Jacques Maire introduced the current affairs debate “Towards a fourth Summit for a renewed, improved and reinforced Council of Europe: the way forward”. “The war between Russia and Ukraine is an absolute tragedy. It brings us to the question of our raison d’être when 70 years of convergence towards legal unity in Europe end up in a war. What have we achieved? Where have we been unsuccessful?”. He continued by underlining that unlike the previous summits, the new summit will be taking place against the background of a crisis: “A geopolitical crisis where the Council of Europe has not prevented conflicts between members states, and we’ve seen too many examples; but also a crisis of efficiency: we have seen that belonging to the same legal space does not guarantee the respect of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights”. Jacques Maire then outlined a vision for the Council of Europe which – while taking account of the EU’s role – would ensure respect for rulings of the Strasbourg Court, enable it to respond to crises, and create incentives for countries by tackling new topics that matter to Europeans.
Petra Stienen presented her report on “Gender mainstreaming of migration policies”. The report was endorsed by the Standing Committee and the resolution was adopted unanimously. The report proposed a set of measures encouraging member states to combat violence, inequalities and discrimination experienced by migrants, especially when they are gender-based and intersectional. “I very much hope that this report will create awareness”.
