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

Madam President,

Madam Secretary General,

Excellencies,

Members of the Parliamentary Assembly,

Let me start by mentioning the recent elections in Hungary and in Bulgaria.

People have spoken.

I have congratulated Prime Minister Péter Magyar and talked to Rumen Radev.

Both elections show that democracy is alive.

We need to build on that momentum, especially at this challenging time.

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No one knows this better than the people of Ukraine.

The last time we met, they were going through the harshest winter of the war without heat and electricity.

Attacks on critical infrastructure were relentless. 

Peace negotiations were stalled.

One of member states was bracing for possible military action by one of our closest allies.

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We thought, how can it get worse?

But then, another war broke on Europe’s border.

It has shaken the global economy and increased our sense of instability and need for democratic security.

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Three months later, the situation in the Middle East occupies a central place in your debates. And rightly so.

Europe is a geographical reality.

No major crisis is ever truly far from Europe.

Not for its energy. Not for its economy. Not for its security.

But this war cannot eclipse what is happening in Ukraine.

Ukraine where Russia’s full-scale invasion has entered its fifth year.

Where peace is still elusive.

But where we are making progress on accountability, including the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression.

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The Ministerial Session in Chișinău next month will be important for our support to Ukraine.

It will also advance key priorities on migration and foreign information manipulation and interference.

And it will do so in full respect of the Convention system and the values we stand for.

They are our compass in this period of rupture, where each unchallenged threat or use of force threatens the legal and democratic foundations of lasting security in Europe.

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I wish you an excellent session

And I look forward to your questions.