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(
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(
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(
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(
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(
)
)
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(
)
)
)
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(
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(
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)
[1] => Array
(
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(
)
)
[2] => Array
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(
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(
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[id] => 397
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(
)
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)
)
[8] => Array
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[link] => https://edoc.coe.int/en/215-the-council-of-europe-and-the-european-union
[name] => The Council of Europe and the European Union
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(
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(
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(
)
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1
Catalog
The New Democratic Pact for Europe in times of rupture - Report of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe 2026 (2026)
"Europe does not have to choose between security and democracy. It never did and cannot afford to start now."
In his 2026 annual report, Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset calls for a legal and democratic framework that lasting European security can depend on, and for rebuilding people’s trust in institutions.
In the report, he warns that “as Europe rearms on a scale not seen since the Cold War, we should ask what we are really defending, and whether force alone will ever be enough. That is where Europe’s current security model falls short, and where democratic security must begin”. He highlights the damage being caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and other international crises. “Each unchallenged threat or use of force pushes the international legal order closer to the brink,” he adds.
Foreign information manipulation and interference, alongside the erosion of trust in democratic systems, undermine both the rule of law and social stability, jeopardising European democracies from within, he argues. He also emphasises the need for safeguards upholding human rights and democratic principles to keep pace with rapid technological change, particularly in digital technology and artificial intelligence.
The Secretary General stresses that the strategic importance of social rights, health, education, and institutional trust has for too long been underestimated and dismissed as “soft security”. But that distinction, he argues, belongs to the last century. It no longer fits the Europe we live in. “Real security begins with institutions people can trust and democracies resilient enough to withstand pressure”, he underlines.
To address the challenges to democratic security, the Secretary General advocates broad partnerships, in Europe and beyond, and sets out the Council of Europe’s aim to take an innovative and balanced approach by combining protection and prevention measures with investment in education.
The report provides a state of play of the New Democratic Pact for Europe, the strategic and political process launched by the Secretary General in 2025 to identify integrated responses to democratic backsliding and to renew democratic governance across Europe. During the Pact’s first phase, running until December 2026, an extensive consultation process is underway.
In the report, the Secretary General states that “the ambition of the New Democratic Pact for Europe is to rebuild trust in institutions and strengthen democratic resilience in an age of permanent crises”. “Nowhere is this more evident than in Ukraine. There, the Council of Europe is helping build accountability for Russia’s war of aggression, where none existed before, while placing democratic resilience at the centre of recovery and reconstruction”, he says.
In his 2026 annual report, Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset calls for a legal and democratic framework that lasting European security can depend on, and for rebuilding people’s trust in institutions.
In the report, he warns that “as Europe rearms on a scale not seen since the Cold War, we should ask what we are really defending, and whether force alone will ever be enough. That is where Europe’s current security model falls short, and where democratic security must begin”. He highlights the damage being caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and other international crises. “Each unchallenged threat or use of force pushes the international legal order closer to the brink,” he adds.
Foreign information manipulation and interference, alongside the erosion of trust in democratic systems, undermine both the rule of law and social stability, jeopardising European democracies from within, he argues. He also emphasises the need for safeguards upholding human rights and democratic principles to keep pace with rapid technological change, particularly in digital technology and artificial intelligence.
The Secretary General stresses that the strategic importance of social rights, health, education, and institutional trust has for too long been underestimated and dismissed as “soft security”. But that distinction, he argues, belongs to the last century. It no longer fits the Europe we live in. “Real security begins with institutions people can trust and democracies resilient enough to withstand pressure”, he underlines.
To address the challenges to democratic security, the Secretary General advocates broad partnerships, in Europe and beyond, and sets out the Council of Europe’s aim to take an innovative and balanced approach by combining protection and prevention measures with investment in education.
The report provides a state of play of the New Democratic Pact for Europe, the strategic and political process launched by the Secretary General in 2025 to identify integrated responses to democratic backsliding and to renew democratic governance across Europe. During the Pact’s first phase, running until December 2026, an extensive consultation process is underway.
In the report, the Secretary General states that “the ambition of the New Democratic Pact for Europe is to rebuild trust in institutions and strengthen democratic resilience in an age of permanent crises”. “Nowhere is this more evident than in Ukraine. There, the Council of Europe is helping build accountability for Russia’s war of aggression, where none existed before, while placing democratic resilience at the centre of recovery and reconstruction”, he says.
