15 April 2025
The Special Rapporteur was invited to address the Rapporteur Group on Democracy (GR-DEM) of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, in the context of discussions around the adoption of a new democratic pact for Europe initiated by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset.
This process of reflection should ultimately lead to a new commitment by Member States to revitalise democracy at a time when the standards and values upheld by the Council of Europe since its foundation in 1949 are being called into question. The ten principles for democracy (“Reykjavik Principles”), adopted at the 4th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe (Reykjavik, 16-17 May 2023), are testament to the commitment of Member States in this area. In his speech on 15 April 2025, the Special Rapporteur called for the strengthening of the protection of social rights and the fight against inequality to be placed at the heart of the new democratic pact for Europe.