Petra Bayr on global crises: “The world’s hope lies with Europe”

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe President Petra Bayr, opening the spring plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, has called on Europe and its parliamentarians to show determined and principled leadership in the face of the pattern of crises on the international scene.

"This is a pattern in which international law is bent - and sometimes broken. In which democratic norms are challenged - openly, shamelessly. In which human rights are treated not as universal - but as optional," the President pointed out.

Will Europe lead?

"There are lots of reasons to be desperate, but desperation is no option, not for us as politicians, not for the people we represent and serve," she added. "Will Europe lead? Will Europe stand firm? Will Europe still be a place where rights are not just defended - but advanced?" The President said that many at the UN, as well as in like-minded states and NGOs, were watching: "all their hope lies in our continent.

"We are not observers of history. We are its authors. So let us be calm in tone. Clear in principle. And firm in action. That is the leadership this moment demands."

Support for Ukraine, maintaining the organisation's principles

On specific issues, President Bayr again urged total solidarity with Ukraine, and swifter progress on the creation of the special tribunal to try those who launched the aggression and a fund to compensate Ukrainians for the damage it has caused.

The Parliamentary Assembly should not compromise its principles on issues such as the war in Iran, or the Israeli Knesset's decision to expand the use of the death penalty in a discriminatory way, the President underlined.

On the criminal Epstein network, including possible links to a former Council of Europe Secretary General, she said the Parliamentary Assembly would not remain silent: "The crimes associated with that network - corruption and exploitation, trafficking, rape, abuse, blank toxic misogyny - represent everything we stand against. Our response must be unequivocal: full investigation, full accountability, full justice for every victim."

Packed parliamentary schedule

There is a busy session in prospect for parliamentarians in Strasbourg this week, with highlights being addresses by the Chairperson of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Denis Bećirović and France's Europe and Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot being among highlights. The Parliamentary Assembly will also discuss tracking the proceeds of crime, as highlighted by Sergei Magnitsky, countering social dumping and labour exploitation, and the effective enforcement of copyright, and the procedure for electing judges to the European Court of Human Rights.

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

Programme for the current session of the Parliamentary Assembly

Impact of the European Convention on Human Rights