22/06/2026 Session | President
PACE President Petra Bayr, opening the summer plenary session of PACE this morning in Strasbourg, has hailed the resilience of the Parliamentary Assembly in pressured times – and pledged its readiness to provide leadership on fundamental issues of human rights and democracy.
“There are moments in history when institutions discover who they really are. Not in times of comfort. Not in times of stability. But in times of pressure,” the President pointed out. “And Europe is living through such a time. An illegal war on our continent. Attacks against democracy. Challenges to human rights. Attempts to weaken international law.”
“And yet, when I look at this Assembly today, I do not see an institution under pressure. I see an institution that has found its strength.”
Citing recent achievements – the Assembly’s clear response to Russian aggression in Ukraine, support for the independence of the judges on the Strasbourg Court, the achievement of gender parity in the Assembly itself – she declared: “When Europe faces uncertainty, the Assembly does not wait for leadership. It provides leadership.”
She noted that 36 states now support a Special Tribunal to try the crime of aggression against Ukraine, an Assembly proposal: “This is not only a legal achievement. It is a political one. It is a moral one.”
The President hailed the “serious and constructive” work of the Assembly’s Platform for Dialogue with Russian Democratic Forces, as well as the work of Belarusian democratic representatives, noting the growing costs of Russia’s war against Ukraine and looking ahead to democratic change in both countries: “History reminds us that authoritarian systems often appear stronger than they are.”
Ms Bayr expressed pride in the Assembly’s achievement of gender parity among its members. “We do not count women any more. We make women count. This did not happen naturally. It happened because together we refused to accept that leadership should have a gender. And I know parliaments across the globe are looking at us as a model.”
The President also praised the Assembly’s work on environmental protection, noting that the recognition of a human right to a healthy environment is moving closer as a result, and efforts to adapt its election observation to deal with the threats of the digital age “because free elections remain the first line of defence for every democracy”.
She concluded: “The storms ahead may be powerful. But institutions that are prepared, united and faithful to their principles – they do not just withstand storms, they set the direction. That is our responsibility.”