27/11/2015 Standing Committee
The Parliamentary Assembly, meeting in Sofia at Standing Committee level, today called for a Council of Europe Summit of Heads of State and Government in order for the member States to reaffirm, at the highest political level, “their commitment to the common values and principles of democracy, human rights and the rule of law upheld by the Organisation”.
In a statement, the Assembly said it is convinced that the numerous political challenges Europe is facing today, both within and around its borders, call for a “common response” on the basis of shared principles and values, dialogue, trust and solidarity. Council of Europe member States should focus on what unites them rather than what divides them, and avoid raising “new walls and drawing dividing lines”.
The parliamentarians recalled the aim of the Council of Europe’s founding fathers, who established the Organisation for the purpose of “achieving a greater unity between its members” in order to safeguard and realise “the ideals and principles which are their common heritage”.
Paying tribute to the Helsinki Final Act on its 40th Anniversary, the Assembly wished to underline the important role its signature played in bringing the Cold War to an end.