The “Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and human rights, democracy and the rule of law” was opened for signature in Vilnius on Thursday 5 September, at a conference of justice ministers from the organisation’s 46 member states.
Andorra, Georgia, Iceland, Norway, Moldova, San Marino, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United States and the European Union are among the first signatories of this first legally binding treaty, which was drawn up in connection with the AI Act, definitively adopted by the European Union last July.
“Europe’s AI Act is going global”, enthused the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in a post on X published in the wake of the first signatures on the Council of Europe Framework Convention.
In this post, she emphasises a “common approach” aimed at guaranteeing respect for fundamental rights without hampering innovation.
“We must ensure that the rise of AI upholds our standards, rather than undermining them”, confirms the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić.
She emphasised that “the Framework Convention is an open treaty with a potentially global reach” and expressed hope that “these will be the first of many signatures and that they will be followed quickly by ratifications, so that the treaty can enter into force as soon as possible”. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)