PACE and the New Democratic Pact for Europe

The Parliamentary Assembly, as one of the two statutory organs of the Council of Europe, brings together 306 representatives from the parliaments of the Council of Europe's 46 member states. Though it contains many voices, reflecting political opinion across the continent, its mission is to uphold the shared values of human rights, democracy and the rule of law that are the “common heritage” of the peoples of Europe.

Worried about increasing signs of democratic backsliding across the continent, the Assembly is committed to advance 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.

For this purpose, the Bureau of the Assembly – composed of the President, twenty Vice-Presidents, the Chairpersons of the political groups or their representatives as well as the Chairpersons of the general PACE Committees or their substitutes – has established an ad hoc Committee on the New Democratic Pact.

This site is dedicated to the Assembly’s contribution to implement the objectives of the New Democratic Pact for Europe. The Pact seeks to redefine democracy, making it stronger, more adaptable to old and new challenges, and more inclusive. It is structured around three core objectives: achieving a common goal for democracy grounded in the European Convention on Human Rights and the Reykjavik Principles; conducting broad consultation on democratic challenges to revitalise democracy by engaging in open dialogue; and translating consultation outcomes into actionable policies at all levels.

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.