The Parliamentary Assembly was one of the strongest voices calling for a fourth Council of Europe Summit of Heads of State and Government, a call amplified in the wake of the large-scale aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine in February 2022.
During the months of the run-up to the Reykjavik Summit of 16-17 May 2023, the Assembly played an active role in the discussions and preparation of the directions and outcomes, in particular through its Recommendation 2245 (2023) “The Reykjavik Summit of the Council of Europe – United around values in the face of extraordinary challenges”, prepared by Ms Fiona O’Loughlin (Ireland, ALDE) for the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy with the input of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Bureau on the 4th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe, which included all the Chairpersons of the Assembly’s Committees.
The Standing Committee of the Assembly met in Reykjavik on 15 May to provide a parliamentary dimension to the Summit. The Standing Committee meeting was preceded by a round table open to youth representatives, “A Democracy fit for the future”, and the launch of the ‘Vigdís Prize for Women’s Empowerment’.
An Assembly delegation composed of its President, the Presidential Committee and the Rapporteur, Ms O’Loughlin, attended the Summit. The President addressed the opening of the General Debate, together with the Council of Europe’s leadership.
At its meeting in Riga on 26 May, the Standing Committee welcomed the outcomes of the Summit, and adopted a Declaration setting out the broad lines of its own follow-up to the priorities of the Reykjavik Declaration.
In order to ensure that its work is oriented firmly towards the successful implementation of the Summit decisions, thus bringing forward the parliamentary dimension at multilateral and national level, the Assembly is now taking the Reykjavik Declaration as a roadmap for setting its priorities for the coming months and years.
The Assembly will give high priority mostly to
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