Recent challenges to security in Europe: what role for the Council of Europe?
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 21 June 2022 (19th and 20th sittings) (see Doc. 15541, report of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy,
rapporteur: Mr Bogdan Klich). Text adopted
by the Assembly on 21 June 2022 (20th sitting).See
also Recommendation 2235
(2022).
1. The Russian Federation’s unprovoked
and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine, waged in open defiance
of international law, has done grievous harm to the international
order and unsettled the European multilateral architecture.
2. Reacting to this serious violation of the Council of Europe
Statute (ETS No. 1), the Committee of Ministers took the unprecedented
decision to exclude the Russian Federation from the Organisation,
in line with the unanimous position expressed by the Parliamentary
Assembly in its
Opinion
300 (2022). This war of aggression represents not only
a challenge for the Council of Europe, but possibly also the greatest
test for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE) since its creation in 1975, affecting its capacity to carry
out its mandate with the consensus of all participating States.
3. The historic changes due to the surge of a large-scale military
threat in Europe have led a number of Council of Europe member States
to abandon their neutrality, increase their military expenditure
and seek membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
In parallel, NATO plans to adopt a new Strategic Concept at its
Madrid Summit in June 2022, the first in twelve years. Furthermore,
the European Union has found a new impetus to develop its Common
Security and Defence Policy, with European Union leaders reaffirming
their commitment to increase the European Union’s capacity in this
area at the European Council meeting on 10 and 11 March 2022.
4. All eyes are on the Russian Federation’s aggression against
Ukraine, but in Europe there are a number of other long-term open
or frozen conflicts and various situations of tension. Alongside
these, new security threats have emerged over the past two decades.
Some threats are transnational, such as terrorism and violent extremism.
Some rely on technology, such as misinformation and disinformation,
hacking of digital infrastructure or interference in electoral processes.
Migrants, energy and food are being weaponised in new forms of hybrid
war. Some challenges are environmental and man-made, such as climate
change. Some, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, can have a global impact
on the economy, democratic governance and the exercise of fundamental
freedoms.
5. In this new security context fraught with risks, Council of
Europe member States should renew their commitment to the values
of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. They should reiterate
their support for the Council of Europe as the cornerstone European
organisation to develop a shared space where these values can thrive,
in the pursuit of peace based upon justice and international co-operation.
While Europe is experiencing a period of uncertainty, it should
reaffirm its unity around the values which are, and should continue
to be, the foundation for its multilateral architecture. The political
support for the next phases of European enlargement represents a
strategic way of reinforcing the core values of the Council of Europe related
to democratic security.
6. Whereas defence issues are excluded from its remit, the Council
of Europe should enhance the comprehensive and long-term security
of its member States within the scope of its mandate and contribute
to making them more resilient in countering threats and preventing
conflicts, while providing a platform which is conducive to mutual
trust and the development and consolidation of good neighbourly
relations.
7. Security is a wider concept than defence and rests to a great
extent on compliance with democratic processes, human rights and
the rule of law. This notion of democratic security, first endorsed
by the Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe at
the 1993 Vienna Summit, as well as the concept of “indivisible security”,
included in the OSCE Istanbul Charter for European Security of 1999,
are today as relevant as ever.
8. In this respect, the backsliding of democracy in Europe should
be urgently addressed not only because of its domestic repercussions,
but also because of the potential risks for democratic security
on the whole continent. Supporting the role of civil society, increasing
citizens’ trust in public institutions, innovating democratic practices,
finding new ways of involving citizens in decision-making processes,
reinforcing adherence to the rule of law and to fundamental rights
and freedoms, and safeguarding media plurality and access to information
are all essential elements to strengthening the resilience of democracies.
9. In light of these considerations, the Assembly calls on Council
of Europe member States to:
9.1 as
regards democratic security:
9.1.1 invest in all aspects
of a comprehensive security approach, including deep/soft security, human
security and democratic resilience;
9.1.2 safeguard their societies from attacks on the good functioning
of democracy, including disinformation and misinformation, and particularly
from internal or external attempts to undermine, or interfere in,
electoral processes;
9.1.3 ensure adherence to the rule of law and to fundamental
rights and freedoms, so as to build trust in public institutions;
9.1.4 promote the role of civil society, finding ways of involving
citizens in decision-making processes and safeguarding freedom of
association;
9.1.5 ensure that the ability to access and impart information
is protected, including by guaranteeing an independent and pluralistic
media environment;
9.1.6 prioritise good neighbourly relations with each other,
and commit to resolving disputes and disagreements through dialogue
and diplomacy;
9.1.7 support cross-border co-operation and other efforts to
defuse tensions and promote understanding at the local level, including
with and among civil society;
9.1.8 tackle socio-economic inequalities, which threaten the
democratic stability of our countries and dent citizens’ trust in
politics;
9.2 as regards multilateralism:
9.2.1 fully subscribe
to rules-based multilateralism while striving to further strengthen
it;
9.2.2 review the European multilateral architecture in order
to make it more responsive and effective in tackling the present
challenges;
9.3 as regards the role of the Council of Europe:
9.3.1 give
fresh impetus and political support to the central role of the Council
of Europe as the guardian of human rights, democracy and the rule
of law in Europe and as a platform for political dialogue, diplomacy
and multilateralism;
9.3.2 support the further development of Council of Europe work
in the area of democratic security;
9.3.3 allocate the necessary financial resources to ensure the
financial sustainability of the Council of Europe;
9.3.4 support the organisation of a 4th Summit of Heads of State
and Government of the Council of Europe, which would address, inter alia, the promotion of democratic
security, countering democratic backsliding and its root causes,
ways to rejuvenate democracy and spur citizen engagement, and the
introduction, within the Council of Europe, of early warning mechanisms
to address, in a timely manner, threats to the rule of law, democratic
standards and human rights protection in its member States;
9.3.5 allocate the necessary resources to ensure that the Council
of Europe can expand its work on confidence-building measures to
help lay the foundations for long-lasting peace.
10. As regards its own activities, the Assembly should:
10.1 increase its focus on parliamentary
diplomacy as a tool to defuse tensions, promote dialogue, reinforce
mutual understanding and enhance confidence building and conflict
prevention;
10.2 contribute to the Council of Europe’s efforts on early
warning in order to address situations which risk posing a threat
to the rule of law, democratic security and good neighbourly relations;
10.3 in the context of the Council of Europe’s overall reflection
on monitoring, consider reviewing its procedure relating to the
monitoring of obligations and commitments by member States;
10.4 place greater emphasis in its work on new security challenges
and how they relate to democracy, human rights and the rule of law;
10.5 enhance co-operation on deep/soft security matters, confidence
building and conflict prevention with other international parliamentary
assemblies, including the European Parliament, the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly;
10.6 strengthen co-operation and carry out joint activities
with national parliaments on deep/soft security, confidence building
and conflict prevention.
