Special committee on the New Democratic Pact

The SPECIAL Committee on the New Democratic Pact

The Special Committee on the New Democratic Pact

The Parliamentary Assembly, one of the two statutory organs of the Council of Europe, unites 306 parliamentarians from the 46 member states in promotion of the Organisation's core values: human rights, democracy and the rule of law – the common heritage of Europe's peoples. Concerned by growing democratic backsliding, the Assembly is actively contributing to the New Democratic Pact for Europe, a Council of Europe initiative which aims to stop the unravelling of democracy and boost the resilience of democratic institutions against backsliding, disinformation and authoritarianism.

To advance this work, the Bureau of the Assembly established a Special Committee on the New Democratic Pact on 29 January 2026, replacing the former ad hoc Committee on the same matter.

The Special Committee acts as the Assembly’s central coordinating body for the New Democratic Pact for Europe, drawing on both national and European expertise. Its main roles include serving as a platform for reflection and foresight, providing the Assembly’s input to the Pact, advancing inter-parliamentary dialogue on the Pact’s tools and objectives, and promoting the Pact within national parliaments and across various national forums.

The Assembly, given its institutional composition and working methods, has a unique capacity to feed the New Democratic Pact for Europe with innovative proposals, grounded on debate and exchanges among representatives from different political groups and different member States.