Addressing a huge crowd on the streets of Strasbourg in 1949
Winston Churchill, one of the founding fathers of this Council
spoke about “le génie de l'Europe.” [the genius of Europe]
He was talking about what makes our continent so successful, the
values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law.
The same spirit we’ve seen again and again that led Vaclav
Havel to broadcast his messages of freedom during the suppression
of the Prague Spring, that brought down the Berlin Wall and that
leads Ukraine to defend its sovereignty with such valour,
inspiring us to stand with them all.
The Council of Europe has nurtured that spirit for three-quarters
of a century.
And it must do so again now.
Because today, we are facing the greatest threat to democracy and
the rule of law on our continent since before the Treaty of
London was signed.
With Russia waging a war of aggression on European soil, and
China growing in assertiveness the world is becoming more
contested and more volatile.
The challenge to our values is growing.
And the moment to push back is now.
Democracies like ours must build resilience so that we can
out-cooperate and out-compete those who drive instability.
That’s why we’re working so closely with our friends across
Europe through the G7, NATO, the Joint Expeditionary Force, the
European Political Community and with a welcome new tone in our
relations with the European Union.
Friends, the UK may have left the EU, but we have not left
Europe.
We remain a proud European nation.
And we must work together to defend the values we all hold so
dear.
The Council of Europe, with its huge reach, has such a vital role
to play.
And we need to think about how this Council should react to the
realities of today.
We showed great purpose in expelling Russia last year – acting
decisively together within days of the invasion.
Let’s bring that dynamism to the issues before us now. And let’s
send a message from this hall, loud and clear that we will stand
by Ukraine for as long as it takes.
We will hold Russia accountable for the horrendous war crimes
that have been committed.
And we must also learn the lesson of this war – by being prepared
to confront threats to our societies before they become too big
to deal with.
That includes acting on cyber security and AI and it means
tackling illegal migration.
The moral case for action is clear.
We can’t just sit back and watch as criminal gangs profiteer on
people’s misery.
Illegal migration exploits the most vulnerable. It risks crowding
out those with a genuine case for asylum. And it strains the
trust that our citizens have – not just in our domestic borders,
but in the international system.
That’s why so many of us are already acting at the national
level. And why we need to do more to cooperate across borders and
across jurisdictions and to end illegal migration and stop the
boats.
The Council already plays a vital role but I urge leaders to
consider how we can go further.
Because we know what we can achieve together. Just look at this
Council’s extraordinary legacy: protecting human rights,
abolishing the death penalty in Europe, supporting media freedom
and championing democracy across Central and Eastern Europe after
the Cold War.
So let’s take heart from that, and keep rising to the many
challenges before us, true to our enduring values and certain
that, as Churchill went on tell the Strasbourg crowd, “the
dangers before us are great… but great too is our strength.”
