Meeting in the Hague on 3 March, the PACE Standing Committee exchanged views with Martin Eyjólfsson, Permanent Secretary of State at Iceland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Bjorn Berge, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe on the preparation of the Reykjavik summit of heads of state and government of the Council of Europe member states scheduled to take place on 16 and 17 May.
On the occasion of this exchange of views, ALDE members continued to insist that a joint meeting between PACE representatives and the official delegations representing the 46 member states in Reykjavik is essential. Such a joint meeting would not only give more visibility to the summit but would also reinforce its democratic legitimacy.
Intervening in the discussion, ALDE members also reiterated the call to include in the final document the commitment to build an effective system of accountability for the crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine, including a tribunal for the crime of aggression. The new generation of human rights, most notably the right to a healthy environment, must also be clearly recognised. Finally, ALDE members underlined that building democracies of tomorrow cannot go without strong involvement of youth.
ALDE bureau members Iulian Bulai, Damien Cottier, Rik Daems, Yevheniia Kravchuk, Fiona O’Loughlin and Petra Stienen took the floor in today's discussion.