03/07/2025 President
“In 1975, the Helsinki Final Act was not just a diplomatic milestone. It was a moral statement: that the security of states depends on the security of people,” said PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos, addressing the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly session today in Porto.
That belief lives on, he added, in “what the Council of Europe calls democratic security — a concept reaffirmed in our summits, from Vienna in 1993 to Reykjavík in 2023. Democratic security tells us that only by protecting democratic institutions, safeguarding elections and ensuring media freedom can we truly prevent conflict.”
“We need to make people believe in democracy again. Surveys show many young people admire authoritarian leaders, and even some of our member states face authoritarian tendencies. We need to be more vigilant while observing elections together. In the era of AI, election manipulation threatens the foundation of democratic Europe,” the PACE President added.
“Today, 50 years after the Helsinki Act, we gather to be reminded of our responsibility: that being participants in the same organisation, but not respecting its values, leads to chaos. Only authoritarians thrive in chaos. Those who believe in democracy call for fair elections, respect dissent and do not jail political opponents. If we want to stand together, we must serve these principles. Appeasement always leads to failure,” Mr Rousopoulos said.
“We need to find security and co-operation again, based on principles and not on the power of the strongest. International law must prevail over the use of force,” he concluded.
