Eduardo González
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has delegated the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, to represent Spain at the next Summit of the Council of Europe, to be held in mid-May in Reykjavik, government sources informed The Diplomat.
The 4th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe, to be held on May 16 and 17 in the Icelandic capital, will coincide with the appearance of Pedro Sánchez before the plenary session of the Senate, where he will debate with the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo. For this reason, the President of the Government will not have time to travel to Reykjavik to participate in the first Summit of this organization in the last 17 years.
The Summit – only the fourth in the organization’s 74-year history – was decided last December by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers in response to a report presented by a High Level Reflection Group in October, chaired by former Irish President Mary Robinson, which made 30 recommendations to enable the Council of Europe to respond effectively to the challenges posed by the war in Ukraine by redoubling investment in the organization’s core functions: the promotion of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
Iceland’s Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir and Iceland’s Foreign Minister Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörd Gylfadóttir will host the Summit. In addition to the member states of the Council of Europe, representatives of the EU, the United Nations and the OSCE have been invited to address the summit. The agenda will include panel discussions on various topics related to the Summit outcome document, a working dinner to be devoted to Ukraine, and general discussions in which representatives of states will address the Summit. At the end of the discussions, the Presidency of the Council will be handed over to Latvia.
One of the main objectives of the Summit will be the establishment of a special court for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, in line with the proposal of the Kyiv Government. According to Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić, “there can be no just and lasting peace without accountability” and, therefore, “Ukraine and accountability for crimes committed by Russia will be at the center of our upcoming fourth Summit of Heads of State and Government.” “The Council of Europe is and remains mobilized to hold Russia accountable for its crimes and illegal actions,” he concluded.
Created in 1949, the Council of Europe is the continent’s leading human rights organization. It currently comprises 46 countries, including the 27 that make up the EU. Russia was expelled in March 2022 by the Committee of Ministers following its invasion of Ukraine. Despite its 74-year history, the Council of Europe has only held three summits to date: in Vienna in 1993, after the fall of the Berlin Wall; in Strasbourg (France, the Council’s headquarters) in 1997, where the post of Commissioner for Human Rights was created; and in Warsaw in 2005.
