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

Mr Rusz,

Mr Monticelli,

Ambassadors,

Colleagues,

Welcome to this celebration of 70 years of the Council of Europe Development Bank.

The CEB is no ordinary bank.

It is the only multilateral development bank in the world with an exclusively social mandate.

A bank that has focused on supporting people, since its very inception.

Like the Council of Europe, the CEB grew from the ashes of the Second World War.

As the fighting ended, people sought homes.

They sought stability.

They sought security.

As many as 65 million people were displaced.

Forced, by conflict and destruction, to leave their old lives behind.

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In 1956, the CEB was created under the auspices of the Council of Europe as a resettlement fund, to help refugees and displaced people.

To provide them with security.

Economic security, homes, and communities — a bedrock on which democratic security could thrive.

Today, the CEB paves the roads that lead to social cohesion in member states.

The CEB finances homes, schools, hospitals, and reconstruction.

It supports those most at risk of exclusion, including through microfinancing.

It enables the vulnerable and marginalised to build businesses and support their families.

And through supporting communities, the CEB supports stability and democratic security.

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Over the years, the CEB’s mandate grew to include aiding countries experiencing sudden emergencies.

And of course — war.

The CEB was among the first international financial institutions to mobilise resources to help manage Ukraine’s humanitarian and social crisis.

Since then, CEB-funded projects have reached millions of people in Ukraine.

Health — including mental health, primary health, and rehabilitation.

Seven million vaccines to protect children from childhood diseases.

Equipment, included vital solar energy equipment, installed in healthcare facilities.

And beyond health, emergency housing.

Basic support for more than 1.2 million internally displaced people.

Repairs, so that people may return to their homes.

Because, even amid Russia’s war of aggression, the work of rebuilding cannot wait.

The CEB’s programmes are helping communities to heal.

Just as the Council of Europe’s works towards a just and lasting peace for Ukraine, the CEB is financing the elements of a stable future.

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Beyond Ukraine, the CEB continues to support social cohesion and democratic resilience across its 43 member states.

And today, the European Union is on track to become a member of the CEB.

The CEB’s work upholds the European Social Charter and observes Council of Europe standards.

And it does so at a time when tens of millions of Europeans live at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

When social vulnerability becomes democratic fragility.

The CEB is supporting local and regional authorities to invest in climate adaptation, digital transformation, and responses to demographic change.

It is expanding its engagement with the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.

Strong and effective local and regional governments are a cornerstone of European democracy.

Access to rights and inclusive civic space are signposts on the route to peace and stability.

These, in turn, lead toward democratic security.

A path that the CEB is helping to build.

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For 70 years, the Council of Europe Development Bank has been a catalyst for change for the better.

The CEB transforms lives and strengthens communities.

Communities that connect across the continent, creating a web of stability that holds democracy in place.

And at this time when rupture, war and division once more tear at Europe’s social fabric, the CEB provides crucial economic glue to bind us all together.

I wish the CEB “bon anniversaire”.

May the bank continue its vital work for the next 70 years and beyond.