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MONEYVAL publishes follow-up reports on Bulgaria, the Holy See and San Marino
The Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) has published three follow-up reports evaluating progress by Bulgaria, the Holy See (including the Vatican City State) and San Marino in implementing the Financial Action Task...
GRETA carries out third evaluation visit to Ukraine
A delegation of the Council of Europe's Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) carried out an evaluation visit to Ukraine from 21 to 23 May 2024, as part of the third evaluation round of the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. The focus of...
Ukraine’s commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the deportation of the Crimean Tatars and remembrance of the victims of the genocide of the Crimean Tatar people
Joint Statement by Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs and President of the Committee of Ministers Gabrielius Landsbergis, Parliamentary Assembly President Theodoros Rousopoulos, Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić, and Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty
Finland Looks to the Future on Human Rights
Finland has held its second annual Council of Europe Human Rights Day, raising awareness of the Council of Europe’s work to protect and promote human rights, democracy and rule of law in Finland and throughout the continent. This year´s event had a particular focus on youth engagement. It was...
Croatia: Minority languages widely used in education, but too limited in public administration and broadcasting
A new report from the Committee of Experts for the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages praises Croatia for continued protection and promotion of minority languages for national minorities, and enabling their use in fields such as education, judicial authorities, administration,...
Türkiye hosts conference on international judicial cooperation in criminal matters
In cooperation with the Ministry of Justice of Türkiye, Directorate General for Foreign Relations and European Union Affairs, the Council of Europe has organised a two-day international conference “International Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters and Combatting Cybercrime“ under the EU-CoE...
Montenegro: Venice Commissions publishes a series of urgent opinions
The Council of Europe’s body of constitutional legal experts, the Venice Commission, has recently published five new urgent (follow-up) opinions on draft legislation of Montenegro. All of them were requested by the Minister of Justice of Montenegro. The urgent opinions published are those on the...
Georgia should repeal the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence in its current form, says Venice Commission
In an urgent opinion published on 21 May 2024, the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission strongly recommends repealing the Law of Georgia on Transparency of Foreign Influence in its current form, as its fundamental flaws will involve significant negative consequences for freedoms of association...
Expert committee calls for action plans to protect minority languages in Czechia
The Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of the Council of Europe has called on Czechia to design and implement a specific strategy and action plan for protecting and promoting each of the languages covered by the treaty in the country: German, Moravian...
Deputy Secretary General visits Portugal
During his visit to Portugal, Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge had meetings with the Portuguese Foreign Minister, Minister of Justice and the Speaker of the Parliament, and he addressed the North-South Prize Award Ceremony and the Executive Committee of the North-South Centre. In the margins...
Confidence in Tomorrow event: statement by the Advisory Council on Youth
The youth event Confidence in Tomorrow, organised as part of Liechtenstein’s Presidency of the Committee of Ministers and of the celebrations to mark the 75th anniversary of the Council of Europe, was held at the European Youth Centre in Strasbourg from 14 to 16 May 2024. This gathering showcased...
OSCE and Council of Europe leadership stress importance of strengthened cooperation to protect their principles and values
The leadership of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) met in Strasbourg on the margins of the 133rd Session of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers in Strasbourg on 16 and 17 May. The discussions were led by OSCE Chair-in-Office,...
Foreign ministers support Ukraine, define the organisation’s priorities and adopt a treaty on artificial intelligence
As the organisation celebrates its 75th anniversary, the Foreign Affairs Ministers of the Council of Europe’s 46 member states came together at their annual session to reaffirm their support for Ukraine on the road to justice and reconstruction. Following on from the Reykjavik Summit, they also...
Lithuania takes over Presidency of Committee of Ministers
Lithuania has taken over the rotating Presidency of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers from Liechtenstein at a meeting of foreign affairs ministers from the organisation’s 46 member states. Addressing the Committee of Ministers, the outgoing Chairperson, Dominique Hasler, Minister for...
Secretary General meets Prime Minister of Lithuania
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met the Prime Minister of Lithuania Ingrida Šimonytė. The meeting focused on the priorities of the upcoming Lithuanian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers. The relevance of the follow up of the Reykjavik agenda was highlighted, with a particular...
Council of Europe adopts first international treaty on artificial intelligence
The Council of Europe has adopted the first-ever international legally binding treaty aimed at ensuring the respect of human rights, the rule of law and democracy legal standards in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) systems. The treaty, which is also open to non-European countries, sets out...
Secretary General at the opening of the Committee of Ministers’ Session
“Twelve months ago, European leaders met in Reykjavík for our 4th Summit of Heads of State and Government. It was one of the largest ever gatherings of our continent’s presidents and prime ministers and its significance and impact remain clear. Following the Russian Federation’s full-scale...
Cyprus: Anti-torture committee report finds poor prison living conditions, increased overcrowding and inter-prisoner violence
A new report by the Council of Europe’s European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has found that the prison situation in Cyprus had significantly deteriorated since its previous visit in 2017 (see the executive summary of the report)....
Secretary General marks Council of Europe’s 75th anniversary
“Seventy-five years after the creation of the Council of Europe, when I think of the first signatories of the Treaty of London, I often ask myself: what would they think of us today? Vast as was their vision, their optimism, and their determination. As strong as their desire to work towards a...
Attack against Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico: Statement by Committee of Ministers' President
Liechtenstein Minister of Foreign Affairs, Education and Sport and President of the Committee of Ministers, Dominique Hasler made the following statement: "Today's attack on Robert Fico, Prime Minister of Slovakia, is unacceptable. It runs counter to all democratic values defended by the Council...