regions.

Ministers will discuss the Secretary General’s third report on the state of democracy, human rights and the rule of law http://bit.ly/1UV5Yjf .

Secretary General Jagland will participate in a press briefing after the meeting, at approximately 15:00, as well as in a press conference to present the General Policy Recommendation on Combatting Hate Speech developed by the Council of Europe anti-discrimination body, European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, from 16:15 to 17:00. 

For more information and media requests, please contact: Daniel Höltgen, Spokesperson of the Secretary General, Council of Europe, Mob.: +33 6 68 29 87 51, Office.: +33 3 90 21 50 20, www.coe.int, Twitter@CoESpokesperson