MESSAGE BY THE SECRETARY GENERAL
HOW TO USE THIS REPORT
THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PACT FOR EUROPE: STATE OF PLAY
FROM DIAGNOSIS TO ACTION: THE REYKJAVIK PARAMETERS AND DEMOCRATIC SECURITY
UKRAINE: DEMOCRATIC RESILIENCE IN ACTION
CHAPTER 1. COUNTERING INFORMATION MANIPULATION AND DISINFORMATION, AND STRENGTHENING RESILIENCE
COUNCIL OF EUROPE CONVENTIONS IN THE REPORT
HOW TO USE THIS REPORT
THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PACT FOR EUROPE: STATE OF PLAY
FROM DIAGNOSIS TO ACTION: THE REYKJAVIK PARAMETERS AND DEMOCRATIC SECURITY
UKRAINE: DEMOCRATIC RESILIENCE IN ACTION
CHAPTER 1. COUNTERING INFORMATION MANIPULATION AND DISINFORMATION, AND STRENGTHENING RESILIENCE
Introduction
Pillar 1 – Learning and practising democracy
Pillar 2 – Protecting democracy
Pillar 3 – Innovating for democracy
CHAPTER 2. PROMOTING SOCIAL RIGHTS AS A FACTOR OF DEMOCRATIC RESILIENCE
Introduction
Pillar 1– Learning and practising democracy
Pillar 2 – Protecting democracy
Pillar 3 – Innovating for democracy
CHAPTER 3. DEFENDING EQUAL RIGHTS AND PROMOTING GENDER EQUALITY AND INCLUSION
Introduction
Pillar 1 – Learning and practising democracy
Pillar 2 – Protecting democracy
Pillar 3 – Innovating for democracy
CHAPTER 4. SAFEGUARDING ELECTIONS AND DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES
Introduction
Pillar 1– Learning and practising democracy
Pillar 2 – Protecting democracy
Pillar 3 – Innovating for democracy
CHAPTER 5. INCLUSIVE PARTICIPATION, CIVIC SPACE AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS
Introduction
Pillar 1 – Learning and practising democracy
Pillar 2 – Protecting democracy
Pillar 3 – Innovating for democracy
CHAPTER 6. USING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND COUNTERING CYBER-ENABLED THREATS
Introduction
Pillar 1 – Learning and practising democracy
Pillar 2 – Protecting democracy
Pillar 3 – Innovating for democracy
ABBREVIATIONS COUNCIL OF EUROPE CONVENTIONS IN THE REPORT
"Europe does not have to choose between security and democracy. It never did and cannot afford to start now."
In his 2026 annual report, Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset calls for a legal and democratic framework that lasting European security can depend on, and for rebuilding people’s trust in institutions.
In the report, he warns that “as Europe rearms on a scale not seen since the Cold War, we should ask what we are really defending, and whether force alone will ever be enough. That is where Europe’s current security model falls short, and where democratic security must begin”. He highlights the damage being caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and other international crises. “Each unchallenged threat or use of force pushes the international legal order closer to the brink,” he adds.
Foreign information manipulation and interference, alongside the erosion of trust in democratic systems, undermine both the rule of law and social stability, jeopardising European democracies from within, he argues. He also emphasises the need for safeguards upholding human rights and democratic principles to keep pace with rapid technological change, particularly in digital technology and artificial intelligence.
The Secretary General stresses that the strategic importance of social rights, health, education, and institutional trust has for too long been underestimated and dismissed as “soft security”. But that distinction, he argues, belongs to the last century. It no longer fits the Europe we live in. “Real security begins with institutions people can trust and democracies resilient enough to withstand pressure”, he underlines.
To address the challenges to democratic security, the Secretary General advocates broad partnerships, in Europe and beyond, and sets out the Council of Europe’s aim to take an innovative and balanced approach by combining protection and prevention measures with investment in education.
The report provides a state of play of the New Democratic Pact for Europe, the strategic and political process launched by the Secretary General in 2025 to identify integrated responses to democratic backsliding and to renew democratic governance across Europe. During the Pact’s first phase, running until December 2026, an extensive consultation process is underway.
In the report, the Secretary General states that “the ambition of the New Democratic Pact for Europe is to rebuild trust in institutions and strengthen democratic resilience in an age of permanent crises”. “Nowhere is this more evident than in Ukraine. There, the Council of Europe is helping build accountability for Russia’s war of aggression, where none existed before, while placing democratic resilience at the centre of recovery and reconstruction”, he says.
In his 2026 annual report, Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset calls for a legal and democratic framework that lasting European security can depend on, and for rebuilding people’s trust in institutions.
In the report, he warns that “as Europe rearms on a scale not seen since the Cold War, we should ask what we are really defending, and whether force alone will ever be enough. That is where Europe’s current security model falls short, and where democratic security must begin”. He highlights the damage being caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and other international crises. “Each unchallenged threat or use of force pushes the international legal order closer to the brink,” he adds.
Foreign information manipulation and interference, alongside the erosion of trust in democratic systems, undermine both the rule of law and social stability, jeopardising European democracies from within, he argues. He also emphasises the need for safeguards upholding human rights and democratic principles to keep pace with rapid technological change, particularly in digital technology and artificial intelligence.
The Secretary General stresses that the strategic importance of social rights, health, education, and institutional trust has for too long been underestimated and dismissed as “soft security”. But that distinction, he argues, belongs to the last century. It no longer fits the Europe we live in. “Real security begins with institutions people can trust and democracies resilient enough to withstand pressure”, he underlines.
To address the challenges to democratic security, the Secretary General advocates broad partnerships, in Europe and beyond, and sets out the Council of Europe’s aim to take an innovative and balanced approach by combining protection and prevention measures with investment in education.
The report provides a state of play of the New Democratic Pact for Europe, the strategic and political process launched by the Secretary General in 2025 to identify integrated responses to democratic backsliding and to renew democratic governance across Europe. During the Pact’s first phase, running until December 2026, an extensive consultation process is underway.
In the report, the Secretary General states that “the ambition of the New Democratic Pact for Europe is to rebuild trust in institutions and strengthen democratic resilience in an age of permanent crises”. “Nowhere is this more evident than in Ukraine. There, the Council of Europe is helping build accountability for Russia’s war of aggression, where none existed before, while placing democratic resilience at the centre of recovery and reconstruction”, he says.