23/05/2025 Standing Committee
“Democracy and peace are not established once and for all, as we might have believed after the end of the Cold War. We must strive to uphold them each and every day continuously in all parts of our continent and beyond,” PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos said today at the opening of the Standing Committee meeting which took place in Valletta in the framework of the Maltese Presidency of the Committee of Ministers.
“As we can see, they are now more at risk than ever. We see authoritarian tendencies emerge and trust in democratic institutions erode. We see the misuse of fundamental rights and freedoms to undermine our institution and its values. We see the growing impact of AI and social media on elections and other democratic processes. We see the spread of post-truth politics,” the PACE President underlined.
“Therefore we must multiply our efforts to reverse these trends. In that regard, I strongly support the proposal of the Council of Europe Secretary General to develop a new Democratic Pact, to which I'm sure our Assembly will make a serious contribution, as well as the commitment of the Maltese Presidency to address this democratic backsliding.”