Check against delivery

Speech by Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe

OPENING

President Sandu,
Minister Plugaru,
Ministers,
Excellencies,
 

Thank you, Madam President, for bringing us together today in Chișinău under the Republic of Moldova’s Presidency.

And it is fitting that we meet as the Revised European Social Charter marks its thirtieth anniversary.

I. Ukraine, IRAN and the chain reaction

But first, let me mention Ukraine.

The war in Ukraine is now entering its fifth year since the start of Russia’s full-scale aggression.

We must never forget that it began in 2014, twelve years ago.

And as we look at the evolving conflict in Iran and across the Middle East, we see that the consequences are far-reaching.

For these countries, but also for all of us, for all member states of the Council of Europe.

It has set off a chain reaction across the global economy.

Europe knows what economic shocks can do to democracy and social rights. 

The financial crisis of 2008 and a decade of austerity and social strain proved it.

The escalation in the Middle East comes as the war in Ukraine continues to rage, just kilometres from here.

With oil prices rising, pressure building to ease sanctions, and the United States shifting its attention to the Middle East, Russia is one of the early beneficiaries of the war in Iran.

There is a real risk that Ukraine is pushed into the background.

We cannot let new crises pull us off course.

That would be a historic mistake with far-reaching consequences for our continent.

II. TWO RUPTURES

We need to treat this moment for what it is: a rupture.

The war in Ukraine has entered its fifth year.

War is also unfolding on our immediate borders in the Middle East.

Europe stands in the middle of the economic, technological and geopolitical confrontation between the United States and China.

We are entering a phase of deconstruction in the global order, where power is replacing rules.

When rules disappear, force fills the void and double standards take their place.

And it will not stop there.

It will reach deep into our democracies.

That is why our continent is facing not one but two ruptures.

A rupture in the international legal order.

A rupture in the social contract.

And the two reinforce each other.

III. ECONOMIC INSECURITY

The warning signs are everywhere.

Across the world, more and more people feel that the system is failing them.

At its core, this is a growing sense of economic insecurity.

And the numbers confirm it.

Everywhere, the risk of poverty or social exclusion is real.

Wealth is concentrating at the very top.

In many sectors, CEOs earn more than one hundred times the salary of their workers.

This gap is not sustainable.

My latest annual report makes this clear.

Housing costs are rising.

Wages are struggling to keep up.

Access to healthcare is out of reach for many.

Too many children grow up in poverty.

And workers’ rights are under growing pressure.

Sooner or later, people draw their own conclusions.

That is exactly where our collective engagement makes sense.

Thanks again Moldova and Madam President for the strong commitment.

IV. Democratic security

For too long, social rights, health and education were dismissed as “soft” security.

But there is nothing soft about the foundations of a stable democracy.

Without democratic resilience, the so-called “hard” security begins to crack, even when it looks strong.

What we need now is more democratic security.

A security architecture that protects stronger rights, institutions, and freedoms.

One capable of addressing all the challenges confronting our democracies, from disinformation here in Moldova to climate change and the impact of AI on the labour market.

And let me be clear: democratic security does not replace military security.

Europe’s rearmament is urgent and necessary.

But we must resist the narrative of welfare versus defence.

When military leaders warn of hard choices ahead.

When political leaders call for social spending cuts. 

Democratic security reminds us of what it is we are defending.

Our democracies.

The freedoms they guarantee.

And the social stability that allows them to endure.

Europe does not have to choose between its values and its interests.

It needs both.

V. THE PACT

The New Democratic Pact for Europe is built for that moment.

And this conference is part of that collective effort.

The Pact is integral to the transformation of the Council of Europe.

A transformation needed to adapt democracy to today’s new technological and geopolitical realities.

The Pact elevates democratic security from a concept to a shared responsibility.

And it places social justice where it belongs: at the centre of democratic stability.

Social justice and democratic resilience are inseparable.

Just as social rights and civil and political rights are indivisible.

At the heart of that model stands the European Social Charter.

It is the “Social Constitution” for a Europe that tackles inequality, protects workers as AI disrupts jobs, and prevents the insecurity that fuels political backlash.

VI. THIRTY YEARS ON

Thirty years after the Revised Social Charter, the question is no longer recognition, but delivery.

It begins with wider ratification and acceptance of its core protections, especially those on social protection, collective bargaining, and housing.

It continues when its standards shape national laws and public policy before crises emerge, not after.

And it becomes real when governments turn the findings of the European Committee of Social Rights into national action.

Closing

Moments of rupture force choices.

They can lead to progress or to regression.

Europe must decide which path it will take.

Chișinău is a moment for action.

There is no democratic security without social rights.

Thank you.