Distinguished guests,
‘Love is love; whoever you love’.
A Dutch company shared this message last week in reaction to the news that LGBTIQ+ acceptation has declined considerably in the past years. The company received mostly positive feedback. However, a company taking a stand on human rights and dignity is not always received well. It takes a sense of responsibility and courage.
It is a real pleasure to be here with you today. This is one of my first engagements as Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe.
Our institution is often confused with the EU. We work closely together, but we are different. We are older, and we are larger. We have the European Court of Human Rights, which protects the rights of more than 700 million Europeans and creates a common legal space among our 46 member states.
Today’s conversation is part of the New Democratic Pact for Europe.
It is an initiative launched last year by our Secretary General. Its ambition is to strengthen democratic resilience in an age of permanent crisis.
It is a Europe-wide process. A conversation with governments, civil society, universities and, today, with you. And we have come to listen.
So where do each of us stand? Our job is to protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Yours is to create value: to invest, to innovate, to build companies and employment.
Our roles are different, but we both depend on something that cannot be bought: trust.
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In the eighteenth century, merchants were told to read the markets the way astronomers read the sky: observe, calculate, anticipate. That is where our word "speculation" comes from: the Latin for “to watch”.
It was the most rigorous method of its time. And in the France of the eighteenth century, it failed.
The state lost control of its finances. Mathematicians tried to calculate their way out. The monarchy went bankrupt all the same.
Because the stars obey the laws of nature.
Markets only obey the laws we give them.
That is what democracy offers business.
Not prophecy. Predictability.
Contracts enforced by independent courts. Rules that do not change with the mood of a government. Disputes settled by judges, not by whoever holds the power.
No investor can price in the arbitrary.
Democratic stability is the foundation of Europe’s economy.
It is the precondition for every long-term investment. And it relies on trust in the rules.
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The rules are not there to make your life harder. And rules that are heavily debated often make perfect sense.
Let me take an example that is close to my heart: quotas for women on company boards.
The evidence is clear. Companies with both women and men in leadership tend to perform better.
More generally: In the European Union, greater gender equality could raise GDP per capita by almost ten per cent by 2050.
Inclusion is not only good for business. It is democracy at work: everyone counts, everyone gets a seat at the table.
But having a seat is one thing. Sharing fairly in what is decided there is another.
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Two weeks ago, on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York, the Secretary General spoke of the rupture of the international order.
But he also described another rupture, less visible, happening inside our societies. An economic rupture.
Across Europe, more people feel the system no longer works for them. Housing costs increase. Healthcare is out of reach for many. Wages do not follow. And now many are asking what artificial intelligence will do to their jobs.
So then, how can democracy still deliver?
People must feel it in their everyday lives.
Europe already has a strong text for this: the European Social Charter. Think of it as our social constitution. This year, our member states renewed their commitment to it.
And business is part of it: through the jobs you create, the wages you pay, the skills you build, and the dialogue you keep with your workers.
I suspect many of you already see it in your own workforce. When people stop believing the system works for them, it affects all of us.
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That doubt is an opening for those who want to exploit it.
Populism promises simple answers and delivers unpredictable rules.
Disinformation targets our elections. It targets companies too.
In 2021, influencers in France and Germany received an unusual offer. A marketing agency linked to Russia would pay them to tell their followers that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was dangerous, on one condition: that they hide who was paying.
They refused, and they went public.
It was about a vaccine. But it was really about trust. And undermining trust by creating fear.
Protecting trust is what we, at the Council of Europe, call democratic security.
Independent courts, free elections, free media, large civic space, and resilience against foreign interference.
These are the foundations of our societies.
When democracy is secure, business is too.
***
Nowhere is this clearer than in artificial intelligence.
On AI, there is a real divide. Some want binding rules. Others would rather rely on the market and self-regulation. But not setting rules is also a choice.
And the debate is shifting. Recently, Bill Gates put it plainly: “No one thinks self-regulation is enough.”
At this very moment, in Strasbourg, our Secretary General is signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the President of Microsoft, Brad Smith.
Public institutions and companies working together to make the rules work: that is the partnership we need.
This is a global question. A world that cannot agree on rules will hand AI to those who answer to no one.
For us, governing AI means making sure it respects our values: freedom of expression, non-discrimination, privacy.
You know better than anyone that trust is what keeps your customers, protects your reputation and secures your returns over time. Clear rules make innovation easier to trust.
Our Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence is the first international treaty of its kind. It is built on human rights, democracy and the rule of law, and it is open to any country in the world.
It has 21 signatories, including every G7 country. That is a strong start. Now we need more countries to join, and those that have signed to ratify it, so that it can enter into force.
Common rules mean the same expectations wherever you operate. It means a level playing field. That is good for people, and it is good for business.
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Today, many people trust business more than they trust their democratic institutions. That is not a comfort. It is a responsibility, for both of us.
We need democracies that deliver, for people and for business. And we need businesses that stand up for democracy, like that Dutch company last week.
That is why we are here, to listen, to better understand. You see things we do not. You know where AI is being deployed, and where it goes wrong. You know which rules help, and which only add paperwork. You see where supply chains touch human rights long before any court does.
We need that knowledge.
We need to know what works for you AND how you see your contribution to democratic institutions and trust. What democratic change do we need?
It is exactly the kind of cooperation the New Democratic Pact for Europe was created for.
Our standards are stronger when they are built with those who apply them.
So let us do more together.
The merchants of the eighteenth century tried to calculate the future.
We can do better. We can shape it. Together.
Thank you