Council of Europe – Parliamentary Assembly 22 June – 26 June 2026

As an alternate member of the Council of Europe delegation from the UK to the Council of Europe, I attended the third part session in Strasburg on the 22nd to the 26th of June 2026.

The Secretary General of the Council of Europe Mr Alain Berset addressed the assembly and took questions.  The Secretary General said it is important to have transparency and accountability of governments. Energy participation in PACE is also important. He was  concerned about the democratic backsliding in Turkey.

There was a vote for the Deputy General Secretary, which was won by Tanja Gonggrijp.

Other debates on that day, included the functioning of Democratic Institutions in Serbia and Democracy, Human rights and the rule of law in Iran.

On Wednesday there was a debate on protecting democracy from disruptions caused by artificial intelligence. A statement was made by Kristina Kallas Secretary of State for Education in Estonia.  Cognitive development using AI was important. There were two aspects. 1) the education system focuses on developing thinking, critical thinking and analysis and 2) how to regulate and to include human agency in it.
other debates that day included one on Azerbaijan with concern about silencing critical voices in Azerbaijan and the functioning of democratic institutions in Georgia. 

Food security in Morocco was the subject5 of a further debate  including access to water. Energy security and food security were important.

A debate took place on Thursday on Access of Migrants and Refugees to Healthcare.