Secretary General completes first official visit to Belgium

Secretary General Alain Berset has completed his first official visit to Belgium. The trip included an audience with His Majesty King Philippe, as well as bilateral meetings with Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot, Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden and the President of the Belgian Senate, Vincent Blondel.

Strengthening co-operation with Belgium

The Secretary General and King Philippe discussed the excellent co-operation between the Council of Europe and Belgium, a founding member state, as well as the organisation's current priorities, including the New Democratic Pact for Europe and on-going work to ensure accountability for Ukraine.

Talks with Foreign Minister Prévot and Justice Minister Verlinden also touched upon the challenges involved in balancing security and human rights, notably in the area of migration, which the participants agreed was a legitimate topic for political debate within the framework of the Council of Europe.

Addressing migration and human rights

Secretary General Berset and Ministers Prévot and Verlinden discussed the informal ministerial conference on migration and the European Convention on Human Rights in Strasbourg last December, as well as the political declaration on this issue that is due to be adopted by Council of Europe foreign ministers in Chisinau on 14 and 15 May.

The Secretary General stressed the need to uphold the Convention and maintain the independence of the European Court of Human Rights, whilst underlining the need for all Council of Europe member states to implement the Court's judgments.

Supporting democratic institutions

Whilst in Brussels, the Secretary General also gave a speech on the need to reinvigorate democracy and restore trust in democratic institutions globally before answering questions from students at the Université Libre de Bruxelles.

In addition, he took part in a fruitful discussion with representatives of a number of Belgian civil society organisations, focusing on the challenges faced by younger people in today's world.

Visit to the College of Europe

Finally, Secretary General Berset visited the College of Europe in Bruges, where he gave a keynote speech and took part in discussions with senior staff and students, notably including participants in the EU Diplomatic Academy and Programme For The Enlargement Region.

Secretary General Alain Berset

Belgium and the Council of Europe

New Democratic Pact for Europe

The Council of Europe's support for Ukraine