During her first speech to the Parliamentary Assembly as Secretary General of the Council of Europe (COE), in Strasbourg on 2 October, Marija Pejčinović Burić seemed determined.
“I am taking office at a difficult time for the COE. I have no illusions: my term in office will not be easy”, said the Secretary General, who, to everyone's surprise, was elected at the end of June ahead of her opponent, the Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders (see EUROPE 12284/23).
The work that awaits her is considerable. First of all, she will need to maintain the dialogue and cooperation that are characteristic of the organisation. The extent to which this has not been achieved can be seen in the Russian crisis, where Moscow and the PACE have found themselves stuck in almost irreconcilable positions.
And this week, the new Ukrainian delegation, appalled by the return of Russian parliamentarians, did not present its credentials for validation by the European Parliament. Along with the Baltic States and Georgia, it has avoided the ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the Council of Europe.
Ms Pejčinović Burić hopes that the new mechanism for dealing with breaches of the COE's position, developed jointly by the PACE and the Committee of Ministers (CM), will provide a solid basis for a fresh start: responding to violations of the rule of law, human rights and democracy (as with annexation of the Crimea), but by means of graduated measures that maintain a constructive dialogue.
Discussions are ongoing this week, under the French presidency of the Committee of Ministers. The discussions will continue, with everyone hoping that this joint mechanism will be in place in January, when Georgia, which is likely to be less ready to facilitate discussions, takes over the presidency of the MC.
Alongside these reflections on the distinct role of the Council of Europe is a financial aspect that was extensively mentioned by the new Secretary General. The Russian crisis has clearly shown how dependent the COE is on the contributions made by its member states. If a country of Russia's magnitude withdraws, as was the case following the sanctions imposed by the PACE, the whole organisation wobbles.
“The Russian slate has now almost been wiped clean”, said the Secretary General, but “we need to find a way to stabilise and sustain the long-term funding of the COE”. She mentioned potential additional recourse to “innovative funding sources and arrangements", without saying any more. For the time being, she plans to submit the organisation to an external audit.
The General Secretary could not avoid mentioning the new challenges facing the COE. Some are emerging within the 47 Member States themselves, such as the tendency to slow down - or even block - implementation of the judgments from the European Court of Human Rights. This is a dangerous state of affairs that needs to be sorted out, just as it will be necessary to tackle head-on any attacks on the judicial system and the press as they increase in a Europe where corruption and violence against women both still continue.
With poverty on the increase, Ms Pejčinović Burić intends to promote the European Social Charter and get to grips with the issue of new technologies that impact on employment.
Cooperation with the European Union, including through its accession to the European Convention on Human Rights, will also be increased “as soon as possible”.
She announced in a press conference that she will be meeting the President-elect of the incoming European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, "in the next few months". "That will be one of the issues we address”, she promised.
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe frequently replied in an evasive manner to the questions that followed her speech, but promised to come back to discuss matters with parliamentarians during each session in order to be able to undertake a detailed assessment of the situation.
In this instance too, she insisted on the importance of dialogue, which will clearly be a strong feature of her term in office. She wants cooperation within the organisation and with member states, and wants the COE's achievements to be more “visible”. To achieve this, she plans “to emphasise added value". Yet another challenge. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)