The Reykjavík Summit of the Council of Europe: United around values in the face of extraordinary challenges

Reply to Recommendation | Doc. 15894 | 15 January 2024

Author(s):

Committee of Ministers

Origin

Adopted at the 1485th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (10 January 2024). 2024 - First part-session

Reply to Recommendation

: Recommendation 2245 (2023)

1. The Committee of Ministers has carefully examined Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 2245 (2023) on “The Reykjavík Summit of the Council of Europe – United around values in the face of extraordinary challenges”. It welcomes the recommendation, which refers to many of the most pressing challenges in Europe of our time, notably those resulting from the Russian Federation’s large-scale, protracted and brutal aggression against Ukraine. In Reykjavík, our Heads of State and Government reaffirmed their united vision for Europe and for the Council of Europe.

2. The Committee is grateful to the Assembly for its contributions in the lead-up to the Summit and for the constructive dialogue held in its aftermath, including in the Joint Committee. The Assembly’s continued support on the path towards increased interinstitutional dialogue and co-operation is commendable. The Reykjavík Declaration reflects the priorities of the Council of Europe, as a whole, and the Assembly’s efforts towards their realisation will, therefore, be crucial.

3. Recalling the strong support pledged to Ukraine during the Summit, the Committee is pleased to inform the Parliamentary Assembly that the Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation Against Ukraine, which is intended to constitute the first component of a future international compensation mechanism, has been set up in the Hague. Work has been and will continue to be undertaken to increase the membership of the Register, and renewed commitments to effectively achieve comprehensive accountability were made through the adoption of the Riga Principles by the Informal Conference of Ministers of Justice of the Council of Europe on 11 September 2023. Moreover, the Council of Europe is pursuing discussions on further measures to ensure accountability. It also expresses its resolve to give the supervision of the execution of the Court’s judgments against the Russian Federation high priority, and to keep striving, inter alia through the establishment of a new consultation group, towards solutions securing the effective human rights of Ukrainian children. The Committee of Ministers furthermore recalls that it adopted a new Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” for the period 2023-2026 with a view to supporting Ukraine’s efforts to honour its obligations as a Council of Europe member State, contribute to the recovery process and foster implementation of the European perspective reform agenda, following the decision by the European Council in June 2022 to grant European Union candidate status to Ukraine. The overall budget for the four-year co-operation framework is estimated to be €50 million, making it the largest ever budget for a country-specific Council of Europe Action Plan.

4. In addition, at the end of November, the Committee of Ministers, united around the values of the Council of Europe, adopted the Programme and Budget 2024-2027 by a consensual decision. This is a strong budget which reflects the priorities and direction given by the Summit and provides significant additional means for their implementation. It is the first budget in many years that has been increased in real terms. The pledge to “continue to strengthen the co-operation and political dialogue with the Parliamentary Assembly” has been given effect, inter alia through the allocation of additional funding to the Assembly. The Committee of Ministers welcomes the Assembly’s contribution to the budget process and notably its intention to mainstream the “Reykjavík agenda” into Assembly activities.

5. The Committee wishes to underline in particular that, in this context, the Reykjavík Declaration and its five appendixes have been operationalised by means of the reform of the intergovernmental structures and the adoption of new terms of reference better equipped to meet the current and future challenges identified by the Heads of State and Government and also in the Assembly’s recommendation. The Committee of Ministers is of the opinion that it has thus set a forward-looking agenda for the Council of Europe that would meet the expectations of Europeans, including future generations.

6. Moreover, the Committee of Ministers is regularly informed about the follow-up to the Summit carried out thematically by its seven rapporteur groups and its thematic co-ordinator. These groups work in close co-operation to be able to address transversal issues. Their work will feed into the preparation of a comprehensive report to be submitted to the 133rd Session of the Committee of Ministers to be held in Strasbourg in May 2024.

7. Finally, the Committee would again underline that the work to translate the Summit’s political guidance into appropriate implementing measures and administrative reforms is well underway. It is grateful for the Assembly’s efforts in this respect and looks forward to further dialogue with the Assembly on the effective implementation of the Reykjavík Declaration and on any present and future challenges for the Council of Europe and its member States.