Europe is stronger than often claimed, says Alain Berset

Alain Berset: Europe is stronger than often claimed Keystone-SDA

Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, sees the current international situation as a wake-up call for Europe, referring to the Council of Europe's efforts to hold Russia accountable for the attack on Ukraine.

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“We are working in all possible ways. We are active with the European Court of Human Rights, but also with a register of losses,” said Berset in an interview with NZZ am Sonntag. According to the former Swiss government minister, this database records crimes and losses suffered by people or institutions in Ukraine since the Russian invasion.

Over 13,000 cases have now been registered. This is the basis for a compensation mechanism for later reparation payments. The Council of Europe is also working on this.

+ Ex-Swiss minister Berset takes Council of Europe top job

Berset rejected criticism of Europe. He did not believe that Europe had done anything wrong. “We are stronger than people keep saying. But what is actually a difficulty and at the same time a strength of Europe is that our continent is extremely diverse: politically, culturally and economically,” he said. This makes decision-making complicated and lengthy.

Founded in 1949, the Council of Europe is made up of 46 states, including Switzerland. Binding international agreements such as the European Convention on Human Rights are adopted within its framework. The European Court of Human Rights is part of the Council of Europe. Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe on March 16, 2022, as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

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Translated from German by DeepL/ts

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