After an introduction by EU Ambassador Vesna Batistić Kos, the Secretary of State for European Affairs of France Ms Laurence Boone highlighted the importance of the rule of law in Europe and welcomed the Council of Europe’s unwavering support to Ukraine. Furthermore, Ms Boone acknowledged the major role of CoE’s binding instruments and monitoring, advisory and enforcement bodies, especially the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court on Human Rights. Finally, the Secretary of State stressed how prominently the topic of the rule of law features on the agenda of the French government.

Mr Christophe Poirel, asked about the main challenges facing the EU and the CoE, mentioned the undermining of judicial independence, the non-execution of national court decisions and threats against journalists and civil society representatives. Then, Mr Poirel recalled the binding nature of judgements and decisions delivered by the European Court on Human Rights. As for the recommendations adopted by other CoE bodies, he emphasised that despite their non-binding nature, the European Court, as well as the EU draw on them extensively in their own work. Finally, Mr Poirel suggested strengthening the synergy between the two organisations by using the CoE’s expertise in the implementation of and follow-up to the EU Council decisions, recommendations or other legal acts.

Ms Ana Gallego presented the different EU instruments to deal with violations of the rule of law : the EU annual report on the rule of law, the infringement procedures, as well as the rule of law conditionality regulation. Regarding the EU-CoE cooperation, she stressed the complementarity between the two organisations and confirmed that the European Commission’s annual report on the rule of law strongly relies on the work of the CoE. Finally, Ms Gallego also mentioned the forthcoming  4th Council of Europe Summit of Heads of State and Government in Reykjavik and the EU’s progress to accede to the ECHR and to ratify the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence.

Mr Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar reported that the European Parliament had taken strong initiatives to protect the rule of law in some member states, including Poland and Hungary. In particular, he warned against the clear risks of systemic violations of the rule of law. Asked about the corruption scandal in the European Parliament, Mr Lopez Aguliar pointed out that a very comprehensive resolution had been swiftly adopted to condemn corruption and strengthen integrity.

Overall, the conference met with great success. An audience of about 130 people attended this high-level event, which aimed to shed light on the challenges of the rule of law in Europe and the solutions provided by the close synergy between the EU and the CoE. The speakers also stressed that this cooperation should be further strengthened, especially in view of the 4th Council of Europe Summit of Heads of State and Government.