17/05/2024 President
“As long as our principles gather us around the same table of mutual understanding, there is still hope, even though the landscape ahead is rocky,” said PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos, at the opening of the 133rd Session of the Committee of Ministers, in the presence of the Foreign Affairs Ministers of the Council of Europe’s 46 member states, holding their annual session today in Strasbourg in the context of the Organisation’s 75th anniversary.
As regards the implementation of the Reykjavik Declaration, adopted at the Summit of Heads of State and Government a year ago, Mr Rousopoulos outlined the progress made, in particular the establishment of the Register of Damage for Ukraine as a first step towards an international compensation mechanism for victims of Russian aggression.
“This war concerns all of us, and we cannot turn our attention away or weaken our resolve. We must emphasise again the importance of increasing military support to Ukraine,” he stressed.
President Rousopoulos also highlighted other challenges to be met, namely the effects of climate change, the growth of the use of artificial intelligence, as well as the gradual reduction of the democratic space in many member states.
“The Parliamentary Assembly is working intensively and will continue to focus on areas of our responsibility, and I assure you of its full support in all your endeavours,” Mr Rousopoulos concluded.