The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) decided and caused a surprise on Wednesday 26 June in Strasbourg by electing the Croat Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the organisation. It is therefore the successor to Norway's Thorbjørn Jagland and not her competitor, Belgium's Didier Reynders, also Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs.
Long presented as a favourite (see EUROPE 12234/25), Mr Reynders had to concede a clear victory: out of 268 votes cast, 159 went to the Croat against 105 to the Belgian.
Expressed by secret ballot, this election remains a mystery. Only the Russian delegation, which returned to PACE last Tuesday after 5 years of absence (see EUROPE 12282/19), had clearly announced that its 18 members would vote for Marija Pejčinović Burić. It is a given that the Balkan countries have also done so, as have a majority of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. This marks a shift in the organisation's centre of gravity and reflects the desire to turn the page on the pre-eminence of the founding countries.
Observers also noted that a "feminist" vote could also have been at play within an organisation that has had only one woman at its head in 70 years of existence, the Frenchwoman Catherine Lalumière, Secretary General between 1989 and 1994, a crucial period that saw the collapse of the Soviet bloc and the start of a vast process of integration of the countries of the former Eastern Bloc into the Council of Europe.
The tasks awaiting Marija Pejčinović Burić are no less immense at the head of an institution that has been going through a lot of turbulence for several years. "In charge of coordinating strategies" for the organisation, the new Secretary General will first have to continue managing a crisis with the Russian Federation that is far from over.
The credentials of the Duma delegation have been ratified for the time being, but they remain suspended pending an adjourned decision of the Committee on Rules of Procedure, which had been referred to it on the grounds that four members of the delegation were on the European Union's black list. The Committee on Rules of Procedure was too divided and could not take a decision on Tuesday. The question remains open.
The vote on the vice-presidency of the assembly in respect of the Russian Federation rebuked Leonid Slutskiy, who is on the so-called European black list and whose candidacy was perceived as a provocation. Another name is expected, but it seems that the Russian delegation is considering introducing Mr Slutzkiy again.
And what about the payment of the €75 million contribution to the Council of Europe budget, which has not been paid by Moscow since 2017? The money had been frozen and would be released in the event of a return, the Russian government assured. "We are no longer so sure...", worries the Council of Europe's administration.
At the forefront of this issue, the new Secretary General will also have to ensure that the links that have deteriorated in recent years between PACE and the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe are restored. At a time when threats to the rule of law, democracy and human rights are increasing within the 47 member states of the Council of Europe, it is more important than ever that the Council of Europe speaks with a single voice and coordinates the positions of its two statutory bodies.
The Council of Europe will also have to be "more proactive" in defending its standards "against nationalist forces", Thorbjørn Jagland said in his latest annual report. Act and not react. Restore its authority. Make an impact on its work.
In order to break the bubble effect of which it is a victim, the Council of Europe will also have to review its funding, which currently depends on contributions from the European Union and its member countries. This operation exposes it to the risk of blackmail, as we see with Russia. There is an urgent need to address this, perhaps by turning to private partnerships to be strictly regulated. It is one of the huge projects awaiting Marija Pejčinović Burić. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)