Advances on many fronts: 2025 for the Council of Europe

It is rare in an organisation as busy and complex as the Council of Europe that there can have been one standout event. However, 2025 was just such a year. The visit of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Strasbourg in June was on an enormous scale in terms of political significance, but even down to the security and number of guests and press attending.

While in the Palais de l'Europe, Mr Zelenskyy signed the agreement on the Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.It was a landmark moment in the Council of Europe's support for Ukraine following its full invasion by the Russian Federation, and the most widely read story on the organisation's portal for 2025. Secretary General Alain Berset said that "international law must apply to all - with no exceptions, and with no double standards".

Mr Zelenskyy addressed the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, praising the organisation's leadership in holding Russia accountable for its attacks on Ukraine. In a packed hemicycle, Mr Zelenskyy said that "The aggressor must lose. We're working on that. But justice matters too. It must work - so that war criminals have nowhere to hide".

In December the Council of Europe mobilised unprecedented support for a new convention launching an International Claims Commission for Ukraine. The signing took place in The Hague.

The Council of Europe: reinforcing democracy

Among the key priorities for the organisation has been protecting Europe's democratic societies. A boisterous, action-packed event in that vein was held in June in the form of the Democracy hackathon, setting the template for the kind of imagination and cooperation that can be used to buttress European democracies as the organisation move towards a New Democratic Pact for Europe. Meanwhile, the Pact website was launched in September of this year. The pact was promoted notably by the Secretary General in his visit to Finland, in November, signalling a ramping up of events and consultations to come in 2026.

The importance of democracy was also reflected in a Conference of ministers responsible for youth affairs held in October in Malta, at which the member countries called for young people to be at the centre of democratic renewal. Similarly, the World Forum for Democracy in November in Strasbourg, which was held as part of the New Democratic Pact for Europe, had vibrant youth involvement.

The Council of Europe's values on the European and world stage

In New York for the United Nations general assembly, Alain Berset emphasised the Council of Europe's position as a key player in the international rules-based system in multiple multilateral and bilateral events. Alongside leaders from across the globe, Mr Berset put forward in clear terms the conundrum facing liberal democracies in the face of challenges and direct threats. "The choice is clear: security with democracy - or no lasting security." Speaking in Columbia University, the Secretary General expanded, holding that Europe had to "define a strategy for democratic security - one that puts values at the heart of our defence".

Alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, addressing the plight of the children of Ukraine Mr Berset stated that "each day Russia's war of aggression continue[d] was a day taken from Ukraine's children". In New York, Mr Berset put forward the Council of Europe's position when speaking with Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Brazil), Gabriel Boric (Chile), Gustavo Petro (Colombia) and Ilham Aliyev (Azerbaijan), and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (Spain), among other leaders.

The European Political Community met in Tirana in May of this year, where the Secretary General gathered with heads of state and government from across the continent. He reinforced the message that our democratic societies were under threat, but the reaction had to be holistic, saying that:

"European security can no longer be conceived in silos. The traditional divide between 'hard' and 'soft' security has become obsolete. Protecting our institutions, our rights, and our freedoms - against both external and internal challenges - has become a strategic imperative."

In Copenhagen in October the European Political Community met again. Mr Berset put a very pertinent question to European leaders, rearming to protect our countries from military threats: "The issue is clear: if states rearm but extremist governments come to power tomorrow, what happens?"

"Rebuild Europe is a spirit of mutual service"

A sad moment came for Catholics across Europe and around the world with the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday 2025. The Pope had visited the Council of Europe in 2014 and had reminded the organisation of the importance of its mission to "rebuild Europe in a spirit of mutual service" in an era of selfish demands. Secretary General Berset, marking the Pope's passing, stated of the Holy Father that what struck him most was "his unwavering moral clarity -in promoting justice and reconciliation".

In June the Secretary General met with the new Pope Leo XIV in the Holy See - notably a Council of Europe observer state - where they discussed, among other topics, the plight of Ukraine's children. This has been an important topic for the whole organisation, emphasised by Mr Berset's naming of Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjord Gylfadóttir as his Special Envoy on the situation of children of Ukraine in February.

Seventy-five years' defending human rights

It was a year replete with anniversaries at the Council of Europe, none more so than the 75th anniversary of its guiding treaty, the European Convention on Human Rights, which Mr Berset called "a democratic compass for Europe". At a solemn ceremony held at the European Court of Human Rights in November, speakers alongside Mr Berset included Court President Mattias Guyomar, Maltese President Myriam Spiteri Debono, and Parliamentary Assembly President Theodoros Rousopoulos.

The Venice Commission also had an anniversary, its 35th, with a beautiful ceremony in the Palazzo Ducale in Venice, Italy, the city where the advisory body on constitutional matters had been founded and where its plenary sessions still take place. The Florence Convention celebrated 25 years of protecting landscape heritage in Europe and beyond with an event in October in Villa Medicea "La Petraia", in Florence, Italy.

Meanwhile, in July, a Conference of ministers responsible for children's rights was held in Valletta, Malta to mark the 15th anniversary of the Lanzarote Convention, the Council of Europe's treaty against sexual abuse of children.

Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge represented the organisation at the Florence Convention events in what was a dynamic year for him, including visits to Auschwitz, Poland, to commemorate the liberation of the former Nazi death camp, to Malta for the new "Valetta Protocol" on cooperation in countering transnational crimes, and to the Palace of Westminster to warn of the dangers of misuse of AI. His furthest mission was to the Republic of Korea, where he attended the quinquennial World conference on doping in sport in Busan and the International AI standards summit in Seoul.

Presidencies from Luxembourg to Malta to Moldova

The youth Conference of ministers event took place under the busy Maltese Presidency of the Committee of Ministers. In May Malta took over from Luxembourg, whose presidency had involved some 33 events. In November Malta handed over to Moldova, who will be tasked with taking the organisation into 2026.

Setting standards with new treaties for Europe

In March the Council of Europe adopted a new convention to protect lawyers and other legal professionals in what is becoming an increasingly difficult context for them to work in across the continent. Other treaty news included adoption of a new convention on television series production in November, and the opening for signature of the landmark Convention on the protection of the environment through criminal law in December.

On the initiative of the Secretary General, and with a lot of work behind the scenes, an informal ministerial conference was held in Strasbourg in December on the topic of migration. This has initiated a process which undoubtedly this will form part of the organisation's work in the new year.

The Council of Europe's support for Ukraine

New Democratic Pact for Europe

Secretary General Alain Berset

Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

Impact of the European Convention on Human Rights