Since the beginning of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the EU has condemned the brutal, unprovoked and unjustified aggression and has been steadfast in its diplomatic, humanitarian, military and financial support for the Ukrainian authorities and population. The Council of Europe, from its part, has been among the first international actors to declare the military aggression as incompatible with international law by expelling Russia from the organisation as early as 16 March 2022.

On 16-17 May 2023, the Council of Europe will hold its fourth Summit of Heads of State and Government in Reykjavik to discuss future political directions for the organisation. Already acknowledged as the Council of Europe’s most important institutional partner in political, financial and legal terms, the EU aims to further position this strategic partnership as the bedrock of human rights protection in Europe, as well as a key example of multilateral cooperation for regional stability. We aim to complement, coordinate and strengthen our responses to some of the most pressing issues such as increasing democratic backsliding and shrinking space for the civil society, criminal accountability for the Russian aggression or the EU enlargement process.

The new EU Priorities for Cooperation with the Council of Europe 2023-2024 from January this year also reflect this renewed impetus to strengthen the bases of multilateral engagement at all levels, from political dialogue to legal and programme cooperation on the ground. The European Parliament, in a resolution adopted last week, also called on the EU to strengthen its relations with the Council of Europe, from acceding to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to strengthening parliamentary cooperation, as well as synergies on the external dimension of human rights protection and promotion.

In the lead-up to the Summit, the high-level political dialogue between the EU and the Council of Europe has intensified and revealed a new degree of ambition in achieving key deliverables in the current context of mounting pressure on the multilateral institutional system. The setting up of a register of damage, loss, or injury caused by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine under the auspices of the Council of Europe would represent a concrete measure which the organisation has been actively advocating for.

The conclusion of negotiations for the EU accession to the ECHR at technical level in March this year has marked another strong step in our commitment to multilateralism and human rights principles. It thus brings the EU closer to being placed under the scrutiny of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The latest progress on the EU ratification of the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combatting violence against women, as well as the EU’s participation in ongoing negotiations for the drafting of a binding treaty on artificial intelligence at the Council of Europe are further proof of the new steam our partnership has gained in a spirit of joint adherence to rules-based multilateralism.

We are faced today with an accelerated erosion of the security architecture and the norms and principles which have underpinned the European and the global system of international relations since World War II. Against this backdrop, the European Union and the Council of Europe continue to demonstrate, through deepening cooperation, that the only way to ensure stability and justice for our citizens is through respect for international law, multilateral diplomacy, protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of law.